Jonathon Berman, Sierra Club, jonathon.berman@sierraclub.org
Hamid Bendaas, Congressman Keith Ellison, hamid.bendaas@mail.house.gov
Washington, DC -- On Wednesday, November 29th at 2:00 pm, Congressman Keith Ellison and Congressman Raúl Grijalva will host a congressional briefing featuring a diverse set of leaders who will shed light on the overlooked impacts of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on workers and communities of color.
The briefing will spell out a progressive vision for NAFTA’s replacement as the sixth round of NAFTA’s renegotiation approaches rapidly. The speakers – representing the Movement for Black Lives, unions, immigrants’ rights organizations, and indigenous groups – will describe how NAFTA has tangibly impacted their lives and spotlight a NAFTA replacement agenda rooted in benefits for workers and communities across sectors, borders, and racial lines.
For further details, please contact Jonathon Berman with the Sierra Club at jonathon.berman@sierraclub.org or Hamid Bendaas with Congressman Keith Ellison’s office at hamid.bendaas@mail.house.gov.
WHAT: Press conference with progressive leaders spotlighting NAFTA’s toll on workers and communities of color, and outlining a new vision for the deal’s replacement
WHO:
Colette Pichon Battle, a member of the Movement for Black Lives policy table and executive director of the US Human Rights Network, with expertise on trade deals’ impacts on communities of color in the South. Colette is a 2015 Echoing Green Climate fellow and a 2016 White House Champion of Change for Climate Equity.
Erika Andiola, a leader in the immigrants' rights movement who has firsthand experience with NAFTA’s impacts in Mexico and its contribution to forced migration. Erika is a prominent DACA recipient, winner of the Freedom from Fear Award, and political director of Our Revolution.
Michael Smith, a union worker at BCTGM, an AFL-CIO affiliated union, who was laid off last year from his job at a Nabisco bakery on Chicago’s South Side. Michael lost his livelihood when Nabisco decided to offshore 600 jobs to Mexico, taking advantage of the ability to exploit Mexico’s low wages under NAFTA.
Tara Houska, a citizen of Couchiching First Nation, a tribal attorney, a co-founder of Not Your Mascots, and national campaigns director of Honor the Earth. Tara has clerked for the White House Council on Environmental Quality and helped to lead the Standing Rock protest against the Dakota Access pipeline.
WHERE: Rayburn House Office Building, room 2358-C
WHEN: Wednesday, November 29th from 2:00-3:00pm
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About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.