Union officials and progressive Democrats said Friday they’re gearing up for the next front in the congressional trade wars ahead of next week’s critical votes in the Senate.

Immediately after the House passed fast-track trade legislation Thursday, labor leaders and leading progressive opponents of the Trans-Pacific Partnership began waging a pressure campaign to sway key “swing” senators who could decide whether the latest gambit by GOP leaders to facilitate the 12-nation trade pact will succeed or be stymied again in Congress.


Officials with the Coalition to Stop Fast Track, comprised of unions and other progressive groups that oppose the trade legislation, said labor leaders plan to call senators over the weekend, as well as hold events and make phone calls to intensify opposition as the debate moves to the Senate.

It’s also expected to be the main topic of conversation when union activists huddle at AFL-CIO headquarters Monday morning for a strategy session.

“This (House) vote won’t stop us,” Communications Workers of America President Chris Shelton said. “CWA members, union members and activists from nearly every progressive group are fighting back against this sell-out by some members of Congress. We expect our representatives to listen to their constituents, and we’re taking that message to the Senate.”

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) conceived an elaborate plan to resurrect the trade legislation after House Democrats thwarted it a week ago. It appears to have a decent chance of success. But there are still real hurdles, and the trade debate has already encountered many unexpected twists, giving opponents hope.

The core GOP strategy was to delink so-called Trade Promotion Authority — which would give President Barack Obama power to complete the Pacific Rim trade deal without having it be amended by Congress — from a companion measure called Trade Adjustment Assistance to help workers who lose their jobs to free trade. The decision to separate them was a direct response to the move by House Democrats to vote down the aid program last week, in order to tank the entire trade agenda.

The House passed TPA narrowly on Thursday, and a key vote on it is expected Tuesday in the Senate. But some pro-trade Democrats are wary of the separation strategy, seeking a guarantee from the Republican leaders that they will subsequently pass TAA. Boehner and McConnell have said they will, but several Democrats aren’t satisfied yet.

Obama and pro-trade Senate Democrats, led by Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), need to convince 5 to 6 Democrats to back the deal.

That’s already a hard sell, and labor is aiming to make an even tougher one.

Over the past several months, unions have threatened to support primary opponents and withhold campaign money from lawmakers who back the trade legislation. Now labor is turning its attention to the Senate.

Many of the Democrats who voted for the trade bill when it first passed the Senate did so because workers aid was part of the package. They were also given assurances that a vote would be scheduled to reauthroize the Export-Import Bank, which expires at the end of the month.

With TPA and TAA separated now, it’s unclear how senators will respond. Trade pact opponents are looking to exploit that uncertainty, essentially arguing to wavering Democratic senators not to trust Republican leaders’ pledge to pass the worker assistance, which many in the party staunchly oppose.

A number of the 14 pro-trade Democratic senators who backed fast-track authority and worker assistance are, at least for now, withholding their support to see what McConnell and Republican leaders negotiate. And the House Democrats leading the charge against the trade pact say they’ll have another chance to defeat the measure if and when it comes back to their chamber.

“Just think about the Democratic opposition to this trade agreement and to fast track. Why is there so much difficulty?” Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) said in an interview. “This is the first time that a majority of the Democrats are starting to say that we need to prioritize what it happening to working men and women in the United States.”

Brian Mahoney contributed to this report.