Washington,
Jul 26, 2005 -
Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH) spoke out on the House floor today against the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA):
Mr. Speaker, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) caused 5.6 million well paying jobs to leave the United States. If they were replaced at all, they were replaced by insecure low wage employment paying 77% less.
CAFTA modeled after NAFTA will hurt workers in the United States and Central America. Under CAFTA workers are much more likely to lose their jobs then find better ones, especially if they work in US manufacturing or Central America agriculture, small business or government.
US workers will have to compete in a race to the bottom with sweatshop wages and low standards in Central America, reinforced by the weak labor provisions in CAFTA.
Provisions like in El Salvador where they fail to provide for reinstatement for workers fired because of anti-union discrimination. Like in Guatemala, where the labor code mandates that unions must obtain permission before they can strike. Like in Honduras, where the law prohibits the formation of more than one trade union in any single enterprise.
CAFTA will result in lower wages for the people in this country, it will result in the loss of jobs in this country, and it should be defeated.