Local student plans jobs-related protest

A local student activist is planning a protest against a possible free trade pact with South Korea that has recently been taken up by Congress.

Nick Florko, 19, of Selden will be rallying on Monday with others at the Hauppauge office of Rep. Steve Israel (D-Dix Hills). Florko plans to leave about 15,000 screws at Israel's office -- a representation of the jobs he says are at risk in Israel's district if the trade agreement is passed.

"I've seen the businesses around my neighborhood close and . . . the economy fall to a recession," he said. "I started to associate the downturn in our economy with this new type of trade policy that we're pushing through."

Florko's number on job losses was gathered from a database created by the nonprofit advocacy group Public Citizen. Bryan Buchanan, a spokesman for Public Citizen, said the numbers for jobs at risk were compiled by totaling the number of jobs in each sector that a recent United States International Trade Commission said would see a drop in output.

However, a memo released by the office of the U.S. trade representative disputed the logic of Public Citizen's interpretation of the data and said any effect on jobs would be negligible.

Florko said he is hoping to convince Israel to vote against the trade agreement because Israel is still undecided. Jack Pratt, a spokesman for Israel, said the congressman will not be at his Long Island office Monday.