January 25, 2018 - The next round of negotiations of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is being held in Montréal from January 23rd to January 27th, 2018.It is important that labour, environmental, and other civil society organizations show their opposition to this anti-labour trade agreement.
USW Local 1944 invites our members to join the citizen rally that will take place on Saturday, January 27th, 2018.
Together, we can call for a NAFTA that is finally favorable to the workers.
Why do NAFTA major issues concern the Steelworkers?
- The economy in Québec is closely tied to that of the US. Therefore, any change likely to slow down or stop commercial trade will deeply impact jobs throughout the province, in many sectors (manufacturing, steel, wood, aluminum...);
- We demand that the NAFTA provides for an actual right to unionize in the US and in Mexico;
- We reject the rise of the US protectionism along with the 'Buy American' policies, which endanger many jobs;
- We call for the abolition of Chapter 11, which allows private companies to sue our governments;
- We demand the upholding of Chapter 19, which allows for an arbitration system to judge whether punitive duties are being applied unfairly on softwood lumber.
On Saturday, the citizen rally offers an important opportunity to defend our rights and to publicly oppose an anti-labour commercial trade agreement.
Meet at the Bonaventure Hotel (Bonaventure metro station) from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm in downtown Montréal.
For more information about the citizen gathering, please visit www.facebook.com/events/139810840056312/ (web page in French) and www.usw1944.ca/pdf/Rassemblement-citoyen.pdf
In Solidarity,
United Steelworkers Local 1944
