Robert Torricelli: “for more than a century, American workers have made enormous progress in their working conditions and securing their…”

“for more than a century, American workers have made enormous progress in their working conditions and securing their most basic rights in the sale of their labor. It is the foundation of our very economy that the United States uniquely created circumstances where those who made products had decent enough wages to buy them. Those who were engaged in the production had sufficient leisure time to enjoy the fruits of their own labor. People fought and died for these rights in the labor movement. They were not given easily, not simply established, but fought for by a generation of workers. Those rights are very much now at issue as the Senate debates the expansion of international trade and fast-track authority for the President in new bilateral agreements. The question arises on the sanctity of these rights and their ability to be defended in an international context. What does it mean to American workers to have the right of association, the right to organize and bargain collectively, the prohibition of forced or compulsory labor, minimum wage, prohibitions on child labor, maximum hours, or safety conditions? Regarding the issue before the Senate, if we are to engage in these new international labor agreements, are we creating a situation where Americans can continue to have pride that we afford these things to our own people, to our own workers, while seeking the benefits of lower prices and cheaper goods through cheaper labor?”