International Brotherhood of Teamsters

HOFFA CALLS CORPORATE LOBBY’S ‘RALLY’ ON CHINA TRADE A SHOW OF WEAKNESS
April 5, 2000

More than 10,000 Workers to Rally in Opposition to PNTR Next Week

(Washington, D.C.) - International Brotherhood of Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa today called a small corporate-funded China trade rally in Washington a "show of weakness." The Business Roundtable, a lobbying network for the nation’s richest corporations, sponsored the rally in an attempt to convince Congress that American workers support Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) for China.

"The Business Roundtable can’t manage to bring more than a few hundred people to Washington to support their China trade deal, despite their abundance of funding," said Hoffa. "The message is clear - CEOs support PNTR for China; working Americans don’t."

The Teamsters Union will join the AFL-CIO for a labor lobby day on April 12 in opposition to PNTR for China. More than 10,000 working Americans, including 5,000 Teamsters, will converge on Washington during a labor rally prior to the lobby visits. Further, a series of rallies against PNTR will take place in Congressional districts during the April recess.

"These workers will be here on their own time, most sacrificing a days pay, to tell Congress that you can’t have free trade without freedom," Hoffa added. "PNTR for China will destroy jobs in the U.S. and undermine the struggle for human and workers’ rights in China. Members of Congress will hear this message from America’s working families. Today, all they are hearing is the corporate lobby singing the same old self-serving tune."

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents more than 1.4 million working men and women throughout the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico.