International-trade politics came to San Diego Wednesday as labor unions and environmental groups opposing new “fast track” negotiating authority for President Obama demonstrated outside Rep. Scott Peter‘s office.
The Sierra Club, the International Brotherhood of Electric Workers and other organizations want Peters to vote against legislation that would prevent Congress from amending a trade pact the administration is negotiating with 11 Pacific Rim countries.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a major goal of President Obama and would be easier to conclude without a lengthy Congressional review.
“All of these diverse organizations are asking that Congress do its job,” said Hugh Moore, a volunteer with the environmental group SanDiego350.org.
Peters was on a trade mission to London, but some three dozen protesters met with a staff member and dropped off hundreds of letters.
Opposition to the legislation has united liberal Democrats and Tea Party Republicans, who fear free trade in the Pacific will cost American jobs. Environmentalists worry the pact could make it harder to address climate change.
Peters, who represents Coronado, La Jolla and much of central San Diego County, is a centrist Democrat who received a rare endorsement from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce last year.
