Buch Anti-Union :UAW President Stephen P. Yokich

DETROIT, Dec. 7 -- Statement by UAW President Stephen P. Yokich on House vote on Fast Track:

Once again, the Bush Administration and House Republican leaders have put the interests of multinational corporations first and the interests of America's working families last.

The fast track bill passed by the U.S. House will do nothing to help the hundreds of thousands of workers laid off since September 11 or to get America's economy moving again or to help in the war against terrorism. What fast track will do is give the Bush Administration a blank check to negotiate more NAFTA-style trade deals that will cost more American workers their jobs, weaken our nation's industrial base, and intensify the downward pressure on living standards, workers' rights, and environmental standards here and abroad.

It is unfortunate that some cowardly members of Congress who opposed fast track in the past were bought off by the Administration's last-minute deals and empty promises. The working families in their districts clearly deserve better -- and will hold them accountable.

We thank the 189 Democrats, 23 Republicans, and two independent House members who stood up for working families in the face of intense pressure from the White House and business community.

And we especially thank the many union, environmental, human rights, and other progressive activists across America who have worked so hard -- and so effectively -- to raise the importance of workers' rights and the environment in the debate over trade policy and globalization.

The UAW strongly believes that the United States cannot afford to continue with the severely-flawed approach to trade that, under both Democratic and Republican administrations, has weakened America's industrial base, cost the jobs of hundreds of thousands of American workers, and provided powerful incentives for multinational corporations to shift production, technology, and capital investment from the U.S. to Mexico, China, and other developing countries where they can exploit abysmally low wages and weak or non-existent labor and environmental standards.

It's time for the Bush Administration and Congress to learn the lessons from NAFTA, China PNTR, and other failed trade policies instead of repeating the same mistakes over and over.

Make no mistake, we are more determined than ever to keep up our fight for fair trade policies that strengthen America's vital industrial base and advance workers' rights around the world.