Past bad trade deals have cost Americans their jobs, lowered wages, shuttered offices and destroyed manufacturing in the 2nd Congressional District and the rest of the state. And they let global corporations write the rules that America has to follow.

That’s why we were surprised to see The Day lambasting Congressman Joe Courtney for his vote in opposition to “Fast Track” or Trade Promotion Authority (“Democrats wrong to undercut Obama on Asian trade pact,” June 15, 2015). Courtney did the right thing when he voted against fast track legislation, which undermines our democracy and can lead to trade deals that benefit corporations while eliminating jobs and cutting wages for hardworking Americans.

A new trade deal called the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, is being negotiated and is no different than any other trade deal of the past — it’s just bigger than any other in history.

The TPP would continue the legacy of our past trade deals shipping even more jobs overseas. It would give corporate interests the power to sue our local governments if we enforce environmental, labor and other laws. We even risk our food safety.

Just recently, Canada and Mexico were able to overrule an American law that required country-of-origin labels on packages of meat. This was a common-sense piece of legislation that allowed consumers to get more information about the safety and origin of their food. Because of bad trade deals, we have now let other countries overturn our own laws or risk penalties! It’s disturbing to say the least.

Now corporate backers are demanding that Congress hand over its constitutional authority to change TPP with a process called “Fast Track.”

Fast track would allow the White House to negotiate trade deals without any oversight. Lawmakers would be unable to change the deal, even if it’s bad for American workers. So if Rep. Courtney supported fast track and later saw provisions in the TPP that would hurt eastern Connecticut, he would be powerless to fix the deal.

Another major concern with TPP is that it increases trade with 11 other countries without addressing currency manipulation. Tying a strong enforcement provision on currency manipulation to fast track legislation would help prevent the intentional deflation of a country’s currency to make its exports cheaper while making the United States’ more expensive.

The Day suggests we just trust the administration who promised to address the issue. However, when the U.S. Senate took up fast track legislation in May, they faced opposition from the White House when they tried to attach a provision that would address currency manipulation. If we could trust the administration on this issue, they would have supported the provision on currency manipulation to be tied to fast track; instead, they balked and it was dropped.

This trade deal is a one-sided arrangement that favors multinational corporations and abandons working families. We are proud to have Congressman Courtney representing us in Congress and standing up for workers in his district by voting “no” on undemocratic fast-track legislation.

Ken DelaCruz is the President of the Metal Trades Council