BREWER – Unfair trade agreements are robbing Maine workers of their jobs and could lead to economic devastation for not only the state, but the country, according to Congressman Mike Michaud.

In a presentation at the Greater Bangor Central Labor Council on Wednesday, Michaud denounced current free trade policies, saying they have cost Mainers more than 24,000 jobs since the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

“I have seen the devastation of so-called free trade in Maine,” he said. “It began in 1994 with NAFTA.”

The appeal of paying lower wages, providing little or no health care and freedom from strict environmental regulations overseas is too good a deal for U.S. corporations to resist, he said, and threatens the prosperity of not only the manufacturing industry, but the U.S. economy.

“Manufacturing made this country what it is today, and if we’re not careful, we could end up like a third-world country,” said Michaud, a mill worker at Great Northern Paper in Millinocket.

Kendal Dunbar, president of the Local 1821 machinist union out of Bucksport, said workers are joining the fight against trade policies that have put them out of work.

“I think we’ve awakened a sleeping giant – the working class,” he said. “If you chase a mouse around the house into a corner, sooner or later he’s going to turn back and start fighting. And workers are in a corner,” he said.

One step towards protecting those jobs is increased congressional involvement in the crafting of trade policies, Michaud said. He recently introduced legislation to repeal the trade promotion authority, also known as “fast track,” which allows the President to negotiate trade agreements with foreign nations but permits Congress only a yes or no vote.

“For Congress to give up its authority to amend trade policies is unconscionable,” he said. “A lot of our problems are because of fast track.”

Michaud also has supported legislation to withdraw the U.S. from NAFTA in order to rework the agreement in favor of American workers, he said.

“We need to go back to the drawing board and get this agreement right,” he said. “Maine is one of the states that has been hit hardest by NAFTA.”

With fair trade policies in place, Michaud said, Maine workers will succeed in a global market. “If Mainers are on an equal playing field, I have no doubt we can compete with foreign workers,” he said.