Care Packet to Stop the TPP for In-District Activism

President Obama plans to introduce (Trans-Pacific Partnership) TPP in the ‘Lame Duck’ session, shortly after Election Day, so right now, he and his corporate lobbyist friends are pushing on our reps to vote yes on TPP in the undemocratic session.

Is your House Representative either retiring or possibly going to be voted out? Or is s/he evasive on how they plan to vote on TPP should it be on the floor?

Did they vote yes on fast track last year, or were they silent until the last minute, indicating they were waiting for the last vote to roll in so they could appear to care about constituents?

Lots of shady deals continue to go down and it’s up to us to make sure our children and grandchildren inherit a decent world.

Now is the time to get them all on the record as to whether they support or oppose the TPP. And we need to let them know we expect them to oppose a Lame Duck vote on TPP. FYI: There is never a good time to vote on the TPP.

If not now, when? If not you and I, then who?

Here’s what we must do to make sure we win on TPP:

1–Take the No Lame Duck TPP Pledge here: register/

Join the #NoLameDuckUprising:

Join the TPP Resistance Call every Wednesday:

2– Show Up to make a difference. That’s how we win!

During the election season, we need to attend public forums, write letters to the editor, make office visits and bird-dog our house members at every public event.

Depending on their positions and affiliations, we are going to confront them in order to make a vote for TPP a toxic decision that will haunt them for the rest of their (short) political career.

What do we need?

• First, it’s good to know how s/he vote on fast track. Here’s the list: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2015/roll362.xml If they voted “yes” on fast track, they are a definite target leading up to the election and we will need to let them know they betrayed us, and that they still have time to get it right by committing to vote no on TPP, and opposing a lame duck vote.

• What issues do our reps care about? Ex: Does s/he vote as Tea Party / Deficit hawk / Jobs / Healthcare / Environmentalist / Business-minded / Care about seniors / sovereignty / etc….
• We’re including links for both conservative and progressive members of congress. Bring them a few papers. Some fliers work better for some reps and not so much for others. For example, I have a Tea Party Republican as my rep, so I don’t bring him fliers about the environment, but fliers on jobs, trade deficits, sovereignty, and the economy have worked quite well for him. Some of these resources are long informational reports and others are informational fliers and issues papers. Bring in issues papers or fliers along with a personal letter letting your rep know you expect them to stand up for the people they were elected to serve.
• TPP Links for Conservatives: http://bit.ly/TPPLinksConservatives

• TPP Links for Progressives: http://bit.ly/TPPLinksProgressives

Have get-togethers to discuss the ramifications should TPP pass – jobs, economy, environment etc… Break the ice with a short video and then have a discussion. Below are several great informational videos.

Videos on TPP:

groups/TradeJusticeAlliance/

v=DnC1mqyAXmw

Bernie Sanders on TPP: v=kNm1WL89JSc

Good information / a year old–Lori Wallach on Democracy Now:v=KEi4ZqruX6Q

I like this one: v=wFfaItb5elA

• Brainstorm when to visit your rep’s office to make sure they know TPP is unacceptable.

• During the election season, Bird-Dogging is a great tactic–attend candidate forums, and be sure to ask your rep how s/he intends to vote on TPP in the Lame Duck Session, but tell them you expect them to speak out against holding a Lame Duck vote.

• Here is a good document on bird-dogging: ctc/activist-resources/how-tos/birdogging-congressional-candidates/

• Hold protests and events and post them on the Flush the TPP site actions/and also make Facebook events to invite your friends on Facebook http://www.flushthetpp.org/tools-for-action/

• Do letter drops to your members of congress. Here’s the People Demanding Action Letter page. It also has a voting letter. Scroll down to find the TPP letters to your House member or Senators: https://actionnetwork.org/event_campaigns/september-educate-congress

Fliers: CWA http://www.cwa-union.org/pages/10_ways_the_tpp_would_hurt_cwa_represented_workers

More CWA Fliers: http://stopthetpp.org/flyers/

Signs ~ Make signs that say: NO TPP; YES DEMOCRACY, NO TPP; SAVE US JOBS / STOP TPP; SAVE OUR WATER / STOP TPP; STOP FRACKING/ NO TPP; TPP IS CLIMATE CHAOS etc….

Here is an option for those great DNC Stop TPP Signs from the Northern Illinois Jobs with Justice: no-tpp-rally-sign/

TPP Occucards:

Creative actions / Light Brigades / Here’s a good resource for light brigade stuff: http://beautifultrouble.org/tactic/light-brigade/

Chants: http://www.flushthetpp.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/TPPChants.pdf

3– Call your members of congress every day

In-district contact: Go to this site, type in your zipcode, then when your rep comes up, click their name and scroll to the bottom to find their local offices: representatives/find/

Phone number for the D.C. Congressional Switchboard: – (202) 224-3121 Please CALL your members of Congress NOW and tell them to OPPOSE THE TPP! Tell your rep’s office you want a response.

(202) 224-3121

4–Write letters to the editor and op-eds

Write letters to your local paper. Members of congress read local papers to find out what matters to constituents. Make your letter short, sweet, and to the point. Here’s a link to helpful tips on effective LTEs: tools-for-making-media/

5–Email Your Member of Congress

Here’s a good current email tool from CPA:

CPA-Email Congressprosperousamerica.org/160421_action_no_tpp_lame_duck

Tools for Education

http://www.flushthetpp.org/tools-for-education/

A Better World is Possible

New Rules of the Road: http://jaredbernsteinblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/The-New-Rules-of-the-Road.pdf

Refuting Obama’s TPP Rhetoric

notes/stop-tpp-ttip-tisa/refuting-president-obamas-tpp-argument/1733543933580000

Refuting the National Security Argument: http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/291725-the-national-security-case-against-tpp

TPP and Food Sovereignty and Safety:

http://www.ecowatch.com/tpp-text-reveals-broad-new-powers-for-corporations-to-attack-food-labe-1882117869.html

http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/news/what-heck-tpp

8 Reasons to Vote NO on TPP

http://inthesetimes.com/article/18695/TPP_Free-Trade_Globalization_Obama

AFL-CIO Informational resources: http://www.aflcio.org/Issues/Trade/Trans-Pacific-Partnership-Free-Trade-Agreement-TPP

Article by Zahara Heckscher on TPP and access to medicines:heckscher/congress-you-are-to-blame-for-epipen-prices-3342622518d9#.tfoiu33bo

To find help for successful in-district events, go to: Organizing Resource Hub for TPP resistance resources: peopledemandingaction.org/resource-hub/item/570-tpp-resources

Or: On Flush the TPP: resourcehub/

We have the power to stop the TPP—let’s just do it!

Harriet Heywood-Trade Justice Alliance / People Demanding Action Florida Coordinator"