[CTC] Vietnamese Labor Activists tell Congress NO on Fast Track

[Arthur Stamoulis]

> Begin forwarded message:
> 
> From: Ben Beachy 
> Subject: Vietnamese Labor Activists tell Congress NO on Fast Track
> Date: June 11, 2015 at 12:23:05 PM EDT
> 
> 
> Independent labor leaders in Vietnam just released this important letter to members of the U.S. Congress on the eve of the Fast Track vote, urging them to vote NO on Fast Track for the TPP until systematic labor rights violations in Vietnam have ended.  See below and attached.  Please circulate widely. 
>  
> --------------
>  
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>  
> Contact:
> Jim Keady, Director, Educating for Justice
> 732.988.7322 / jwkeady at gmail.com <mailto:jwkeady at gmail.com> 
> 
> Trung Doan, Director, Viet Labor 
> +61 400466848 / doanviettrung at gmail.com <mailto:doanviettrung at gmail.com>
>  
> Independent labor leaders in Vietnam push Congress to say "NO" on Fast Track authority
>  
> Changes must come to Vietnam before the US fast tracks the deal and allows Vietnam entry into the TPP
>  
> (June 11, 2015) On the day before Congress is to vote on fast track authority for the highly controversial transpacific partnership trade deal, leading dissidents in Vietnam's underground labor movement have issued a letter to members asking them to vote “NO.” 
> 
> The letter states in part:
> 
> Members of the U.S. Congress who wish to assist us in ending Vietnam’s systematic labor rights violations should NOT grant Fast Track authority for the TPP until the Vietnamese government has reversed its ban on independent labor unions; has ended widespread workplace abuse and unsafe working conditions; has increased our abysmal wages; has halted its repression of workers and organizers who are trying to promote basic labor rights; and has released all labor rights activists from prison who have been convicted for simply speaking up for workers.  
>  
> While these leaders support the TPP in theory and want Vietnam to be in partnership with the United States, they also want to be sure that the deal actually benefits workers in Vietnam and is not simply a giveaway to giant transnational corporations. 
>  
> "A TPP which leaves Vietnamese workers exploited is bad for American workers. A TPP which allows the state-run 'union' (VGCL) to continue helping police arrest real unionists is bad for Vietnamese workers." said Trung Doan, Director of Viet Labor. he continued, "Will the TPP be a trade deal or a raw deal? This all depends on the TPA vote setting prerequisites and setting the rules. Prerequisites include Vietnam ending unionists' jail time, ending criminalizing unionism, and ending forced labor in jails. Setting the rules includes drafting legislation requiring companies implementing American aid projects to allow their workers to unionize."
>  
> This letter came about from a collaborative project in late May between Viet Labor, an alliance of Vietnamese Labor groups inside and outside Vietnam and Educating for Justice, a US-based NGO with 15 years experience of labor rights advocacy in Southeast Asia.
>  
> “When I met with the underground labor leaders in Vietnam, it was obvious that they had only been given one side of the debate about fast track authority and the TPP,” said Jim Keady, Director of Educating for Justice. “Once they had a more complete set of information, they realized that they could not blindly trust the Obama administration or the regime in Vietnam to do what is right for workers. That is why they are taking  their case to the U.S. Congress and calling for a no vote on fast track until real changes are made.”  
>  
> ###
>  
> Attachments include:
> 
> 1. Letter to Congress
> 2.  Nike in Vietnam: A Case Study for Consideration during the TPA/TPP Vote
> 3. Briefing paper on Vietnam’s state-owned union
> 4. Photograph of Vietnamese labor leaders
> 5. Photograph of Nike workers
>  
> Additional photos and video clips are available
> 
> 

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