The Stories Project

Dave Philpott
Vale, OR
475 jobs lost due to CAFTA
Plant closure: Amalgamated Sugar Nyssa, OR 2005
If I had five minutes with Gordon Smith I would ask him how he thinks CAFTA would be good when so many jobs are being lost. Is he not aware of the jobs that were lost? Do they not count?”
[Hear Dave’s Story]
Cassie Simms
Hermiston,OR
650 jobs lost
due to NAFTA

Plant Closure: JR Simplot
Hermiston, OR 2004
“I can’t imagine closing a plant of 650 employees not having an impact on a community. I can’t picture that. I can drive around and see practically on every block one to two houses empty.”
[Hear Cassies Story]
Owen Froer
Nyssa, OR
Grower
Sugar Beets, Mint, Asparagus, Pototoes, other
“Some of the politicians want to cater to big corporations but they are just wiping out the farmers of this nation.”
“There is no level playing field; in Mexico they can use cheap labor and young kids to produce crops. We can’t do that and we don’t want to do that…”
[Hear Owen’s Story]

74,500 Oregonians lost jobs due to NAFTA-style free trade agreements since 1994.

Now we’re holding elected officials accountable for trade policies that eliminate and outsource Oregon jobs.

Read the Reports –
“Livelihoods Traded Away” and “Faces of Free Trade and Job Loss”

Hear the Stories – Audio Clips of Interviews

Watch the Videos– YouTube Compilations
Take Action – ORFTC Action Center

Laid-off workers, small business owners, grower, ranchers, and elected leaders — we bring our voices through the Stories Project. Speaking up is the first step to challenging NAFTA-style free trade policies

We work together for fair trade policies that reflect the values of our state.

HAVE A STORY YOU WANT TO SHARE? Contact us at orftc@citizenstrade.org or call 503-736-9777

“Faces of Free Trade and Job Loss” in the News:

Global Trade, Outsourcing Cost Oregon 68,000 Jobs Since 1994 (The Oregonian)
Report Says Outsourcing Deals Lead to Woodburn Plant Closing (The Statesman Journal)
Report Claims Oregon Has Lost 68,000 Jobs Since NAFTA (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
Campaign Urges Senators to Challenge Free Trade Pact with Peru (The Capital Press)

Anti-NAFTA Group Says Trade Causing Job Losses (The Northwest Labor Press)

PRESS RELEASE: “Free Trade” a major cause of job loss across Oregon, report says