For Release: Tuesday, May 23, 2000

Statement by UAW President Stephen P. Yokich: UAW Will Explore Alternatives to Major Party Presidential Candidates

President Clinton and Vice President Gore hail the U.S.-China agreement on WTO accession "a hundred percent win" for America that will increase U.S. exports to China and create jobs for American workers. Nice words, but they made the very same claims for NAFTA. They were wrong then, and they are wrong now.

On this issue of critical importance to working people - one that could cost hundreds of thousands of American workers their jobs - President Clinton and Vice President Gore once again have sided with multinational corporations against workers here and abroad.

Over the past weeks, proponents of giving China PNTR have portrayed the same multinational corporations who today are exploiting the Chinese government's well-documented brutal repression of basic human and workers' rights to fatten profits as the champions for a more free and open Chinese society. Meanwhile, the labor movement's insistence that the Chinese government demonstrate progress on human and workers' rights before the U.S. Congress permanently gives up its power of annual review is dismissed as selfish, myopic, and worse.

We are deeply disappointed that Vice President Gore has failed to speak out against these cynical attacks on the labor movement and our partners in this fight. Instead, he has tried to have it both ways on China PNTR. One moment, presidential candidate Gore is telling the labor movement that he believes human rights, workers' rights, and environmental protections should be included in core trade agreements; the next, Vice President Gore is holding hands with the profiteers of the world and singing the praises of the U.S.-China WTO accession agreement while lobbying for PNTR for China. And, obviously, we cannot turn to Republican candidate George W. Bush; his positions on issues of concern to working families are far worse.

America's working families need and deserve a president they can count on to stand with them on their tough issues, not just the easy ones. That's why we have no choice but to actively explore alternatives to the two major political parties. It's time to forget about party labels and instead focus on supporting candidates, such as Ralph Nader, who will take a stand based on what is right, not what big money dictates. Supporting those who support us is our political agenda, not just a slogan.