Congress has approved a long-delayed, so-called “free trade” pact with South Korea, Panama and Colombia. The deals had been stalled in part due to objections from labor groups over the effect on U.S. workers, as well as Colombia’s record on the killings of union activists. In the Senate, Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio criticized the agreements.

Sen. Sherrod Brown: “We should be ashamed of ourselves for passing these agreements, period, and especially for passing them under these provisions. I hope the administration learns something from this. I hope the administration decides on these trade agreements, instead of being on the side of the largest corporations in the country and in the world, which don’t always look out for American interests, I hope the administration and the members of the House and Senate will decide they want to be on the side of American families, American communities, of American workers, of American small companies that make stuff and want to sell it all over the world.”