House Democratic Caucus Tells Froman:

Some 153 House Democrats have signed a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman calling on him to “take action to ensure better outcomes in our ongoing negotiation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), particularly in countries that have lengthy histories of denying workers their rights, such as Vietnam. “

“These 153 Democratic members of Congress are putting the Obama administration on notice that it can’t go forward with some version of ‘Boehner Trade.’ House Democrats are clear: they will not support fast track authorizing legislation until they have read and approved the negotiated Trans-Pacific Partnership deal,” said CWA President Larry Cohen.

Reps. George Miller, (D-CA), Mark Pocan, (D-WI) and Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) circulated the letter among their Democratic colleagues, urging them to join the call to protect worker rights, most notably in Vietnam, but also in Malaysia, Brunei, and Mexico, where violations of worker rights also persist.

“We must apply pressure to countries like Vietnam and others to improve their conditions and laws to protect and empower their working class, and to ensure that the American marketplace is not flooded with goods produced by workers lacking fundamental rights,” they wrote.

Workers in Vietnam face extraordinary abuses, including forced or indentured child labor. Workers in Malaysia, the Department of State reports, have their rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining “severely restricted,” including prohibitions on union membership by workers in several sectors, significant limits on the right to strike, and governmental interference in union registration.