The Communications Workers of America is preparing to...

The Communications Workers of America is preparing to “underwrite” an ad in opposition to trade promotion authority (TPA) and is seeking a national organization to sign on to the effort, said an email circulated by CWA. Under TPA, commonly called fast-track, Congress agrees to suspend normal legislative procedure for trade bills, offering no amendments, limiting debate and making a simple up-or-down vote. “Fast track has had a difficult month because of the great work done by a broad range of groups,” and “now it’s time to do more,” said Kenneth Peres, CWA chief economist, in the email. He said the ad would “reflect the breadth of opposition to Fast Track.” CWA doesn’t have “definite plans for a particular publication at this time,” though it and others “have been raising concerns about fast track authority for” the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a spokeswoman for the union told us. Those concerns also apply to other trade deals where citizens groups, so-called greens, workers and members of “Congress are shut out of the negotiating process, as has been the case with” TPP, she said. The ad would include recent poll results showing “62 percent of voters oppose fast track authority for the” TPP, and a list of groups that have signed on, the email said. The poll, done by the Hart Research Associates and Chesapeake Beach Consulting Jan. 14-18, was commissioned by CWA, the Sierra Club and the U.S. Business Industry Council (http://bit.ly/1n7DjCJ).