Greetings,

Today President Bush transmitted the Colombia free trade agreement (FTA) to Congress, which means that it now must be voted on before the August Congressional recess according to time limits under fast track rules. If passed, what will this FTA mean for American workers? More of the same job loss and decreased living standards for the American middle-class that we saw after the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). And for Colombian workers, this unbalanced agreement will translate to more substandard wages, the destruction of the environment, the decimation of the livelihoods of family farmers, increased pressure to leave their homes and emigrate, and no justice whatsoever for the thousands of trade union activists who have been killed. That's right -- Colombia is the most dangerous country in the world in which to be a trade unionist, and the Colombian government has done very little to correct this problem.

We need your help! American workers cannot afford this, especially not with an already fragile economy, and the Colombian government's impunity with regard to trade unionist assassinations should not be rewarded with more access to the U.S. market. Call and/or e-mail your members of Congress today and let them know that they should be opposing the Colombia FTA!

Subject: Oppose the Colombia Free Trade Agreement

Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],

I am writing to urge you to oppose the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that the Bush administration has transmitted to Congress. This is yet another example of a job-killing trade agreement that will have damaging consequences both here at home and abroad.

While the labor chapter of the Colombia FTA is an improvement, the rest of the agreement is modeled off of the same flawed language found in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). NAFTA and CAFTA resulted in major job loss here at home, environmental degradation and the decimation of family farmers in other countries, and increased immigration to the U.S. We can only expect the results of the Colombia FTA to be the same.

Furthermore, it is reprehensible that this agreement was even negotiated when Colombia remains the most dangerous place in the world in which to be a trade union activist. According to the National Labor School, there have been 2,238 assassinations of trade unionists in Colombia since 1991, with 11 assassinations already this year. Due to ongoing assassinations and continuous threats of violence and death, trade unionists and their families live in a constant climate of fear that makes it impossible for them to fully and confidently exercise their rights to organize, bargain collectively, go on strike, or criticize their government. To make matters worse, the Colombian government has acted with total impunity and done very little to bring justice to these senseless killings, with only 68 convictions related to violence against trade union activists since 2001 according to the Office of the Colombian Attorney General.

This trade agreement is not "free." It comes at a huge cost for Americans and Colombians alike. For Americans, it means more losses in jobs and exports, decreased living standards for middle-class families, and a weaker domestic manufacturing base. For Colombians, it means more substandard wages, the destruction of their country's biodiversity, ruined livelihoods for family farmers, an increased pressure to emigrate, and no justice for the thousands of trade unionists already assassinated and those who continue to live in fear.

I ask you to make your opposition to the Colombia FTA heard today. Americans cannot afford more of these unfair, unbalanced trade agreements, and we should not be negotiating with a country that does not enforce international labor standards and dismisses assassinations of trade union activists. Please oppose the Colombia FTA today!

Sincerely,

[Your Name]