BANGOR – A crowd of workers gathered outside the federal building Friday to protest U.S. trade agreements they contend have sent thousands of manufacturing jobs overseas.

Chants of “Where are the jobs?” came from magnifying glass-toting demonstrators at the afternoon rally, sponsored by the Greater Bangor Area Central Labor Council and other workers’ rights groups.

The labor council’s president, Jack McKay, said the demonstration was designed to raise awareness of unfair trade policies that have cost the state more than 22,000 jobs since 1994.

“The rules are written so they benefit the corporations,” McKay said. “This is about a type of trade that doesn’t work for the people of Maine and in fact for the people of the world.”

Among those to address the crowd was 2nd Congressional District candidate Mike Michaud, who faulted the president’s “fast track” trade authority – which prevents Congress from amending trade deals negotiated by the administration – for quickening the exodus of jobs to countries with fewer protections for workers.

“Right now we are being asked to compete with workers in other countries who have no rights – no right to organize, no right to a safe working environment, and no right to a decent, livable wage,” Michaud said. “In the end, none of us can compete on such an uneven playing field.”

Moreover, the East Millinocket Democrat took the opportunity to criticize his Republican opponent, Kevin Raye, for his support of fast track.

Raye has said that while he supports the authority – which he says is necessary to compete in a global market – he would ultimately oppose any negotiated agreement that was unfair or did not adequately protect workers’ rights.

Like Michaud, Raye has also said he opposes the North American Free Trade Agreement, which also came under fire at the Friday demonstration.

Michaud was the only candidate to attend the rally, where many of the protesters’ placards were aimed at Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, whose Bangor office is located in the federal building.

“Snoozin’ Susan, were you asleep while we lost our jobs?” read one sign, which featured a character of a dozing Collins on a pillow reading “Fair Trade.”

Specifically, rally organizers faulted Collins for opposing amendments to NAFTA that they said would have better protected workers.

Collins aide Megan Sowards on Friday defended the senator’s support for NAFTA and the president’s fast track authority, which she said has opened once inaccessible international markets to Maine farmers.

“Senator Collins supports free trade and believes it must also be fair trade,” Sowards said.

Collins is running against Democrat Chellie Pingree, whom rally organizers praised as supportive of their cause.

The rally began with a skit in which a woman dressed as a vulture symbolically snatched American jobs and brought them overseas.

It was all too familiar to laid-off shoe worker Cynthia Finney, who told the crowd of her company’s closure after the jobs were moved to China, where workers earn a fraction of U.S. wages.

“This isn’t a line from a skit,” Finney said. “This is my life.”