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Americans may be divided on a number of issues, but when it comes to Free Trade it seems the nation is united, against it. Public Citizen compiled various polling data from 2008 to the present and found Americans generally agree that Free Trade agreements have been bad for US workers. In September 2010 a joint NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll found an overwhelming 86% of Americans across political and class lines believed outsourcing US jobs overseas was a top cause of the economic downturn. Free Trade deals used to be much more popular. In 1999 only 33% of Americans believed they were harmful. But they remain popular in Washington DC. Just last week Senate Leaders from both sides of the aisle announced that deals with South Korea, Panama, and Columbia will be voted on as soon as Congress returns from its August recess. Differences between the GOP and Democrats had stalled the legislation for months but last week Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell confirmed a path to a vote had been forged. A sticking point in negotiations has been the inclusion of Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA): job training and other resources made available to workers whose jobs move out of the country. A majority of Democrats want the assistance to come automatically with any signed trade deal, and a majority of Republicans oppose the program. It appears this new agreement between parties allows the TAAs to be voted on separately from the trade deals, a move opposed by some Democrats. Public Citizen and the AFL-CIO, among others, are mobilizing public opposition. In a press release AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said his union will hold 450 events to educate the public about the potential impacts. In addition to concern over the loss of even more jobs domestically, unions and others have criticized any trade deal with Colombia that does not include strong worker and human rights protections. Columbia has long been one of the most dangerous countries for labor leaders. Three were killed last week.

GUESTS: Lori Wallach, Executive Director of Public Citizen’s Global trade Watch; Celeste Drake, Policy Specialist for Trade at the AFL-CIO

Find out more at www.tradewatch.org and www.aflcio.org.