Union Supporters Plan To Picket Musgrave

    Tainted toys aren’t just causing recalls, they’re causing protests.

    Two labor groups are planning to picket Republican Rep. Marilyn Musgrave’s Greeley office to voice their concern over lead-tainted toys and trade regulations. Colorado Jobs With Justice, a union advocacy group, will be joining the United Steel Workers to protest in front of the congresswoman’s office this Wednesday. The action is part of a nationally organized event by the steel workers union to have supporters visit 100 congressional offices throughout the country.

    Union proponents claim that lax trade agreements have decreased the safety of products, and they are calling for legislation to address the safety of imports. The U.S. toy market recently has been flooded with thousands of tainted toys manufactured in China, with a high number being recalled due to high lead content.

    Every member of Colorado’s congressional delegation voted for the Peru Free Trade Agreement in 2007, the most recent treaty to expand on the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) — all of which have been widely opposed by labor groups.

    Rep. Musgrave’s office did not return a request for comment.

    Erin Rosa was born in Spain and raised in Colorado Springs. She is a freelance writer currently living in Denver. Rosa's work has been featured in a variety of news outlets including the Huffington Post, Democracy Now!, and the Rocky Mountain Chronicle, an alternative-weekly in Northern Colorado where she worked as a columnist covering the state legislature. Rosa has received awards from the Society of Professional Journalists for her reporting on lobbying and woman's health issues. She was also tapped with a rare honorable mention award by the Newspaper Guild-CWA's David S. Barr Award in 2008--only the second such honor conferred in its nine-year history--for her investigative series covering the federal government's Supermax prison in the state. Rosa covers the labor community, corrections, immigration and government transparency matters. She can be reached at erosa@www.coloradoindependent.com.

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