Around 200 people held a rally in downtown Bismarck, outside the Guy Federal Building.
They protested the new Trans Pacific Partnership Trade agreement. They carried signs, and chanted "TPP has got to go."
“We got labor groups, we’ve got union members, we’ve got faith groups here," said North Dakota AFL-CIO president Waylon Hedegaard. "We have people who represent a lot of different groups in the city and in the state.”
Waylon Hedegaard says although to TPP supporters it is a good deal, it isn’t. And he says the American worker will suffer.
“We feel very strongly this is going to take American jobs and ship them overseas," Hedegaard said. "It’s going to lower American wages. And it’s going to do nothing around the world to stop human rights abuses or human trafficking."
Hedegaard said the entire deal was negotiated by corporations.
"Labor wasn’t at the table," Hedegaard said. "Human rights organizations weren’t at the table. This thing is not for people. This thing is for corporate rights. And there is no fixing it at this point, as we see it.”
Hedegaard says the protestors are urging the state’s Congressional delegation to vote “no” on the agreement.
