Inside US Trade - April 15, 2008

Union presidents from the AFL-CIO and the Change to Win coalitions late last week urged House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) not to have a vote on the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement this year, even if the Bush administration offered to cooperate on other Democratic legislative priorities, according to sources familiar with the meeting.

But the presidents did not ask Pelosi for a specific commitment to honor their demands in the April 10 meeting, and she did not offer it, these sources said. One source said union presidents refrained from seeking a specific commitment because they did not want to put Pelosi "on the spot" at the meeting, while another source said that the presidents understood that even if Pelosi were inclined to make such a commitment, she would not have done so at what was essentially a public meeting.

In addition to Pelosi, the meeting was attended by other key Democrats, including Democratic Whip James Clyburn (D-SC), House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (D-IL), House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA) and House Appropriations Subcommittee Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT).

Among the union presidents attending were AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, Change to Win Chair Anna Burger, and the presidents from several other unions represented by these coalitions, including United Steelworkers President Leo W. Gerard.

Pelosi did not respond directly to a request made by Sweeney and Burger, who asked Pelosi to refrain from allowing a vote on the U.S.-Colombia FTA during a so-called lame duck session of Congress, which would take place after the November elections, sources said.

This reflects the public message of the AFL-CIO, which in an April 10 statement stressed that there can be no Colombia FTA vote until Colombia ends the violence against trade unionists.

In the meeting, union representatives also said they want a strong Trade Adjustment Assistance bill, which they said should reflect the version passed by the House, according to these sources. They also raised a number of other issues, such as the need for a second stimulus package -- including extension of unemployment benefits and financial relief for states -- and a bill to improve U.S. infrastructure, sources said.

Labor union representatives are confident that the FTA will not come up before the elections because of the political fall-out of doing so, but are worried that Democrats could bring it up after the elections during a so-called lame duck session.

Scheduling a vote after the elections would help protect House Democrats from political fallout, with members retiring and with others not facing elections for another two years, one source said. But sources opposing the FTA point out that the vote is likely to be a problem for House Democrats regardless of timing because it is unlikely that the Bush administration will be willing to offer Democrats any concessions substantial enough to warrant consideration of the FTA.

In addition, anti-union violence and killings with impunity in Colombia are unlikely to improve this year, and that remains a valid reason not to bring the FTA up for a congressional vote, one source said. There have been 19 killings thus far this year, which will mean Colombia will likely have an “intolerably high” number of murders this year after an abnormally low total last year, another source suggested.
2. National Journal's CongressDailyAM Issue date: Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Labor, Biz Dig In For Extended Fight Over Colombia Deal

Labor and business groups Tuesday promised a fight over the Colombia Free Trade Agreement, demonstrating that despite last week's House vote to indefinitely postpone consideration of the
pact it is unlikely to fall off lawmakers' radar anytime soon.

AFL-CIO president John Sweeney said Democrats should not make a deal with President Bush to approve the pact. "We are going to make sure the American labor movement closely watches the
activities of the United States Congress," he said Tuesday.

He made sure to commend House Speaker Pelosi for seeking leverage on domestic economic policies like unemployment insurance, food stamps, children's health insurance and infrastructure, as well as commitment to human rights.

"Nancy Pelosi has spoken out strongly about what her expectations would be in order to have a discussion about the Colombia Free Trade Agreement. She is concerned about the human
rights, the workers rights, that we are concerned about," Sweeney said, "but she also is concerned about domestic policies in terms of what workers are confronted with today in this recession."

Rep. Phil Hare, D-Ill., a member of the House Trade Working Group, was also emphatic. "I've said many times I want to see us have jobs, but I also want to see us stand up for basic fundamental human rights," Hare said. "We're going to work very, very hard and I think at the end of the day if it does come up, there's nothing this administration can add to this trade deal that's going to make me vote for it, unless the administration is willing to stand up with [Colombia] President [Alvaro] Uribe and put some pressure on him to stop these killings and to bring people to justice."

Backers of the FTA are stepping up the pressure. Seeking to paint Pelosi as having "moved the goalposts" in her demands, House Minority Leader Boehner wrote her a letter asking her to detail exactly what policies she is seeking in exchange for scheduling a vote.

Former Democratic cabinet officers and members of Congress have started weighing in to support the Colombia pact, and the tide of editorial opinion pages across the country has also been increasingly in favor.

Business groups are continuing their lobbying. "We can't let today's unfortunate impasse on the Colombia trade agreement be the last word on this important economic issue. For the sake of American workers and farmers, we must move forward," U.S. Chamber of Commerce executive vice president for government affairs R. Bruce Josten said Tuesday. "The stakes are too high to simply walk away from this agreement." By Peter Cohn