Putting free trade agreements on a fast track is a top item on the agenda of the President and his corporate allies. Anyone who cares about our jobs, environment, food safety, and human rights has reason to be concerned. Because the kind of trade they're talking about isn't free - at least, not for working families.

Michigan has paid a high price for weak trade agreements. Just look at the results of the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Over 46,000 jobs have been lost in Michigan - 25,000 of these in the automobile industry. This scenario is true across the country as factories have relocated in Mexico to take advantage of its cheap labor and lax environmental standards.

While trade flows have increased between these two countries and big corporations have reaped the profits, workers in both countries have suffered. Real wages in Mexico have declined 10% since NAFTA.

Here at home, many dislocated workers have not been able to find new jobs in manufacturing. Instead, they have had to take jobs in the service sector that pay an average of 23% less than the jobs they had before. And more than ever, American employers are using the threat of moving operations to Mexico to drive down wages and benefits.

When a factory shuts down in Detroit, Flint, or Saginaw, more than jobs are lost. The local tax base is eroded -- hurting schools, public health, and roads. In more ways than one, weak trade agreements have left our working families and communities behind. That's why I have been so determined in leading the fight for better trade deals.

We have to ensure that trade agreements include enforceable environmental and safety standards. Here, NAFTA also fell short. Many of us remember when 179 children in Michigan became seriously ill in 1997 after eating a school lunch of contaminated strawberries imported from Mexico. Since NAFTA, more Mexican fruits and vegetables and unsafe trucks cross our borders everyday without inspection, endangering our health and safety and the lives of our children.

Now, the President wants to expand NAFTA and he's pushing for "fast track" trade authority. Such authority would allow him to negotiate trade agreements with other nations and force them through Congress with little discussion and no amendments - thus, limiting any voice that the American people could have in trade discussions with other nations.

We need to expand trade with other countries. But I feel strongly that we should use our trade agreements to promote human rights and democracy and improve working conditions around the world, instead of lowering standards. If we give the President fast track authority, we will have no opportunity to push for these protections to be included in trade agreements he negotiates with other nations.

We can craft good trade agreements that include workers' rights, human rights, and environmental protections. An example is the recently-negotiated Jordan trade agreement, which includes these standards. We should approve this agreement and use it as a starting point for future trade agreements in this hemisphere and around the world. Soon, we will have another choice to make as we consider an expansion of NAFTA through the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) agreement. Will we use this agreement to ensure a better future or take another step back like we did with NAFTA?

Expanding trade can work. It can help business and workers. It can advance democracy and human rights while protecting the earth. The United States is in a unique position to send the world a message that trade is about more than the bottom line. As we debate fast track and future trade agreements, I will be fighting hard to ensure that we remember the human face of trade and stand up for our most basic values.

MORE THAN 1,500 WORKERS at the Upper Peninsula's Tilden and Empire mines are currently on layoff due to the crisis in the steel industry.