Letters to the Editor matter! They are an excellent means of sharing your opinions with a large audience. Because politicians often read the letters section of the local newspaper to keep track of public opinion, they are also a great way of communicating with your elected officials. Over the long term, letters can even help to shape news coverage.
Talking Points about the Colombia Free Trade Agreement:
Please focus on the issues that matter most to you, and write your Letter in your own words! Newspaper editors are usually turned off when seeing identically-worded letters.
- CHOOSE ONE ISSUE TO FOCUS ON: The Colombia Free Trade Agreement is bad for Oregon/working people/the environmentand should be opposed.
- The United States is in the midst of its largest trade deficit ever.The Colombia Free Trade Agreement would make matters worse by forcing U.S. employers to compete with sweatshops abroad.This would undoubtedly help accelerate the export of Oregon jobs.The Oregon Fair Trade Campaign estimates that 68,000 Oregon jobs have already been lost to outsourcing and foreign competition.
- Colombia remains the deadliest place on Earth to be a labor advocate.Since 1991, at least 2,283 union leaders have been murdered — with the vast majority of cases remaining unsolved.You cannot trade “freely” with another country when its workers arephysically intimidated into accepting poor working conditions.
- Colombia’s rainforests arehome to an incredibly wide range of plants and animals found nowhere else on Earth.The Colombia Free Trade Agreement does almostnothing to protect biodiversity in Colombia, and would lead to increased drilling, mining and logging there, putting countless species in danger of extinction.
- The Colombia deal copies the same horrendous agricultural provisions found in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and as such, is expected to push sizable numbers of small-scale Colombian farmers out-of-business. This decidedly “unfree” trade agreement would force Colombian farmers to compete with farm goods imported from the United States that receive massive government subsidies and can thus be sold for less than the cost of production.
- The Bush administration is pushing Congress to vote on the Colombia Free Trade Agreement this year.Our elected officials should oppose this reckless policy.
For more info on the Colombia FTA, visit https://www.citizenstrade.org/ctc/trade-policies/colombia-free-trade-agreement/
Local Newspaper Contact Info:
The Oregonian
letters@news.oregonian.com
The Bulletin
bulletin@bendbulletin.com
Hillsboro Argus
NewsClerk@HillsboroArgus.com
The Daily Astorian
editor@dailyastorian.com
The Asian Reporter
news@asianreporter.com
Dalles Chronicle
kgray@eaglenewspapers.com
Statesman Journal
letters@StatesmanJournal.com
The Register-Guard
rgletters@guardnet.com
Mail Tribune
letters@mailtribune.com
Ashland Daily Tidings
tidingsopinion@dailytidings.com
Willamette Week
mzusman@wweek.com
The World
theworldnews@theworldlink.com
Portland Business Journal
http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/aboutus/contact_editor.html
East Oregonian
http://www.eastoregonian.info/FormLayout.asp?formcall=1
Argus Observer
https://secure.townnews.com/argusobserver.com/forms/letters.php
Tips for Getting Published:
- Keep your letter short.In most instances, your letter should be no more than five or six sentences.
- Don’t try to make too many points in one letter.Stick to one basic point and make a simple argument, such as, “The Colombia Free Trade Agreement would be bad for Oregon because _____.”
- Be opinionated, but know that name-calling, insults and inflammatory language will likely prevent your letter from being published.
- If at all possible, write your letter in response to an article or editorial that recently appeared in the newspaper you’re writing.
- Include your name, address and telephone number so the paper can verify that you submitted the letter.
Please send copies of any of your letters that are published to orftc@citizenstrade.org or ORFTC · 310 SW 4th Ave #436 · Portland, OR97204