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.

John Drake

Bellefontaine, OH

John was one of eight people left to "wrap things up" as the Seimens plant in town finished moving to Mexico.  It formerly employed 780 people.  As president of IBEW Local 1691, John has a unique vantage-point on how well "retraining" has worked for the company's employees.

“If they could make $28 million a year here that was clear profit, they could make $78 million in Mexico. They [management] told us that flat out...

"We dealt a lot with [retraining], and what they said it was going to do.  And I'm getting back from membership that's not what it is doing -- there are so many loopholes, ramps and jumps that it's not being done."