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Hoffa Appointed to Key Trade Post
A Voice For Working Families
In September, Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa was appointed as a member of the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations (ACTPN) by President Barack Obama.
“It is a great honor to serve on the committee and advise President Obama on trade matters,” Hoffa said. “I look forward to being a voice for working families and helping our country formulate a trade policy that helps American workers.”
Along with Hoffa, Obama appointed other labor leaders to the ACTPN: Leo Gerard, President of the Steelworkers Union, and Joseph Hansen, International President of the United Food and Commercial Workers.
“These men and women have demonstrated knowledge and dedication throughout their careers,” said President Obama of his new appointments. “I am grateful they have chosen to take on these important roles, and I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come.”
The ACTPN advises the president on the negotiation of new trade deals, implementation of U.S. trade law and the resolution of trade disputes. Each ACTPN member serves a term of two years.
This isn’t Hoffa’s first term as a member of the ACTPN. He is widely acknowledged as one of the most prominent voices on unfair trade policies, and his Labor Day speech, alongside Vice President Joe Biden, proved why.
“People forgot what unions have done. We stand on the shoulders of the people before us they got us here and it’s our job to take it the rest of the way,” Hoffa said at a rally in Detroit prior to the city’s annual Labor Day parade. “Where did the eight-hour a day come from? Unions. Where did the 40-hour work-week come from? Unions. Where did Social Security come from? Unions. Where did paid vacations come from? Unions.”
Thousands of union men and women brought their families out to the rally and raised their voices to celebrate everything labor has done for them and to support the ongoing fight for the state and nation’s future.
“I still know how to say how to say the word ‘union,’” Biden said. “I talk about unions because you’re the reason why every other American worker has any of the basic rights they have – because of unions. It’s not hyperbole, unions did in fact build the middle class and here’s what that did – that built the United States of America as we know it.”