Greetings,

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe is in Washington, D.C. this week to visit with members of Congress and the White House to make sure the free trade agreement with his country is passed before the end of the year. We need your help in telling Congress why this trade deal is not good enough for American and Colombian workers alike.

The deal is nothing but a series of giveaways and protections for multinational corporations and provides more incentives for good U.S. jobs to be outsourced. For Colombian workers, it means more substandard wages, ruined livelihoods for family farmers, and increased pressure to emigrate. Not to mention, Colombia is one of the most dangerous places to be involved in the labor movement, with 40 trade unionists murdered so far this year. The government of Colombia has done nothing to bring justice to these murders, and some members of Colombia's Congress have even been linked to the paramilitary death squads that are responsible.

Please take the time today to send an e-mail to your members of Congress, and let them know that we cannot afford another unfair trade agreement and that we will not stand for rewarding a government that turns a blind eye to the assassinations of trade union activists.

A sample e-mail is provided below. Please also visit the Teamsters website, and click on the "Take Action" tab at the top of the page for more ways to get involved.

Subject: Please Oppose the Colombia Free Trade Agreement

Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],

I urge you to oppose the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, which the Bush administration is trying to push for a vote. This is another job-killing trade agreement that will have damaging consequences both here and abroad.

While the labor chapter of the Colombia FTA is an improvement, the rest of it is modeled on the flawed North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). NAFTA and CAFTA resulted in major job losses here, environmental degradation and the decimation of family farms 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. Colombia is the most dangerous place in the world to be a trade union activist. According to the National Labor School, 2,238 trade unionists were assassinated in Colombia since 1991. This year, 40 trade unionists were killed--a total that already surpasses the 38 killed last year. Trade unionists and their families live in constant fear, which makes it virtually impossible for them to organize, bargain collectively, strike, or criticize their government. Worse, the Colombian government has done nothing to bring justice to these brutal killings.

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, lower living standards for middle-class families, and a weaker 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. Please let leadership know that this agreement should not be brought up for a vote. If it is, I urge you to vote NO. Americans cannot afford more of these unfair, unbalanced trade agreements. 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]