In today’s Interviews from Washington our host Jorge Gestoso interviews Celeste Drake on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Drake is the Trade Specialist for the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of labor unions in the United States. She says that the AFL-CIO is not necessarily against the TPP but they don’t like the way negotiations are going, and they are especially concerned about the administration having fast track authority, which means secrecy, limited debate and no possibility for amendments. Drake says there are many concerns about the TPP because in general, trade agreements are negotiated in the interests of a very small economic elite and that the privileges go to the corporation. Only the rights of investors are considered and not the rights of citizens. It is true, she says, that there is a promise that labor rights will be respected, and the AFL-CIO thinks that these agreements could favor workers if they are guaranteed the right to organize, form unions and bargain, but usually, just the opposite happens. All the benefit goes to capital and workers continue to be disempowered. Since the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement of 1994, the workers in the United States, Mexico and Canada are worse off than before. There are fewer union members, more people living in poverty, increased migration and growing inequality. The AFL-CIO fears that the same thing will happen with the TPP.