For too long, debates over international trade have been dominated by corporate elites and economic ideologues, rather than rooted in the experiences of ordinary Americans.
The Trade Stories Project allows people who have been affected by policies and institutions like NAFTA and the WTO to share their views on a matter crucial to the global economy.
This includes displaced workers, farmers, small business owners and immigrants who have been typically excluded from the trade debate.
Countdown to Change: Week 29
The Trade Stories Project is featuring the story of another displaced worker each week of the Obama Presidency until necessary trade reforms promised on the campaign trail are enacted. Read additional stories here.
Antonia Morales
Hermiston, OR
Antonia worked for most of her adult life at a J.R. Simplot potato processing plant in eastern Oregon, until it shut down and moved operations abroad under NAFTA, eliminating 719 year-round jobs in the process.
“I am one of many people who have lost a job because the company we worked for moved to another country. I worked twenty-five years at Simplot and gave my life there. Any time they needed me, I was there, because they were the ones that put food on my table. After they shut down, I was left with nothing.
"Right now I do not have a job and am not able to find good work because I am older and most companies only want young people. Life without work and without medical insurance is hard. I am not in agreement with trade policies that help companies move abroad. It's time for Congress to listen to my family's concerns."