Taking it to the Hill On Tuesday afternoon, the delegates headed to Capitol Hill to meet with their Senators and Representatives to urge them to vote against permanent Normal Trade Relations status for China.

Tuesday, February 8, 2000

Washington, D.C. - Day three of the UAW CAP Conference opened with a series of stirring speeches from U.S. Representatives and Senators, as well as economists and researchers, who discussed issues of vital concern to working families. Trade - particularly permanent Normal Trade Relations (NTR) status for China - was the recurring theme.

Here are excerpts of their talks:

Representative David Bonior, D-Michigan:
"The bad news is that every Republican on Capitol Hill wants to turn their backs on Medicare and Social Security in order to pay for tax cuts for the rich. The good news is that the UAW is back in Washington and ready for a fight. And when the UAW fights, they fight to win."

Jeff Faux, president, Economic Policy Institute (and UAW Local 1981 member):
"At the very top, things are very good. Mr. Big Dollar is doing well. But the bad news is the U.S. trade deficit is going to hit a record $270 billion, with thousands of manufacturing jobs lost. Mr. Big Dollar doesn't care about exports or imports - only about outsourcing and doing it cheaply."

On China in the WTO:
"If China gets in, the hope for labor rights in trade agreements is gone."

Representative Maxine Waters, D-California:
On China in the WTO:
"Should China be in the WTO? Hell no!"

On Census 2000:
"Get counted, and make it a number one priority in your communities."

Representative John Lewis, D-Georgia:
"Health care is a fundamental right - not a privilege."

"Let's vote in 2000 like we never voted before."

Guy Molyneaux, vice president, Peter Hart Research Associates, Inc.:
On results of a recent survey of voter attitudes:
"The Republicans in Congress are getting smarter - they're talking about tax cuts, a Patients' Bill of Rights - and are committed to a strategy to hide who they really are."

On China:
"Forty-nine percent surveyed said a congressperson's position on Normal Trade Relations with China would affect their vote for that congressperson."

Debbie Stabenow, Michigan candidate for U.S. Senate (speaking to the Michigan delegation): "It's ground zero in this election - we have our own Y2K problem in Lansing . . . The year 2000 is our turn to take it back!"

On China:
"For the same reason I didn't support NAFTA, I'm not going to support NTR with China - because it's not fair!"

Stabenow is leading the fight to get Medicare to cover the cost of prescription drugs for seniors in the Prescription Drug Fairness Campaign. She's asking seniors in Michigan to send her copies of their medical bills to help put together a case and take it to the floor of the U.S. Senate. For more information call 1-888-345-RxYU (345-7998).

Representative Patrick Kennedy, D-Rhode Island:
"Some Democrats and Republicans may be wishy-washy on some of our issues, but if they support Dick Gephardt and David Bonior, we're going to have one of the most powerful positions in the U.S. Congress."

"Labor is us. Democrats and labor are equal...with any trade deal, what goes around comes around."

Senator Paul Wellstone, D-Minnesota:
"China isn't coming into the WTO - not with prison labor conditions!"

"If you want to stop the cycle of violence, focus on good jobs, good education and good health care."

Charles Kernaghan, executive director, National Labor Committee (in the UAW's video on trade):
"If China enters the WTO, it will be an enormous setback."

Representative Nancy Pelosi, D-California:
"Just think what the House will be with Dick Gephardt and David Bonior as Speaker and Majority Whip."

On China in the WTO:
"Mr. President, you've done many great things . . . but please do not trivialize the concerns of working people in this country."

"The name 'NTR' was changed to protect the guilty - they can call it 'normal' all they want, but it doesn't pass the test for American workers."

Photos by Rick Reinhard