2011

Can you believe it’s August? It’s amazing to realize that through months of working hard together to maintain pressure on our legislators, we have kept the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement off the table. Congrats on fantastic work so far!

Help us keep the momentum going by participating in our first District Office Call-in Day TODAY!

• MSNBC: The Colombia Free Trade Agreement: "Tell that man if he does not stop running off at the mouth we will cut out his tongue"
• Huffington Post: Colombia Free Trade Agreement: Violence, Potential Job Losses Hang Over Deal (VIDEO)
• Special Dylan Ratigan Show Collaboration with Huffington Post on Free Trade: Trading Our Future
• Hundreds Gather Outside the White House to Protest the Colombia Free Trade Agreement by Teamster Nation
• Vigil at Congressman Office Results in One Good Decision: Pennsylvanians Speak Out Against Unfair Trade Deals by Timothy McNulty, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
• Critics Call Trade Pact Lose-Lose Deal for Colombian Labour by Kanya D’Almeida
• Autoworkers’ meeting builds solidarity with workers in Latin America by By Martha Grevatt
• Activists Call for Accountability for Chiquita's Terrorists Payments, Speak Out Against Trade Deal - Witness for Peace and United Steelworkers
• People of Faith Fast to Protest U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, Presbyterian Church
• Colombia Free Trade Deal May Mean more Cocaine in the U.S., by Jess Hunter-Bowmann
• Free Trade through Peace in Colombia, by Milburn Line
• Trade Stories Project: Interview with Gerardo Cajamarca, by Minnesota Fair trade Coalition
• The Case Against the Colombia Free Trade Pact, by Kim Jensen
• Violence Continues Despite 'US-Colombia Labor Action Plan', by WOLA
• Chiquita and the Colombia FTA -- Murder in the Interest of Profit, by Dan Kovalik
• U.S.-Colombia Deal on Labor Rights met with Scepticism, by Aprille Muscara
• TLC Colombia-EU y Derechos Laborales y Humanos, by Labor Radio
• Colombia FTA: Rewarding Promises Instead of Performance, by Leo Gerard
• US Economy Lost Nearly 700,000 Jobs Becacause of NAFTA, by Maxwell Strachan
• Trade Deals Unite Left and Right in Opposition, by Ambreen Ali
• Administration Declines to Share Colombia Labor Submission with Workers, Citizens Trade Campaign 
• Child Labor Rates Go Up in Colombia, UPI
• New Trade Pacts Will Kill Jobs, and Obama Knows it, by David Sirota
• Dems Question Colombia Trade Pact after Shooting of Activist Labor Lawyer, by Mike Lillis
• Terrorist Attack Points to Ongoing Violence in Key City for US-Colombia FTA, by Kelly Nicholls et al
• Beyond Free Trade with Colombia, by Milburn Line
• Violence, Impunity Undermine Facade of Human Rights Progress, by Tom Heyden
  
   Please note that there are many articles being written about the U.S.-Colombia FTA. These do not represent them all by a long shot. If you know of an article that is not on here that you think would be useful for people to read, please This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

• AFL-CIO Letter to Congress
• Statement by USLEAP
• Letter to Congress from SEIU opposing U.S.-Colombia FTA
• National Farmers Union Letter to Congress on All Three Pending FTAs
• United Steelworkers Letter to Congress on All Three Pending FTAs
• International Brotherhood of the Teamsters Letter to Congress on All Three Pending FTAs
• United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America Letter to Congress on All Three Pending FTAs
• Communications Workers of America Letter to Congress on Colombia FTA
• Building and Construction Trades Department of AFL-CIO Letter to Congress on All Three Trade Agreements
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Letter to Congress on All Three Trade Agreements
• Press Release by Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
• Statement by the United Federation of Colombian Workers
• Press Release by United Steel Workers
• Letter to U.S. Congress from SINTRAEMCALI
• Press Release by Union Portuaria
• Testimony of Jeffrey Vogt of AFL-CIO before the Senate Finance Committee
• Statement by International Association of Machinists
• Statement by Teamsters
• "Shot Labour Lawyer Dies, his Family is Threatened"
• "Union Enthusiasm for Obama Re-Election Fades, AFL-CIO’s Chief Trumka Says" - Bloomberg News
• Colombia Slips Into the Abyss as FTA Threatens Further Havoc by Dan Kovalik, United Steelworkers
• Free Trade Deals Bad for Michigan, by James Hoffa, Teamsters
• Colombian Unionist Speaks out against the Free Trade Agreement, by Labor Radio
  
  

  Please note that there are many statements being written about the U.S.-Colombia FTA. These do not represent them all, but we do our best to post as many as we can find in a timely manner. If you know of a union statement that is not on here that you think would be useful for people to read, please  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

   

• 431 Organizations and Individuals Write to Congress: U.S. Should Not Move Forward on Colombia FTA 
• U.S. and Colombian Labor, Faith, Afro-Colombian and Human Rights Activists Hold White House Demo Against Colombia Trade Deal
• Sierra Club Letter to Congress Opposing U.S.-Colombia FTA
• Friends of the Earth Letter to Congress on all Three Trade Agreements
• Press Release by LAWG, WOLA, and USOC
• Large Coalition of Colombian Human Rights and Labor Organizations Denounce the FTA
• Letter from WOLA and TransAfrica Forum to the USAID Mission Director in Colombia
• Religious Organizations Oppose Colombia Trade Agreement
• Statement by the Afro-Colombian Solidarity Network
• Statement by Transafrica Forum
  
• Statement by the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC)
• Statement by the National Agrarian Coordination (CNA)
• Declaration on FTA by the Black Communities' Process
• Letter to President Obama from AFRODES
• Letter to Presidents Obama and Santos from Campesino Communities
• Statement by the Inter-Ethnic Solidarity Forum Regarding Communities affected by Conflict (FISCH)
  
• Statement by the Major Community Council of the Popular Peasant Organization of the High Atrato-Choco-Colombia (COCOMAPOCA)
• Announcement by SOA Watch
• Afro-Colombian Solidarity Network Urgent Action on Violence in Colombia
• Afro-Colombian Solidarity Network Says Legal Victories for Ethnic Rights Clouded by Reality
• PCN Rechaza el Tratado de Libre Comercio
• Statement by Movimiento Campesino de Cajibo
• Colombia Support Network Editorial: Three Misconceptions about International Trade
• Afro-Colombian Solidarity Network Condemns Ongoing Human Rights Abuses in Colombia
  
  

  Please note that there are many statements being written about the U.S.-Colombia FTA. These do not represent them all, but we do our best to post as many as we can find in a timely manner. If you know of any statement that is not on here that you think would be useful for people to read, please  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

   

• Video: Rep. Schakowsky says Colombia FTA Rewards Promises Not Progress
• Video: Rep. Doggett on Colombia FTA: Reject this Misguided Agreement
• Video: Rep. Gutierrez: Colombia FTA Blood Won't Easily Be Washed Away
  
• Video: Rep. Miller Decries Colombia Trade Agreement on House Floor
• Video: Rep. Linda Sanchez Speaks about the FTA on the House Floor
• Video: Rep. Jim McGovern on Human & Labor Rights in Colombia on the House Floor
• Video: Rep. Jan Schakowsky talks Human Rights & the Colombia FTA on the House Floor
• Members of Congress Call on President Obama to Include "Action Plan" in Implementing Legislation
• Statement by Representative Betty Sutton
• Statement by Representative Hank Johnson
• 6 Democratic House Members issue statement on Colombia FTA "Action Plan"
• Statement by Representative Louise Slaughter
• Statement by Representative Sandy Levin
• Statement by Senator Sherrod Brown
• Statement by Representatives Levin and McDermott
• Statement by Representatives McGovern and Miller to Ambassador Kirk
• Representative Michaud Slams Colombia FTA Action Plan
• Video of Representative George Miller on House Floor
  
  

  Please note that there are many statements being written about the U.S.-Colombia FTA. These do not represent them all, but we do our best to post as many as we can find in a timely manner. If you know of a statement that is not on here that you think would be useful for people to read, please This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

   

• USLEAP Colombia Free Trade Agreement Talking Points
• Environmental Talking Points about the Colombia FTA by Friends of the Earth
• Study of Korea and Colombia FTAs and Projected Job Loss by the Economic Policy Institute
• Multi-issue Talking Points on Negative Impacts of U.S.-Colombia FTA
• ITUC Annual Survey of Violation of Trade Union Rights for 2010
• Violence Against Trade Unionists is not Declining
• Murder and Impunity of Colombian Trade Unionists
• Summary of Violence and Impunity, 1986-2010 (Escuela Nacional Sindical)
• USLEAP Impunity Report 2009
• Impacts of U.S.-Colombia FTA on Colombia's Rural Poor
• Impact of the U.S.-Colombia FTA on the Small Farm Economy in Colombia
• No Relief in Sight: Land and Violence on Colombia's Caribbean Coast
• 2010 CODHES Report on Displacement in Colombia
• Los Derechos Humanos o el Libre Comercio
• Organizations with many resources on their sites:
  Citizens Trade Campaign
  Presbyterian Peace Fellowship
  Witness for Peace
  Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch
  
  

  Please note that there is a lot being written about the U.S.-Colombia FTA. These do not represent them all, but we do our best to post as many as we can find in a timely manner. If you know of a report that is not on here that you think would be useful for people to read, please  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

   

• What will you do if the U.S.-Colombia FTA is passed?
•  Impact of the FTA with Colombia on Afro-Colombian and Indigenous Communities
• Impact of the FTA with Colombia on Small-scale Farmers and Workers
• Impact of the FTA with Colombia on Colombian Civil Society
• Obama / McCain debate where Obama explains why he opposed the Colombia FTA
• Video: Rep. Miller Decries Colombia Trade Agreement on House Floor
• Video: Rep. Linda Sanchez Speaks about the FTA on the House Floor
• Video: Rep. Jim McGovern on Human & Labor Rights in Colombia on the House Floor
• Video: Rep. Jan Schakowsky talks Human Rights & the Colombia FTA on the House Floor
• Protest against Colombia trade deal in Chicago at Obama Campaign Headquarters
• Colombian Voices against the FTA: Guillermo Diaz, small-scale farmer
• Profits for Them, Destruction for Us
• Colombian Voices against the FTA: Abilio Peña from the Colombian Interchurch Justice and Peace Commission
• PBI Video on Human Rights Abuses Faced by Afro Colombians and Mestizos in Curvaradó
• Video Debate: TLC Colombia 2011 Choque de Opiniones, on CNN
• Invitation to Fast in Opposition of the Colombia FTA 

• Message to Obama from Chicago coalition opposing the Free Trade Agreement
  
  

  Please note that there are many videos about the U.S.-Colombia FTA. These do not represent them all, but we do our best to post as many as we can find in a timely manner. If you know of a video that is not on here that you think would be useful for people to watch, please  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

   

  
  

• California: Statewide organizing. To get involved contact  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• California: Mingas Network. To get involved contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• California: Marin Interfaith Taskforce on the Americas. To email them, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
• Colorado: Denver Justice and Peace Committee organizing. To get involved contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• DC Metro Area: To get involved contact  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Illinois: Chicago organizing. To get involved contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Indiana: To get involved contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Massachusetts: In the Boston area get in touch with This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Or if you're closer to Worchester This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
• Maryland: Baltimore. To contact other involved activists This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
• Maine: Statewide. To get involved contact  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Michigan: Detroit. To get involved contact  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Minnesota: Minneapolis. To get involved contact  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Nationwide: Presbyterian Peace Fellowship organizing faith-based action! To get involved contact  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• New Mexico: To contact other involved activists This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
• New York: Statewide. To get involved contact  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• New York, New Jersey, Connecticut. To get involved contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• New York: Buffalo. To get involved contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Ohio: Statewide. To get involved contact  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Oregon: Eugene. To get involved contact  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Oregon: Portland. To get involved contact  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Oregon: Salem. To get involved contact  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Pennsylvania: Statewide. To get involved contact  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Texas: Statewide. To get involved contact  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Washington: Seattle. To get involved contact  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Wisconsin and Upper Midwest: To get involved contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

• Click here to send an email to your elected officials today.
   
• Catch your legislators on facebook and twitter! Click here to read our social media strategy and get posting.
   

• Click here to send a letter to the editor of your local paper.

• Share our two-minute video about the negative effects of the U.S.-Colombia FTA on email, facebook, twitter... just help us get it out!
   
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Congress will be on recess August 8th through September 6th, meaning your Representative will be back in their hometown office for an entire month. Together, we have the opportunity to make sure our members of Congress don’t just vacation during their time away from Capitol Hill, but instead hear from all of us, urging them to oppose the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement. So we have to get organized now.

Join our August Recess Get-Active Campaign Conference Call on Thursday, August 11th to learn how you can turn up the heat in your district!