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Congress Flooded with Anti-TPP Calls

6 Million Member Sanders Campaign Legacy Group Our Revolution Joins Almost 90 Other Organizations in National Day of Action

As President Obama Urges Corporate Chiefs at Export Council to Do More to Pass Beleaguered TPP, More than 13 Million People to Be Engaged to Call on Congress to Oppose Lame Duck TPP Push

Washington, DC – Approximately 90 organizations are participating in a National Call-In Day of Action against the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) today, September 14 th. These organizations, listed below, will remind their combined millions of supporters why TPP is a bad deal for America and will encourage supporters to tell their congressional representatives to oppose the TPP in a post-election lame duck session of Congress.

As part of the national day of action, more than 13 million people will be engaged through a range of online and offline channels, with calls expected in every congressional district in the country. The efforts will both encourage Americans to call their local Member of Congress, while also directing extra attention at the 28 House Democratic Members who voted to “fast track” authority for the TPP.

Among the key activities as part of this national day of action include:

  • On social media platforms, an anti-TPP ThunderClap Action will reach more than 1.6 million people via Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr on Wednesday morning 9/14
  • Our Revolution , the post-primary movement of Sen. Bernie Sanders, has sent out an email alert for the call-in day to their list of about 6 million individuals on Monday. The organization, which plans to re-send the email on Wednesday, is asking recipients to sign a congressional petition against TPP and are setting as a public goal the aim to “place at least 50,000 calls to members of Congress and their offices on Wednesday.
  • Communications Workers of America (CWA) activists are engaged in multiple actions to reinforce opposition to the TPP. CWA members nationwide are calling their Members of Congress, pressing them to oppose the TPP in a lame duck push. Activists are making sure that this message: “Don’t Let Politicians Betray American Workers" especially is heard by candidates in critical battleground Senate contests, like Indiana’s Republican Senate nominee and current Rep. Todd Young and other races. CWA activists also are joining allies in on-the-ground actions. In South Florida, for example, protests at the district offices of pro-fast track voters Senator Marco Rubio and Representatives Mario Diaz-Balart and Debbie Wasserman Schultz will include CWA and other South Florida unions, Citizens Trade Campaign and community activists, members of the Labor Council of Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), and NOVA Southeastern Law Professor Tim Canova. Along with AFSCME, CWA is engaged in a phone program in targeted districts, encouraging constituents to call their Members of Congress and urge them to reject the TPP once and for all.
  • The AFL-CIO is engaging its 12.5 million members through its State Federations and Central Labor Councils. It is rallying more than 100,000 action takers around the call-in day, including more than 15,000 people who signed a petition opposing a lame duck vote in the last two days. The federation will also engage all its social media properties throughout the day.
  • The Sierra Club, the nation's largest environmental group with 2.4 million members and supporters, is making the environmental case against the TPP in Congress. Hundreds of thousands of supporters will be asked to participate in tomorrow's call in day, building on the more than 100,000 calls and messages Sierra Club members and supporters have already sent to Congress this year.

Quotes from Participating Organizations:

“The sheer volume of people participating in these grassroots efforts shows how toxic TPP is across the country. This is not just about stopping a bad trade deal like the TPP – it’s about completely rewriting the rules on trade policy to make sure they benefit working people.” – Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO President

“We are concerned that passage of the TPP will greatly compromise our public health and food safety. For example, we know that just over 1 percent of imported fish and seafood shipments is properly inspected and has resulted in seafood being sold in U.S. supermarkets with unsafe chemicals and additives, some of which are illegal in our country. That is why the Center for Food Safety sent out alerts to our 800,00 members urging them to participate in today’s call-in action and tell their member of Congress to vote no on the TPP.” -Debbie Barker, international director, Center for Food Safety

“It's unfortunate that we are not able to focus exclusively at this time on defeating Donald Trump and electing a Democratic Senate and House in less than two months. Instead, President Obama is forcing the entire progressive community to use our resources in this critical election season to try and defeat the corporate drafted, jobs destroying TPP. His insistence on having a lame duck Congressional vote on the TPP only means fewer resources and members engaged in winning the elections. He is the one responsible for choosing the timing of this distracting fight.” – Shane Larson, legislative director, Communications Workers of America (CWA)

“The Obama administration is hoping to jam this corporate giveaway through Congress during the lame duck session when elected officials are less accountable to voters. Today, throughout the fall, and beyond, we’ll make it crystal clear to Congress that the Trans-Pacific Partnership is unacceptable – and that any politician who supports it will be held accountable. We will continue to build on the activism of over4.2 million CREDO members who have already made over 50,000 calls to Congress to speak out against the TPP.” - Murshed Zaheed, political director, CREDO

"Demand Progress joined this national call-in day of action because the TPP would be a disastrous corporate giveaway that would undermine Internet freedom, make it easier for corporations to ship jobs overseas, and give big banks unprecedented new rights to challenge U.S. laws in front of an unaccountable tribunal of three corporate lawyers. The TPP was negotiated in secret, so it's even more outrageous that the Obama administration is attempting to shut the public out again by pushing it through Congress after Election Day when lawmakers are least accountable to the American people." - Kate Kizer, campaigner, Demand Progress

“While the president is cloistered with corporate chieftains planning how to use a lame duck session to try to pass a TPP only they love, Congress’ phones are ringing off the hook with anti-TPP calls as millions of members of unions and consumer, environmental, on-line activism, and other groups unite for an day of action aimed at ensuring Representatives stand with their constituents not the corporate lobby.” -Lori Wallach, director, Public Citizen

“The TPP undermines our democracy. It was not written by or for people, but by and for powerful corporate interests. MoveOn members are proud to join with a broad coalition of environmental, consumer, labor, and grassroots progressive groups to call members of Congress urging them to reject the TPP. MoveOn members have been organizing against the TPP since 2012 and will continue to fight through the lame duck session and beyond.” - Emma Einhorn, Washington coordinator, MoveOn.org

Among the approximately 90 organizations participating in the Day of Action Against TPP include:

350 Eugene

350Seattle

AFL-CIO

AFSCME

Alliance For Democracy

Bark

Berks for Bernie

Boston Democratic Socialists of America

California Farmers Union

Campaign for America's Future

Capital District Area Labor Federation, AFL-CIO

Center for Food Safety

Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America

Citizens Trade Campaign

Coloradans For Immigrant Rights

Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach

Commitee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES)

Community Alliance for Global Justice

Corporate Accountability International

Cottage House Inc.,

Credo Action

CWA

CWA 37083 - WashTech

Daily Kos

Demand Progress/RootStrikers

Democratic Socialists of America, Boston Chapter

Denver Chapter, Global TPP Resistance Coalition

Denver Global TPP Resistance Coalition

Electronic Frontier Foundation

Family Farm Defenders

Fight for the Future

Global Justice for Animals and the Environment

Green America

IAM District 160

IBEW LU 72

IFG

Inland Greens

Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP)

International Labor Rights Forum

Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement

Just Foreign Policy

La Mujer Obrera

Long Island MoveOn.org

Machinists Union

MoveOn

National Council of Gray Panthers Networks

New Paltz Women in Black

NJ State Industrial Union Council

Northeast Organic Farming Association

Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group

OpenMedia

Oregon Rural Action

Oregonians for Safe Farms and Families

Our Revolution

Park Slope Food Coop via International Trade Education Squad

PCUSA Joining Hands Trade Justice Roundtable

Pennsylvania Council of Churches

Presbyterian Church (USA)

Public Citizen

Revolt Against Plutocracy (Bernie or bust organizers)

San Diego DFA-Democracy for America www,meetup.com/dfa-23

Save Our Sky Blue Waters

Sierra Club

Sisters Adorers

Southeastern Carpenters Regional Council

Sr. of Charity of Nazareth

Teamsters

Teamsters Local 325

Teamsters local 657

Texas Fair Trade Coalition

The Enviro Show

Trade Justice New York Metro

UAW

UAW Local 677

UFCW 1189

UNITE HERE Local 5

United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries

United Steelworkers local 420-A

United steelworkers Local 50

USW

USW local 10-00086

USW Local 12-427

USW Local 859L

Wash Heights Counter Recruitment

Washington Alliance for Retired Americans Educational Fund

Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC)

Western Wisconsin AFL-CIO

Witness for Peace

Witness for Peace-Midwest

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