Steelworkers cross country to oppose China trade ties
Some visit Capitol to bring message to lawmakers; others rally at home

By Clayton Bellamy and Hannelore Sudermann - Staff writers

WASHINGTON -- A handful of Spokane's locked-out Kaiser Steelworkers lobbied at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, urging Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. George Nethercutt to oppose normalized trade relations with China.

Back in Spokane, more than 40 of their co-workers and other members of the community held a rally Thursday night to send the same message.

They didn't change any minds about foreign policy, but Murray did promise to urge more talks in their 19-month lockout.

At a series of meetings with members of the Washington delegation or their staffs, the workers objected to China's human rights record and lax environmental regulations. They also said they are concerned that jobs would move across the Pacific if Congress approved permanent normal trade relations with China.

At the meetings, the union members were politely told thanks for stopping by, but most members would still vote to expand trade with China.

The meetings and the vigil in Spokane were part of a union effort that began Tuesday with an AFL-CIO rally on the steps of the Capitol. The Spokane members of the United Steelworkers of America are among more than 10,000 union activists gathering in the nation's capital to voice their disapproval of improving trade relations with China.

These Steelworkers are no strangers to activism. One was jailed and another tear-gassed at the World Trade Organization protests in Seattle late last year.

The Kaiser lockout "has created a bunch of activists," said Kaiser Trentwood worker John Goodman, who was among the Steelworker forces at the Capitol.

Murray, a Democrat, later said that without establishing trade relations, America would be deprived of the benefits of Chinese trade concessions that other countries would get. As part of the deal struck last year, China agreed to significantly lower tariffs on imported goods.

"It's the ticket for China getting into the World Trade Organization," said economist Tom Wahl, at Washington State University. "With China in the WTO, we're going to see reduced barriers to trade for everything. That's good for agriculture in the Northwest."

But for many who work in sales and industry in Spokane, the deal doesn't seem quite as good.

"I feel that right here in Spokane it's like a third-world country," said Kevik Galik, an organizer with the United Food and Commercial Workers. "We have companies like WalMart coming in and keeping wages low and they're bringing in goods from China."

Galik joined the protesters under umbrellas and rain ponchos at the doors of the federal courthouse in downtown Spokane Thursday night. The group, which included City Councilwoman Cherie Rodgers and Congregational Minister Ron Baer, talked about sweatshops and poor working conditions in China, where some people work in walled compounds, are paid as little as 12 cents a day and have no breaks or benefits.

"It's a country that enslaves people and forces them to produce products for our people, " said Larry Hall, also with the UFCW. "Please call George Nethercutt and tell him that you don't favor China."

Nethercutt, who was busy voting Thursday afternoon, was not available for comment, but his spokesman Tom McArthur said the Spokane Republican believes in looking for more opportunities to sell the region's produce in markets that are currently closed.

Two members of the Washington delegation, Republican Rep. Jack Metcalf of Langley and Democratic Rep. Brian Baird of Olympia, are undecided on the China question.

Metcalf told Steelworkers he preferred an annual review of China, known as most favored nation status, to be used as "a sword over their heads" to force improvements.

Because Metcalf is a swing vote, the Spokane Steelworkers were joined by one of the union's national lobbyists in trying to sway him. But Metcalf's district includes the Boeing Co., which is lobbying hard for passage.

Democratic Rep. Jay Inslee of Bainbridge Island told Steelworkers Thursday that Boeing sales executives are saying China will be the biggest market for jet planes in the next 10 years.

The unions are concerned about environmental problems in China and Inslee was named Thursday a "champion for the environment" by the League of Conservation Voters. But Inslee told the workers why he supported normalized trade.

"My view is that lower Chinese tariffs are better than high ones," he said.

Although they were rejected by a lawmaker they hoped would be in their corner, Goodman left the meeting feeling hopeful.

"He has a good heart so I think I can change his mind," he said.