Press Release

'Toxic Trader' Invades Washington, D.C. Protesting Bush's Voluntary Standards Import Safety Conference
Wednesday, July 09, 2008

PITTSBURGH, July 9 /PRNewswire/ -- The United Steelworkers' gigantic "Toxic Trader" puppet will invade Downtown Washington, D.C. today at noon to protest lethal imported products and the Bush administration-supported voluntary import safety summit at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, 1000 H St. NW.

The oversized puppet, created by artist Tavia La Folette, whose gargantuan three-dimensional caricatures have toured Europe, Eastern Europe, South America and Japan, will hulk from the AFL-CIO headquarters, 815 16th St., N.W., beginning at noon, past the White House to the hotel. There it will perform in a street drama and rally outside the hotel about 12:20 p.m.

The USW production features "Job Loss Avengers" fending off the "Toxic Trader" -- double entendre deliberate.

The script illustrates the downsides of free trade agreements and the Bush administration's failure to adequately inspect or regulate imports. The devastation includes 81 deaths from contaminated heparin, a blood thinner imported from China; imported toys containing toxic levels of lead, and the millions of manufacturing jobs exported over the past two decades.

The USW began a campaign against toxic trade last year, with alerts to parents about dangerous levels of lead in imported toys and by distributing lead testing kits. The union has expanded that effort, pointing out that "unfair trade kills," with a report detailing deaths caused by uncontrolled contaminated imports called, "The Toxic Truth: Unfair Trade Kills," available at usw.org.

The USW is the largest manufacturing union in North America, representing 850,000 members in a variety of occupations, from tire making to nursing.

    What: Toxic Trader Street Theater
    When: Wednesday, July 9, Noon ET
    Where: 1000 H St. NW
    Who: Toxic Trader Puppet and Toxic Avengers
    Why: To protest Bush Administration voluntary standards for import safety

SOURCE United Steelworkers