Thursday, February 09, 2006

8th CD Cong. Bean on TV/Web: CAFTA, Trade and Labor

Jeff Berkowitz: Chuck Harple is a national Teamsters political director, you know Chuck?

Cong. Melissa Bean: I am familiar with Chuck.

Berkowitz: He said, he said he had talked with you about this and he said if a President Kerry had asked you to support CAFTA, you said you still wouldn’t do it.

Cong. Melissa Bean: You know, I would have to talk to Chuck. I don’t know what he is referencing. I do not recall any conversation like that with him.
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Included below is a partial transcript of our show with Cong. Bean, which is airing this week in the suburbs [See here for the suburban airing schedule and see here for more about the show] and will air throughout the City of Chicago this coming Monday night at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21 [CANTV]. To watch it on your computer, please [go here].
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Jeff Berkowitz: About a month ago, I watched you on Dick Kay’s City Desk [NBC-5, Chicago, December 11, 2005], and one of the issues that he raised was the labor issue that he said was an issue [raised] by a lot of the folks in the labor movement—you voted to support CAFTA [Central American Free Trade Agreement], right?

Cong. Melissa Bean [D-Barrington, 8th Cong. Dist.] I did.

Berkowitz: You voted yes on that.

Cong. Melissa Bean: Um, um.

Berkowitz: And he raised the issue as to whether you had told the folks [in Labor] and he may have said in particular the Teamsters, and this is raised in an article of January 29, 2006 by Bob Novak in the Sun-Times [See here] as to whether you had told the Teamsters before the election [in 2004] that this is something you would not vote to support, the Central American Free Trade Agreement.

Cong. Melissa Bean: I did not.

Berkowitz: You did not [tell them that]?

Cong. Melissa Bean: No.

Berkowitz: And, so—

Cong. Melissa Bean: I had always said I would look at trade agreements and look for trade agreements that would expand market opportunities for our nation and particularly for my District. My District [the 8th CD] has an agricultural sector that benefits from good trade agreements and certainly a business district that does, as well, in the Central American areas that were covered by this free trade agreement. As far as labor is concerned, and I have many friends amongst labor that I work with today and continue to support. Their issues were to make sure that there were regulations in place—to protect, you know, the environmental protections and trade protections. And, those labor protections—those were in the agreement to my satisfaction. As I said, those would be the only type of agreements I’d support.

Berkowitz: What Novak says, he doesn’t refer to who it is, but he says an unnamed Teamsters’ official said that you had promised you’d vote against CAFTA; even if a Democratic President (this is somewhat before the 2004 election) had gotten elected and asked you to support CAFTA, you wouldn’t. Nothing like that happened?

Cong. Melissa Bean: I have no idea what you are talking about.

Berkowitz: Okay, so, but you did get a lot of support from labor [in 2002 and 2004].

Cong. Melissa Bean: I did. And, I can—

Berkowitz: From the Teamsters, as well as other unions, right?

Cong. Melissa Bean: There were a number of different organizations that supported me: Teamsters, postal workers, people in my district, we had plenty of business people and moms and dads and grandmas and students, all stepping up to help bring about some change in the 8th [Cong.] District, and I was glad to get support from across my district.

Berkowitz: You are saying you talked with Labor about that, about the CAFTA vote, but there were no promises about whether you would support them, or under what conditions you would or wouldn’t support them?

Cong. Melissa Bean: No.

Berkowitz: Chuck Harple is a national Teamsters political director, you know Chuck?

Cong. Melissa Bean: I am familiar with Chuck.

Berkowitz: He said, he said he had talked with you about this and he said if a President Kerry had asked you to support CAFTA, you said you still wouldn’t do it.

Cong. Melissa Bean: You know, I would have to talk to Chuck. I don’t know what he is referencing. I do not recall any conversation like that with him.

Berkowitz: But, more broadly, will that be an issue because you are running in a tough district, and where do you feel you are now with labor, not just the Teamsters, but SEIU, machinists, the firefighters. Do you think you still have a good relationship with Labor? [For a column that touches on these issues, as well as where the National Association of Manufacturers may fit in on these issues, [See here][Please note that although the column regarding the NAM and CAFTA bears today's date, that is simply a manifestation of the way it appears online. In actuality, the column first appeared in the "Hill," last year.

Cong. Melissa Bean: I have a great relationship with people across my district. Like I said, labor, business, students, teachers, families. I am out connecting with people at grocery stores. I am going to chambers of commerce. I am meeting with all the constituencies in my district and I haven’t had a particular constituency that is unhappy with me. There might be a particular person in one group or another that is going to differ, but I think with any member of Congress you are going to have someone who differs with you and I think where I differed with Labor on this issue and there were some who differed with me on this, I respectfully disagree with them. There are plenty of things we agree on.
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Congresswoman Melissa Bean [D-Barrington, 8th Cong. Dist.] , recorded on January 29, 2006 and as is airing on the Suburban edition of Public Affairs this week [week of Feb. 6] and on the City of Chicago edition of Public Affairs on Monday night, Feb. 13 at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21. See, below, for a detailed, suburban airing schedule for Public Affairs
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The suburban edition of "Public Affairs," is regularly broadcast every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8:30 pm on Comcast Cable Channel 19 in Bannockburn, Deerfield, Ft. Sheridan, Glencoe, Highland Park, Highwood, Kenilworth, Lincolnshire, Riverwoods and Winnetka.

The suburban edition also is broadcast every Tuesday night at 8:30 p.m. on Comcast Cable Channel 19 in Buffalo Grove, Elk Grove Village, Hoffman Estates, Lincolnwood, Morton Grove, Niles, Northfield, (parts of) Inverness, Palatine, Rolling Meadows and Wilmette and every Tuesday night at 8:30 p.m. on Comcast Cable Channel 35 in Arlington Heights, Bartlett, Glenview, Golf, Des Plaines, Hanover Park, Mt. Prospect, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Prospect Heights, Schaumburg, Skokie, Streamwood and Wheeling.
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Jeff Berkowitz, Show Host/Producer of "Public Affairs," and Executive Legal Recruiter doing legal search can be reached at JBCG@aol.com
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