AFL-CIO Ads Seek to Stop NAFTA Expansion

Organized labor is taking to the airwaves in a bid to quash President Clinton’s request for “fast-track” legislative authority to negotiate an expansion of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Radio advertisements in English and Spanish began Monday in Southern California as part of a multimillion-dollar media push funded by the AFL-CIO. Some television ads will be broadcast in congressional districts back East, but only radio ads are planned for California. AFL-CIO spokeswoman Thea Lee said labor groups hope to generate media coverage from demonstrations, leafleting at plant gates and events staged with like-minded environmentalists. The AFL-CIO plans to spend $1 million nationally during the first week of the campaign. The effort is patterned after last year’s $35-million media push that labor staged to help elect Democrats to Congress.