Pushing the Agenda - The Teamsters
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters continues to push their agenda as evidenced in the news conference in Washington on June 20, 2007 featuring the “unholy trinity”, James P. Hoffa, Joan Claybrook and Todd Spencer, normally, 3 people who can agree on nothing.
Jimmy Jr. continues to harp back to an “investigative story” by Charles Bowden commissioned in 1999 that to this day, reads more like a work of fiction than bearing any semblance of the truth.
And today, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters continues playing upon the protectionist fears of a small segment of the American population by hyping the mythical “American Union” and the “NAFTA Superhighway”.
Charles Bowden states:
There is a plan no one talks about very much, one that floats over the horizon like an approaching storm at sea. In this business dream, the Pacific ports of the United States will be shifted south to new massive anchorages in Mexico even though this increases the shipping distance by 30 percent for all the Asian tonnage. These new ports will be linked by major train and truck arteries — NAFTA Corridors — to the cities of the United States and Canada. Mexican trucking companies will be bought (and are being bought up now) by American firms and Mexican truckers will deliver the freight and freely drive all U.S. highways. In this plan, the shipping of the United States leaves union ports and the long haul trucking leaves union drivers.
An enlarged I-35 will reach north from the sister cities of Laredo/Nuevo Laredo 1,600 miles to Canada via San Antonio, Austin, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Kansas City, the Twin Cities and Duluth and I-69 will originate at the same crossing and streak north to Michigan. Each corridor will be about 1,200 feet wide. Six lanes will be dedicated to cars, four to trucks and in the middle will be rail and utilities. The goods will come from new Mexican ports on the Pacific coast. At the moment, at least five such corridors are on the drawing boards.
Perhaps in the latter part of the 21st century or in the dawning of the 22nd, this will come to fruition, but not in our lifetime. Obviously, freeways began in the Eisenhower administration are beginning to show signs of wear and age and need to be upgraded and replaced. The idea of dedicated car and truck lanes is appealing. What has not been mentioned about this idea, is that the miles will be tolled Some have said as much as $.58 cpm for big rigs. This is not the time for that. But the Teamsters insist on using this misinformation to try and keep the Mexican trucks out.
Jimmy Jr and the Teamsters continually point to this fictional account of Mexican truckers to help clarify the rhetoric that has colored this debate
While it offers only anecdotal evidence that Mexican truckers pose a particular road hazard, and draws no tangible comparisons or contrasts between them and their counterparts north of the border, its language ironically seems to uphold the gravest fears of xenophobia leveled by critics of the Teamsters’ position. Referring to the plan to allow select Mexican truck fleets into the US as floating “over the horizon like an approaching storm at sea” and calling drivers who might enter the US “shock troops” sounds troublingly xenophobic to us. The wholly unsubstantiated claim that “all [Mexican] truck drivers” are “drug-addicted” deserves no response. The charge of Mexican truckers’ allegedly frequent encounters with prostitutes (the reporter callously tells us “A [Mexican] woman costs about $20…”!) is not just rude, irrelevant and none of our business; it is laughable when implied to contrast with the lifestyles of some American truckers.
Since Mexican truckers will be governed by the same regulations as US drivers, the story simply is not about what they now get away with in Mexico. Surely we cannot assume that in the current political climate, Mexican nationals will face less scrutiny under US federal and state enforcement regimes compared to American citizen drivers, the vast majority of whom are white, according to a 2005 report by Global Insight. Indeed, excepting the possibility of a high-level conspiracy to give Hispanic truckers a collective pass on US roadways, it is only logical to expect those newly introduced drivers will face the same prejudices Latinos encounter everywhere from law enforcement personnel in the United States – that is, disproportionately strong “oversight.”
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The “American Union” is no myth. It’s real, GW wants it and he wants it now. It’s not even a conspiracy theory, it’s out in the open in front of everyone. The latest amnesty bill has an amendment that brings the Union that much closer, that’s why the administration is pushing it down our throats. It’s no myth. spp.gov it’s all right there, in front of God and everyone to see.
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Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP):
Myth vs. Fact
Myth: The SPP was an agreement signed by Presidents Bush and his Mexican and Canadian counterparts in Waco, TX, on March 23, 2005.
Fact: The SPP is a dialogue to increase security and enhance prosperity among the three countries. The SPP is not an agreement nor is it a treaty. In fact, no agreement was ever signed.
Myth: The SPP is a movement to merge the United States, Mexico, and Canada into a North American Union and establish a common currency.
Fact: The cooperative efforts under the SPP, which can be found in detail at http://www.spp.gov, seek to make the United States, Canada and Mexico open to legitimate trade and closed to terrorism and crime. It does not change our courts or legislative processes and respects the sovereignty of the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The SPP in no way, shape or form considers the creation of a European Union-like structure or a common currency. The SPP does not attempt to modify our sovereignty or currency or change the American system of government designed by our Founding Fathers.
Myth: The SPP is being undertaken without the knowledge of the U.S. Congress.
Fact: U.S. agencies involved with SPP regularly update and consult with members of Congress on our efforts and plans.
Myth: The SPP infringes on the sovereignty of the United States.
Fact: The SPP respects and leaves the unique cultural and legal framework of each of the three countries intact. Nothing in the SPP undermines the U.S. Constitution. In no way does the SPP infringe upon the sovereignty of the United States.
Myth: The SPP is illegal and violates the Constitution.
Fact: The SPP is legal and in no way violates the Constitution or affects the legal authorities of the participating executive agencies. Indeed, the SPP is an opportunity for the governments of the United States, Canada, and Mexico to discuss common goals and identify ways to enhance each nation’s security and prosperity. If an action is identified, U.S. federal agencies can only operate within U.S. law to address these issues. The Departments of Commerce and Homeland Security coordinate the efforts of the agencies responsible for the various initiatives under the prosperity and security pillars of the SPP. If an agency were to decide a regulatory change is desirable through the cooperative efforts of SPP, that agency is required to conform to all existing U.S. laws and administrative procedures, including an opportunity to comment.
Myth: The U.S section of the SPP is headed by the Department of Commerce.
Fact: The SPP is a White House-driven initiative. In the United States, the Department of Commerce coordinates the ‘Prosperity’ component, while the Department of Homeland Security coordinates the ‘Security’ component. The Department of State ensures the two components are coordinated and are consistent with U.S. foreign policy.
Myth: The U.S. Government, working though the SPP, has a secret plan to build a “NAFTA Super Highway.”
Fact: The U.S. government is not planning a NAFTA Super Highway. The U.S. government does not have the authority to designate any highway as a NAFTA Super Highway, nor has it sought such authority, nor is it planning to seek such authority. There are private and state level interests planning highway projects which they themselves describe as “NAFTA Corridors,” but these are not Federally-driven initiatives, and they are not a part of the SPP.
Myth: The U.S. Government, through the Department of Transportation, is funding secretive highway projects to become part of a “NAFTA Super Highway”.
Fact: Many States in the American Midwest are proposing or undertaking highway projects to improve or build roads as Federal-aid and State or private sector revenue becomes available. All projects involving Federal-aid funds or approvals are subject to normal Federal-aid requirements, such as review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), including public involvement. This public involvement, the common thread among all these activities, makes them anything but “secret.” In addition, Congress directs Department of Transportation funding for specific highway projects.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) will continue to cooperate with the State transportation departments as they build and upgrade highways to meet the needs of the 21st century. Rather than evidence of a secret plan to create a NAFTA Super Highway that would undermine our national sovereignty, the FHWA’s efforts are a routine part of cooperation with all the State transportation departments to improve the Nation’s highways.
Myth: U.S. Government officials sponsored a secret SPP planning meeting in Banff, Alberta in September 2006.
Fact: The U.S. Government did not sponsor the meeting in Banff. The North American Forum, a private initiative that is separate from the U.S. Government, hosted the September 12-14, 2006 conference “Continental Prosperity in the New Security Environment.” Academics, businesspersons, private citizens, and government officials from the U.S., Mexican, and Canadian governments attended the conference. The North American Forum is not a product of the SPP.
Myth: The SPP will cost U.S. taxpayers money.
Fact: The SPP is being implemented with existing budget resources. Over the long-term, it will save U.S. taxpayers money by cutting through costly red tape and reducing redundant paperwork. This initiative will benefit the taxpayers through economic gain and increased security, thereby enhancing the competitiveness and quality of life in our countries.
Myth: The working groups and SPP documents are a secret and not available to the public.
Fact: The SPP’s initiatives and milestones with timelines can be found by clicking the Report to Leaders link at http://www.spp.gov. The Web site contains a section to enable interested persons to provide input directly to the various working groups.
Myth: The SPP seeks to lower U.S. standards through a regulatory cooperation framework.
Fact: The framework will support and enhance cooperation and encourage the compatibility of regulations among the three partners while maintaining high standards of health and safety. Any regulatory changes will require agencies to conform to all U.S. administrative procedures, including an opportunity to comment. Enhanced cooperation in this area will provide consumers with more affordable, safer, and more diversified and innovative products.
Myth: The SPP is meant to deal with immigration reform and trade disputes.
Fact: Immigration reform is a legislative matter currently being debated in Congress and is not being dealt with in the SPP. Likewise, trade disputes between the United States, Canada, and Mexico are resolved in the NAFTA and WTO mechanisms and not the SPP.
Myth: The SPP will result in the loss of American jobs.
Fact: The SPP seeks to create jobs by reducing transaction costs and unnecessary burdens for U.S. companies, which will bolster the competitiveness of our firms globally. These efforts will help U.S. manufacturers, spur job creation, and benefit consumers.
Myth: The SPP will harm our quality of life.
Fact: The SPP improves the safety and well-being of Americans. It builds on efforts to protect our environment, improves our ability to combat infectious diseases, such as avian influenza, and ensures our food supply is safe through the exchange of information and cooperation ? improving the quality of life for U.S. citizens. Americans enjoy world class living standards because we are engaged with the world.
Myth: The SPP creates a NAFTA-plus legal status between the three countries.
Fact: The SPP does not seek to rewrite or renegotiate NAFTA. It creates no NAFTA-plus legal status.
I see nothing in there to threaten U.S. sovereignty or inpede or circumvent our laws.
If initiated as stated, there is no NAU. Simpy three countries on one continent mutually cooperating with one another.
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That’s a lot of koolaid to take in all at once Rev. Even if it is just for free trade, they are putting business above everything including security. This free trade is behind the current immigration amnesty and part of the SPP is in the current legislation.
The rest? Probably looks good on paper, but like anything else the government touches is really far from reality.
And just like now, the government will make whatever laws that sound good, but will only enforce what it wants.
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