ACTION ALERT: Contact Congress about NAFTA 2.0
We are now entering an important stage in the Trump Administration’s rewrite of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Corporations are lobbying heavily to pass the renegotiated agreement as is. Without big changes, NAFTA 2.0 will continue to harm American workers and the environment while increasing the cost of healthcare and life-saving drugs. The Agreement can come up before Congress at any time and without much warning. Now is a good time to contact your Congressperson and let him or her know what you want in a new NAFTA. You can send an email message or make a phone call.
Congressman Ed Perlmutter—Email; Lakewood office (303) 274-7944
Congressman Jason Crow—Email; Aurora (720) 748-7514
Congresswoman Diana DeGette—Email; Denver office (303) 844-4988
Congressman Joe Neguse—Email ; Boulder office (303) 335-1045, Fort Collins office (970) 372-3971
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Leave a short message stating your position on NAFTA.
Introduce yourself. Say where you are from and why you are calling.
List one or more reasons why you want changes made to the original NAFTA:
American jobs are outsourced to Mexico where wages are low and labor rights are lacking.
Americans are forced to accept lower wages as employers threaten to outsource jobs to Mexico.
Non-enforcement of environmental protections damages the environment and harms public health while making it cheaper and easier to outsource American jobs.
Private trade rule enforcement tribunals prioritize corporate profits over workers and the environment. Countries are forced to either repeal labor and environmental protections or “compensate” foreign corporations at taxpayer expense
Tell your Congressperson what provisions you want to see in NAFTA before it comes to a vote in Congress. List one or more items you feel are most important:
Swift and effective enforcement of protections for Mexican workers, allowing them to form independent labor unions, bargain for higher wages and improve working conditions. This will help narrow the wage gap between American and Mexican workers.
Swift and effective enforcement of laws protecting the environment and public health. This will help reduce incentives to outsource American jobs to avoid more rigorous protections in the US.
Elimination of monopoly patent protections for Big Pharma inserted into the revised NAFTA that will permanently raise drug prices, prevent competition from affordable generic medications and deny millions of Americans life-saving drugs and medical treatments.
Retain the ban on the original NAFTA’s undemocratic private trade tribunals that allow corporations to sue countries and demand millions in “compensation” from taxpayers in order to repeal labor, environmental and public health protections.
Request a response to your message and indicate you will be looking forward to your congress member’s support for a fair trade deal that prioritizes American jobs, a healthy environment and robust public health including access to affordable medical treatment.
