• Say not so fast to fast track
    We have heard little about Trans Pacific Partnership and Fast Track most of the last two years, it has been inadequately disclosed to both the American public as well as to our Congresspersons who will nonetheless be asked to vote to put TPP up on Fast Track. It has been introduced by Senators Hatch & Wyden. TPP is a corporate Coup d'etat. It is NAFTA on steroids. NAFTA aka North American Free Trade Act promised to create good American jobs and financial strength but failed to do so. 600 Corporate interests and 12 Nations Reps have negotiated something that is labeled as a trade agreement but from what we know it would more accurately be identified as a treaty; a treaty for the sovereignty of multinational corporations. Corporate negotiations have occurred under a veil of secrecy lacking transparency with little interest by most of the well known media to inform the general public. Since NAFTA, personal household income has been stagnant yet corporate earnings have consistently risen . Before NAFTA , 30% of the American work force belonged to unions now it’s down to 11% .NAFTA has been a disaster despite rosy promises during the Clinton administration. NAFTA was fast tracked . TPP and Fast Track is a race to the bottom. Communication Workers President Larry Cohen has said “We have one message: No more fast Track. We need Fair Trade, ” In the wording of the current treaty, the corporations address the notion of an investor state that would have the right to sue any level of government for regulations while bypassing our judicial system through a corporate tribunal like Judge Judy. Any community which would attempt to uphold safety standards which corporations see as hindrances to their profitability and want to sue for lost future profits ( opportunity costs) would be a target. Already, Corporations should not get exemptions from disclosing the toxic chemicals used in their hydraulic fracking process (Haliburton exemption) we know fracking fluid includes Benzene compounds but the exact compounds are not required to be disclosed so when fracking fluid runs into public drinking water and destroys the underground aquifers there is not enough proof to win a suit against the frackers. We need to maintain our ability to strengthen safety and environmental standards. We need our elected officials to pay attention to our interests. Representative Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) was quoted “Having seen what I’ve seen, I would characterize the TPP as a gross abrogation of American sovereignty,” he told The Huffington Post. It is unforgivable that under Fast Track, elected Representatives of the US Congress would be granted only limited access to view sections of the document and then only after abiding by restrictions being 1) prohibition from taking notes or photos 2) prohibition from bringing assistants 3) prohibition from viewing the entire text and 4) with one hour time limits as well to view ! Considering Pres. Obama’s campaign promises of transparency , it is truly bizarre that the President would ever ask Congress to consider accepting a treaty or trade agreement without adequate time to study the corporate draft and allow for the usual debate process associated with representative democracies, republics or constitutional monarchies . The TPP corporate draft may well be characterized as the antithesis of the Declaration of Independence and Magna Carta. It does not deserve Fast Track, we the people deserve representation, TPP corporations have shown countless examples of disregard for citizens right’s to safe food, water, air to breath, environmental standards, health , jobs , living wages, medicine, internet accessibility ,alternative energy production, energy distribution and our financial stability . For over 240 years we’ve presumably elected officials to look after our interests. Although President Barack Obama originally ran for office on a platform of improving government transparency and lambasted Hillary for Bill Clinton's signing of NAFTA, the contrast between reality and those earlier promises are startling. Many Democrats and some Republicans have either signed or voiced their opposition to Fast Track. Fast Track calls for a yes or no vote by the legislator without the usual debate process and no amendments allowed. Congresswoman DeLauro of Connecticut and 150 House Democrats took the bold move and signed a letter to oppose Fast Track. Corporate giveaways must end now.
    20 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Marc Heineman
  • Recover money from Creatinv ltd
    HOW ARE YOU ALL FRIENDS FROM ALL OF OVER THE WORLD Every one want to earn money with little . There are very trusted company like mytrafficvalue and paidverts but some company say that we are very trusted and its for long term but our friends withdrawal are still pending we appeal for Government of US and department of US for INTERNET FREE FROM SCAMER THAT RETURN OUR MONEY FROM THAT COMPANY. MUHAMMAD SAJID SOHAIL FROM PAKISTAN Sign here
    260 of 300 Signatures
    Created by Muhammad Sajid Sohail
  • LABEL GMO's in THE UNITED STATES
    GMO's should be labeled so we can decide to buy them or not.
    11 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Sherra Franklin
  • Stop Smart Meters in Rains County
    I am a physician who practices environmental medicine and have seen many people who are becoming ill and electrically sensitive after a smart meter was installed on their home. The thousands of scientific studies showing harmful effects from this type of radiation are not being considered by the FCC for safe limits of exposure. It has been declared a carcinogen by the World Health Organization and the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
    12 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Stephanie McCarter
  • Regulation of Monsanto Act (ROMA)
    This petition is about the future health of our species. We have become human guinea pigs thanks to Monsanto and the government looking the other way. It must stop.
    24 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Regulation of Monsanto Act (ROMA)
  • SEB Scuba Diver Protection and Safety Act
    Each year hundreds of people die in the USA because of the total lack of rules and regulations in the scuba diving industry. Divers sign waivers that allow scuba dive companies to operate with a total lack of accountability and responsibility. Stephen E. Benavidez (beloved husband, father, son, brother, uncle, cousin and friend) died when he was sent down with an empty air tank while on vacation in the Florida Keys in April 2014. Within minutes he re-surfaced and called for help and gestured that he was out of air. Steve was only 30 feet away from the boat yet no one went to his aid. In the Florida Keys several people die every month due to the gross negligence of the scuba diving industry. One police officer from South Florida said “My biggest pet peeve about the diving industry is this—first and foremost it’s a money making industry. Diving companies will cut whatever corners they deem necessary if it means they will make money. I have personally seen tragedies that should never have happened. "
    210 of 300 Signatures
    Created by Bernadette Vadurro
  • Be Heard on the Trans-Pacific Partnership
    Sign our letter to remind President Obama that seven years ago Iowans embraced his call for change and were the initial boost in his journey to the White House. In 2012, a majority of us rewarded him with our votes yet again, in large part because we understood the difficult economic waters he had to navigate. We are a better country today because of President Obama's stewardship – but it could all be stalled with the fast-tracking of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. He has worked throughout his Presidency to keep the promises he made to Iowans seven years ago. We ask him to continue to keep those promises.
    148 of 200 Signatures
    Created by Gary Kroeger
  • Rename Chris Matthews Show “Softball”
    Chris Matthews asked only rhetorical questions meant to give President Obama a platform to deliberately tear down Senator Elizabeth Warren, who has come out strongly against Fast Track and the TPP, especially the Investor State Dispute Settlement process or ISDS. Matthews never asked the president why hundreds of civic organizations, faith groups and every single Union, have come out strongly against the TPP. Chris Matthews just said they’re all wrong and the president is right, despite the statistics that show NAFTA-style free trade agreements have devastated the economy and wages, as workers must compete with low foreign wages. Chris Matthews could have thrown hardballs at Obama, but he didn’t, instead giving the president a platform to just say, “Trust me.” Chris Matthews never asked hard questions like, “Why is the text of the TPP classified,” or won’t extending patents raise medicine prices under Medicare and Medicaid and to the public? Why won’t you release the text now for the public to see? There are lots of hardballs Chris Matthews could have thrown, but instead, he chose to lob softballs at a time when the Public needs to know what is being negotiated in their name. Perhaps the Chris Matthews Show should be renamed “Softball.” Links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzfxv2XQoPg http://www.c-span.org/video/?323650-1/news-conference-opposition-fast-track-authority http://www.msnbc.com/hardball/watch/president-obama-defends-tpp-deal-431711811768
    294 of 300 Signatures
    Created by Harriet Heywood
  • Universities: Support Bangladeshi Workers, Cut JanSport/VF
    VF Corporation, the largest maker of branded apparel in the world, is the parent company of popular brands including the North Face, Vans, JanSport, Timberland, and 32 others. In Bangladesh, VF Corporation sources from 90 factories, employing over 190,000 garment workers, and VF refuses to listen to its Bangladeshi workers and sign a legally-binding agreement for fire and building safety in the factories. Following the Rana Plaza factory disaster, and with immense public pressure, brands took action by signing onto a legally binding contract called the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh. Currently the Accord has over 190 brands signatories from 21 countries all around the world, including over 18 American brands. Although 190 brands including Adidas, H&M, Calvin Klein, and Tommy Hilfiger have made a legally binding commitment to improve safety for the workers producing in Bangladesh, VF has refused to make the same legally-binding commitment and improvements for their workers. University and college students, as part of United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS), have spent the last 18 months running a national campaign to demand VF sign onto the Accord. Disappointingly, VF has instead partnered with Walmart to create an alternative, corporate-controlled program called the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety. Since its formation, the Alliance has been extensively criticized for its lack of real worker representation, binding commitments to implement changes called for by independent inspectors, and legal accountability. JanSport/VF’s violations in Bangladesh are the most egregious cases in the maelstrom of other sweatshop abuses at its supplier factories, including stolen severance pay in Honduras, poverty wages in Cambodia that have led to massive worker strikes, and violence against union activists. In the last year, 17 universities have ended 21 contracts with JanSport/VF over the systemic presence of sweatshop conditions throughout the company’s supply chain, as well as VF’s refusal to address urgent threats to worker safety by signing the Bangladesh Safety Accord. All universities should follow suit! VF’s Global Track Record The abuses within VF’s supply chain, both in Bangladesh and globally, are innumerable. Below is a sampling of cases that demonstrate VF’s involvement in worker exploitation and injustice. In December 2010, four Bangladeshi garment workers died and 100 were injured in clashes with police outside a factory owned by the Korean-based YoungOne group, a major producer of North Face and owner of the rights to North Face in Korea. At issue was failure of the YoungOne factory to implement a new minimum wage increase. In 2010, VF was producing at That’s It Sportswear factory in Bangladesh (owned by Hameem Group), which burned, killing 29 workers and injuring more than a hundred. The factory had illegal construction, no proper fire exits, shoddy wiring, and locked exit doors. Workers were trapped on the top floors of the factory. Many jumped to their deaths. VF had repeatedly inspected the factory and yet had completely failed to address the safety hazards. In October of 2012, another VF factory, Eurotex, which was disclosed as a producer of collegiate apparel, burned in Dhaka. This was a major fire, though it did not completely destroy the factory. No one was killed in the fire, because the factory was closed for a holiday – if the fire had occurred during the workday, many could have died. When contacted about this fire, VF claimed that their own disclosure data was wrong and they had stopped using the factory. In August of 2013, the Worker Rights Consortium conducted a safety assessment of Optimum Fashion, a long-time VF contract factory producing collegiate apparel. After VF attempted to prevent the WRC from accessing the factory, the WRC’s inspection uncovered a number of very serious safety hazards, all of which constitute violations of university code of conduct provisions requiring licensees to maintain safe workplaces and any of which could result in injury or death to workers. These violations “included inadequate means for workers to escape the factory in the event of a fire and structural flaws that would facilitate the rapid and widespread propagation of deadly smoke throughout the factory building.” In January of 2014, a 20 year old YoungOne worker was shot and killed by police during a strike over stolen wages despite promises by YoungOne group to change its practices after the aforementioned 2010 murders. YoungOne produces up to 40% of all of The North Face’s apparel. On April 2, 2014, over 48,000 workers walked off the job at the Yue Yuen factory, a supplier for Timberland (a VF brand), in China’s largest strike in recent memory. The Yue Yuen workers had been robbed of years of legally owed social insurance payments and it was only after a massive strike in which several workers were beaten and kidnapped that the factory agreed to begin paying full social insurance and higher wages. On June 20, 2014 in Bangladesh, the Medlar Apparels factory caught fire, a factory that has supplied VF apparel as far back as 2007. This fire occurred despite the fact that VF claimed to have “completed 100% of inspections at Bangladeshi factories where VF product is sourced.” The factory was initially successfully evacuated, but workers were instructed to reenter the burning building to fight the fire and presumably save equipment like sewing machines, thus resulting in several workers being injured. VF later applauded their own dangerous training program that teaches workers to fight factory fires. In 2014, a potentially fatal inspection procedure was exposed at a VF factory in Bangladesh called Sinha Knitting. In July, the Accord audited Sinha and concluded that the factory’s concrete columns were severely over-stressed, enough so that the Accord recommended immediate closure due to the danger it posed to workers. However prior to this...
    1,140 of 2,000 Signatures
    Created by Leewana Thomas
  • Robert Helmick, Larimer County Local Government Designee (LGD): Appeal COGCC approval of Peterson...
    On 4/17/15, COGCC approved the Peterson Energy applications for 6 wells to be drilled near Bethke Elementary School. These applications still have wrong information and raise safety and health concerns. As the Larimer County Local Government Designee (LGD), Mr. Robert Helmick is the only person that can appeal the decision to approve the applications on behalf of the concerned and impacted public. Please insist that Mr. Helmick exercise his right to appeal the approval of the applications to the Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission.
    465 of 500 Signatures
    Created by Concerned Larimer County Resident
  • Tell the NY Senate: Close the LLC Loophole!
    New Yorkers agree: It's time to shut down the "LLC loophole," once and for all. The Board of Elections failed to act, but the Senate can still do it before the end of the legislative session. Sign the petition and tell your Senator to close this loophole!
    22 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Every Voice
  • Nubia's plea: No one should die like Randy. Sign her petition to Darigold
    My name is Nubia Guajardo and on February 25th I lost the love of my life, and the father of my children. Recently the UFW shared with all of you the story of the tragic death of my love Randy Vasquez, who died drowned in a manure pond at Riverview Dairy, which provides milk to Darigold, located in Mabton, (eastern) WA. I've lived in Sunnyside, WA for almost all my life, a place surrounded by dairies. At this point in my life I have gotten used to the potent smell of manure and the flies; I just can't get used to being without Randy. Through this email I want to thank you for your support. However, we still need to do more. Neither Darigold, nor the farm owner have reached out to me or the UFW after Randy drowned. Can you imagine how awful it was to explain Randy’s death to my children? All of the people who loved Randy want to know what Darigold and the farm have done to ensure worker safety. I want to make sure that no other family has to endure the pain of losing their loved one and also that no other dairy worker has to endure the harsh working conditions Randy experienced as a dairy worker. He, like many other dairy workers around here, worked in an unsafe workplace. He told me he got his wages shorted. He got injured on the job before. He told me that he brought his own drinking water to work and he described having to eat his meal as he milked cows. I know he never thought that he would lose his life drowning in a manure pit. Darigold and their farms claim to take pride nurturing families around the world with the milk and dairy products they produce. I would like for them to take the same pride to secure the safe and healthy working conditions of those who make their products possible. Please help me ask Jim Wegner, Darigold CEO for a meeting by signing this petition today!
    5,011 of 6,000 Signatures
    Created by Nubia Guajardo