When Portland Congressman Earl Blumenauer learned he’d be the new chair of a House trade subcommittee, the first call he made was to Oregon AFL-CIO president Tom Chamberlain.
Given Trump’s habit of contradictory statements, tweeted policy announcements and reversals, and personal spats with foreign heads of state, it can be hard to keep up.
When it comes to trade policy, an administration that has otherwise sided almost wholly with business lobbies is listening, a little, to organized labor.
Despite what Trump says, NAFTA is not a failed trade agreement. Written by and for the benefit of corporate elites, it’s a resounding success — for them.