Date: Fri, 10 Mar 2000 21:59:54 -0800
To: •••@••.•••, •••@••.•••
From: CyberBrook <•••@••.•••>
Subject: Activist web sites/'Guide to the Seattle Meltdown'
Published on Friday, March 10, 2000
Leaked Memo:
'Guide to the Seattle Meltdown'
Lobbyists Warn Corporate America Of Growing
Power Of Citizen's Movement
Editors Note: Doug Henwood, of the Left Business Observer,
spoke with Gardner Peckham
on March 9th who confirmed the authenticity of this leaked
memo.
Black * Kelly * Scruggs & Healy
-----------------------------
A Burson * Marsteller Company
1801 K Street, N.W. * Suite 901-L
Washington, D.C. 20006-1201
202.530.0500 * 202.530.4800
January 14, 2000
Dear [Corporate Client]:
Enclosed is our "Guide to the Seattle Meltdown: A
Compendium of Activists at the WTO
Ministerial". The "Guide" is a comprehensive listing of the
activist groups which protested
against the WTO Ministerial in Seattle this past November.
It lists the groups and their
leaders we were able to identify, descriptions of their
ethos (largely in their own words), as
well as web site addresses and other useful information. We
wanted to share this "Guide"
with you, not so much as a retrospective on the past, but
as an alarming window on the
future.
The spectacle created in Seattle during the WTO Ministerial
meeting by a diverse collection
of activists may have significant short-term ramifications
for the business community. The
perceived success of these groups in disrupting Seattle and
in contributing to the failure of
the WTO meeting will be a dramatic boon to them in several
ways. First, their victory and
heightened visibility will lead to substantially enhanced
fundraising capability. Second, the
smell of victory will lead to a deepening of already
existing coalitions and will strengthen the
recognition that broadening such coalitions to include
non-traditional allies exponentially
increases effectiveness. Third, the Presidential election
campaign and several likely trade
votes in Congress this year will give activists golden
opportunities to seek wider recognition
and gain additional strength. These high profile battles
will allow activists to further
institutionalize and consolidate their gains, increase
coordination, gamier greater media
attention and expand their targeting of business interests.
What is less understood -- but perhaps more significant --
is the potential ability of the
emerging coalition of these groups to seriously impact
broader, longer-term corporate
interests. Seattle was not an anomaly and the consistent
anti-corporate message of
virtually all the groups who participated there in November
is not a temporary phenomenon.
Many have traditionally highlighted alleged corporate
misconduct in mass mail fund raising
campaigns. More recently, some environmental groups have
resorted to targeting
corporations for contributions in return for suspending
their public ire.
At Black, Kelly, Scruggs & Healey, we have developed a
capability direction of these
groups, as well as to defend clients against their attacks.
I hope you find the enclosed
"Guide" useful and if you have any questions, please call
me at: (202) 530-4805.
Sincerely,
Gardner G. Peckham
Managing Director
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Guide to the Seattle Meltdown:
A Compendium of Activists at the WTO Ministerial
"Many of the groups that helped organize the anti-WTO
victories in Seattle are already
preparing for days of protest, education, training, and
direct action during the week of April
9-16 in Washington. The week begins on Sunday, April 9th
with a Jubilee 2000/USA
mobilization for cancellation of the debts of African,
Latin American, Asia-Pacific, and
Caribbean countries, and continuing with teach-ins and
trainings on the global economy. It
will culminate with a massive rally at IMF Headquarters on
Sunday, April 16th 2000."
- 50 Years is Enough web site
"Leaders of the peaceful demonstrations have lashed out at
the anarchists, accusing them
of undermining their anti-globalism message by breaking
windows and destroying property.
The anarchists in turn accused the Seattle protesters of
protecting the same
private-property interests that the WTO represents."
- The Los Angeles Times
"...the coalition [of labor, environmental and human rights
groups that took to the streets in
Seattle to protest the WTO] said that they will flood over
100 key congressional offices with
phone calls and letters and march on Washington this Spring
to prevent passage of NTR
for China."
- National Journal's Congress Daily
1) Abya Yala Fund
ayf.nativeweb.org/contents.htm
Alicia Canaviri, President-, Nilo Cayuqueo, Director
"Fosters greater self-reliance by indigenous peoples
through support of struggles to protect
homelands, natural environment and human rights, to improve
health care, to address
domestic legislation and international laws, to obtain
access to communications media to
improve the conditions and status of women, to increase
economic security, and to
revitalize cultural and spiritual traditions. "The group's
focus is on providing training, grants
and technical assistance for self-development projects that
originate in, and are controlled
by, indigenous communities and organizations in Central and
South America - not on
anti-WTO advocacy. The web site provides links to the
sites of other indigenous groups as
well as sites about anti-globalization and ending corporate
Governance.
2) A SEED
www.antenna.nl/aseed/contact.html
Action for Solidarity, Equality, Environment and
Development. "A global and diverse action
network focusing on a broad range of issues, A SEED plays a
critical role in involving young
people in the struggles against ecological destruction and
social injustice." They advocate
the use of public opposition to stop the WTO in the same
manner that it was used to block
the " . . . the corporate-driven MAI [multilateral
agreement on investment] agreement. " The
web site presents many campaigns and publications and links
to other activist
organizations. The group claims that more than 700
organizations worldwide have signed its
on-line petition against the WTO and are associated with
www.oneworld.net.
3) AFL-CIO
www.aflcio.org/home.htm
John Sweeney, President; Linda Chavez-Thompson, Exec.
Vice-President
"A voluntary federation of 68 national and international
labor unions that include 13 million
working women and men and which espouses a strong political
voice for improving the lives
of working families. " The web site contains plenty of
information about the WTO, including
a blueprint for reforming it. The group plans to keep
pressure on Congress and the
government against the WTO, the Caribbean Basin Initiative,
and normalized trade relations
(NTR) with China. The group is large, very well organized,
and headquartered in DC The web
site provides many links to the sites of other labor
unions, organizations, constituency
groups, the government, and media. Issues of interest to
the group include: environmental
protection, debt relief, poverty alleviation, and
investment policy reforms.
4) Alliance for Sustainable Jobs and the Environment
Tracy Katelman (activist, also part of the Trees Foundation)
5) Amazon Watch
www.amazonwatch.org
Lucy Braham, WTO contact; Mark Westlund, U'wa defense
working group contact
"Works with indigenous and environmental organizations in
the Amazon Basin to defend the
environment and advance indigenous peoples' rights in the
face of large-scale industrial
development (oil and gas pipelines, power lines, roads, and
other mega-projects)." The
group is currently focusing on Venezuela, Bolivia/Brazil
(against the Overseas Private
Investment Corporation), and Colombia. It is a major
opponent of Occidental Petroleum's
drilling on "U'wa traditional land," and on that issue are
very vocal and organized.
6) Anarchist Action Collective
Marshall Kirkpatrick, contact
Based out of Eugene, Oregon, the anarchists state, "Fight
back and don't get caught
...sacking the WTO is just a start. "
7) Black Army Faction and Black Clad Messengers
John Zerzan, contact
Another militant anarchist group based out of Eugene.
Oregon. The group advocates
property destruction (against private property) and some of
its members were responsible
for much of the damage in Seattle. Zerzan has authored and
edited books and essays
promoting "anarcho-primitivism." He has also participated
in speeches, lectures, radio talk
shows and 60 Minutes.
8) Chinese Activist Groups
Wei Jingsheng, leading Chinese democracy activist and
Fellow at Columbia University's
Center for the Study of Human Rights Wei says that, "WTO
entry for China will either
re-enforce the existing system of manipulation and
corruption, or result in chaos, providing
no one with a safe, sound, or fair environment for trade. "
9) Christian Aid
www.christian-aid.org.uk
Alex Milner (spokeswoman)
An organization of British and Irish churches, engaged in
relief work in more than 60
countries to Improve lives and tackle the causes of poverty
and injustice". It consists of
3,500 committees around the UK and Ireland. They have links
to church groups, and
organizations associated with the environment, free trade,
and free speech.
1O) CISPES
www.cispes.org
Jili Dowling, New York contact
Committee In Solidarity With the People of El Salvador.
"This year we have committed to
raising $50,000 of material aid to help build a stronger
labor movement and to organize
maquila workers in El Salvador. For two years, CISPES has
funded the monthly salaries of
FMLAR organizers in communities with minimal resources.
This material aid contributed to
the party's electoral breakthrough in 1997.- the FMLN won
the elections in seven of the
eight municipalities where the grassroots organizers were
funded" This group appears very
large, as it has a monthly newsletter and offices across
the U.S.. in addition to being
affiliated with many other activist groups.
11) Citizens Trade Campaign
Scott Nova, Director
This umbrella coalition is targeting 100 legislators,
focusing on two key issues: 1)
Opposition to permanent NTR; and 2) A campaign to "fix or
nix" the WTO. It supports an
annual review of NTR status for China.
12) Consumers International
www.consumersinternational.org
Julian Edwards, Director General
"A global federation consisting of some 250 consumer
organizations in 111 countries sent
over 30 delegates from all over the world to Seattle. They
call for a review of the existing
agreements and their implementation before the WTO
undertakes rapid liberalization. They
support the continuation of attempts to resolve trade
policy issues in Geneva but insist they
must be met by improved transparency in the operation of
the WTO and involvement in civil
society. Edwards was one of the few NGO leaders asked to
speak at the Ministerial. " The
web site contains trade briefing papers and extensive
campaign information. The group
regularly monitors various governments' positions regarding
the WTO. The group is based
out of London and sponsors the annual World Consumers
Rights Day on March 1-5.
13) Direct Action Network
www.agitprop.org/artandrevolution/wto/dan/html
Hillary McQuie, contact
"A network of local grassroots organizations and street
theater groups who are mobilizing
communities to creatively resist the WTO and corporate
globalization. Want a new world of
free and ecological society based on mutual aid and
voluntary cooperation to replace the
current social order."
The network appears very organized. For example, it sold
"Resist the WTO" paraphernalia
and even offered maps of downtown Seattle last November-The
group cosponsored the
Seattle protests with Global Exchange, RAN, Ruckus Society,
Project Underground,
National Lawyers Guild, Mexico Solidarity Project, 50 Years
is Enough, CISPES, Green
Party (Seattle), Earth First (Seattle), and many more. The
site provides links to many web
sites.
14) Earth Justice Legal Defense Fund
www.earthjustice.org
Patti Goldman, lawyer
"The law firm for the environment " A 501 (c) (3)
organization established in 1971, it has
represented more than 500 clients (national and
international) at no cost, many of which are
listed in this document. The group is currently
representing the Sierra Club against the
WTO for not protecting the sea turtle. It also represents
Public Citizen in support of the
EU's right to ban the import of meat containing potentially
harmful additives. 'Me group has
an office in Washington, DC
15) 50 Years is Enough
www.50years.org
Njoki Njoroge Njeheu, Director
"US Network for Global Economic Justice is a coalition of
205 grassroots faith-based,
policy, women's, social and economic justice, youth,
solidarity, labor, and development
organizations dedicated to the profound transformation of
the World Bank and the IMF."
Based in Washington, DC, the group organized the IMF
demonstration in September 1999.
The group does not seem very large, but it does receive
some press coverage and
collaborates with other activists. Njeheu was a participant
at the follow-up seminar in
Washington, DC last December on where the activists can go
with the Seattle momentum.
16) FOCUS on the Global South
www.focusweb.org
Walden Bello, Executive Director; Aileen Kwa, WTO contact
"A program of progressive development policy research and
practice, dedicated to regional
and global policy analysis, micro-macro linking and
advocacy work FOCUS works with
NGOs and people's organizations in Asia Pacific and other
regions. " The group has a small
staff, but has many other sister organizations such as
Third World Network. Bello has
authored many books and is often published in international
newspapers. The organization
is based out of the Philippines.
17) French Peasants Confederation
Jose Bove, Leader
Bove is a French goat farmer who tore up a McDonald's
restaurant with a tractor to protest
U.S. trade sanctions on Rocquefort cheese. His group claims
to have 40,000 members.
18) Friends of the Earth
wvw.foe.org
Brent Blackwelder, President; Andrea Durbin, Director,
international programs
"... a national environmental organization dedicated to
preserving the health and diversity of
the planet for future generations. The largest
international environmental network in the world
with affiliates in 63 countries ... are already planning
for the longer term [beyond Seattle}."
The group has endorsed Bill Bradley for President. It
states that it is not opposed to the
idea of WTO, but believes the rules need to be changed
(i.e. more environmental
standards). The group also believes in maintaining tariffs
on forest products and is against
biotechnology and OPIC.
19) Global Exchange
www.globalexchange.org
Kevin Danahar, Co-Founder; Medea Benjamin, Co-Founder
"A non-profit research, education, and action center
dedicated to promoting
people-to-people ties around the world. Working with Fair
Traders across North America and
throughout the world to increase awareness of Fair Trade
issues and to translate that
awareness into consumer activism in the global marketplace.
Part of the Fair Trade
Federation, an association of producers, wholesalers, and
retailers, that is launching a
major consumer education campaign in the U.S. The challenge
is to make fair trade and
corporate globalization an issue in electoral campaigns,
especially in the upcoming
presidential race. Another goal is to block congressional
approval of China's entry into the
WTO." The group advocates normal relations with Cuba, and
is critical of the IMF, World
Bank, NAFTA, MAI, the African Growth and Opportunity Act,
and the WTO. The group
appears very well organized and its web site contains many
links to other organizations.
20) Greenpeace
www.greenpeace.org
Kristen Engberg, Executive Director
This group has offices in more than 40 countries and claims
to have more than 2.4 million
supporters worldwide. Its web site contains links to
numerous environmental organizations.
Among the group's major issues are:
Bio-diversity of oceans and forests, climate change,
nuclear power, toxic pollution, genetic
engineering and ocean dumping.
21) Humane Society
www.hsus.org
Patricia Forkan, Executive Director
This group plans to begin an effort to collect 2001
signatures by the end of 2001 calling on
all governments to stop the WTO from interfering with
national environmental and health
safety laws. Its web site offers educational publications,
public-awareness campaigns, and
activist alerts. It is an international and well-known
group with headquarters in DC Among its
major issues are: Dolphin and sea turtle conservation laws
and hormone-treated beef.
22) Indigenous Environmental Network
www.alphacdc.com/ien/subject.html
Tom Goldtooth, coordinator
"Coalition of grassroots Native organizations provides
national, regional, local, advocacy on
indigenous grassroots and tribal issues concerning
environmental protection, natural
resource management, and environmental health issues. Speak
for themselves and are not
represented by environmental groups. Indigenous
environmentalists have received a mixed
response on the federal level. " The coalition is in
contact with the media and appears well
organized. It has a U'wa Defense Working Group Action Alert
on its web site, as well as
links to many other WTO protest groups and indigenous
groups. Its WTO link is:
www.alphacdc.com/ien/intellectual_property.html#letters.
23) Indigenous Peoples' Network for Policy Research and
Education
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Philippines
24) Institute for Local Self-Reliance
www.ilsr.org
Neil Seldman, President; David Morris, Vice President
"Since 1974, ILSR has been dedicated to helping a broad
range of citizens - including
grassroots community groups, government leaders, and
business entrepreneurs - develop
and implement environmentally sound economic development
strategies. Through research,
policy initiatives, coalition building, and technical
assistance, they lay the groundwork for
developing humanity-scaled, sustainable economic systems. "
Morris is the author of many
publications and has a regular column in the St. Paul
Pioneer Press. The group's national
headquarters is in DC
25) lAMAW
www.iamaw.org
R.Thomas Buffenbarger, International President
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace
Workers. Professes the need to
incorporate internationally recognized labor standards into
the rules of the WTO. The IAM
will lead the fight for fair trade that includes basic,
fundamental human and labor rights. "
IAMAW is a large union with more than 535,000 members in
the U.S., Canada, Puerto
Rico, Guam, and the Panama Canal Zone. It has recently
merged with UAW and USWA
and is affiliated with many other organizations such as:
AFL-CIO, Canadian Labour
Congress, Railway Labor Executives' Association,
International Labor Organization,
International Metalworkers Federation, and International
Transport Workers' Federation. The
organization has its headquarters in Washington, DC The IAM
cable TV network has, " . . .
more than 60 cable TV public access channels airing the
10-part series Working in
America. The latest to join the IAM network is the Prince
Georges County Cable TV
System in Largo, Maryland".
26) International Brotherhood of Teamsters
www.teamster.org
James P. Hoffa, President
This organization is one of the largest labor unions, with
1.4 million members in the U.S.
and Canada. It is committed to defeating MFN and is
planning to lobby Congress and the
government extensively against the WTO. The organization is
headquartered in Washington,
DC
27) ICFTU
www.icftu.org
Bill Jordan, General Secretary
The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, "has
214 affiliated organizations in
143 countries, cooperates with the International Labor
Organization and the UN, in addition
to having contacts with the WTO, World Bank and IMF". Some
of the organization's issues
are: Employment and international labor standards, tackling
the multinationals, trade union
rights, equality, race and migrants, trade union
organization and recruitment. The
organization offered a 30-page WTO strategy on its web site.
28) International Forum on Globalization
Jerry Mander, Director; Victor Mcnotti, Dir. Environment
Program
"Founded in 1994 of over sixty activists, scholars,
economists, researchers, and writers
formed to stimulate new thinking, joint activity, and
public education in response to
economic globalization Most of us view the process of
globalization as the most extreme
restructuring of the planet's social, economic and
political arrangements since the Industrial
Revolution, bringing with it profound effects on human life
and the natural world " The group
believes the WTO is " . . . one of the world's most
powerful, secretive, undemocratic and
dangerous bodies that weakens democracy". The group's web
site offers publications and
teach-ins against the WTO and has links to the sites of
many other activists groups listed
here.
29) NO2WTO
www.infoshop.org/no2wto.html
An apparently well-organized anonymous group of radical
anarchists opposed to the WTO
and capitalism. It organized a massive demonstration in
Seattle last November and
coordinated many other activists around the world during
the same time. The group's various
corporate targets include: Bank of America, U.S. Bancorp,
Key Bank and Washington
Mutual Bank, Old Navy, Banana Republic and the GAP,
NikeTown and Levi's, McDonald's,
Starbucks, Warner Bros., Planet Hollywood, and Fidelity
Investments (" ...major investment
in Occidental Petroleum, the bane of the U'wa tribe in
Colombia"). They are now planning a
four-day worldwide general strike against capitalism on May
1, 2000 to be held across the
city of London.
30) National Labor Committee
www.nlcnet.org
Charles Kemaghan, Executive Director
"A human rights advocacy group, dedicated to promoting and
defending the rights of
workers. Through establishing long standing working
relationships with non-governmental,
human rights, labor and religious organizations, primarily
in Latin America, the NLC puts a
human face on the global economy. The NLC educates and
actively involves the public in
actions aimed at ending labor abuses, improving living
conditions for workers and their
families and promoting the concept of a living wage and
true independent monitoring." The
group targets large corporations such as The Gap, Nike, Liz
Claiborne, Wal-Mart, etc. "A
crowded cluttered bunch of offices in the Garment District
consisting of 6 people, direct a
militant, low-budget, much-criticized campaign against the
use of sweatshop War by large
companies." -The New York Times
31) National Lawyer's Guild
www.nlg.org
Steve Goldberg, Chair, International Committee
"An association dedicated to the need for basic change in
the structure of our political and
economic system. Aim to bring together all those who
recognize the importance of
safeguarding the rights of workers, women, farmers, and
minority groups." The group
provided legal materials to the WTO activists in Seattle
last November. Its web site has
links to the government, legal groups and associations.
32) Oxfam International
www.oxfam.org
Penny Fowler, member
"An international group of 11 autonomous non-governmental
organizations sharing the
commitment of working for an end to the waste and injustice
of poverty as well as debt relief
Works primarily through local organizations in more than
100 countries. The WTO needs
radical institutional reforms in order to remain credible
as a multilateral organization" The
group has a small staff of four in Washington, DC that
lobbies international institutions and
claims to have influenced House Banking Committee Chair Jim
Leach and Congressman
John LaFalce.
33) People for Free Trade
www.fairtrade.asn.au
Jeremy Simer, contact
"A voluntary net-work of individual people, churches and
other organizations in Victoria and
Tasmania committed to fair trade with producers of goods,
through the support of education
and alternative trade." This group is very interested in
selling tea and coffee in Sri Lanka and
Papua New Guinea. It has links to other fair trade advocacy
organizations.
34) People's Decade for Human Rights Education
www.pdhre.org
Malina Mehra, Director; Peter Leuprecht, President;
Shulamith Koenig, Founder
"Develop and advance pedagogics for human rights education
relevant to people's daily lives
in the context of their struggles for social and economic
justice and democracy." This group
is pivotal in lobbying the United Nations and has many
influential endorsers and advisors,
including former President Jimmy Carter.
35) Peoples' Global Action
"A gathering of peoples' movements fighting corporate
globalization."
This group organized a caravan of about two dozen
international activists to protest the
WTO in Seattle.
36) Project Underground
www.moles.org/
Danny Kennedy, Director, Steve Kretzmann, Oil Campaigner
This is a non-profit organization in Berkeley, CA that
supports communities "threatened" by
the mineral industries. "Working at the nexus of the
environmental, human rights, and
indigenous movements, they are redefining proactive public
interest solidarity work for the
21st century." The group was contracted to work in defense
of the U'wa Indians against
Occidental Petroleum. Colleague and fellow activist, Terry
Freitas, was murdered by
Colombian rebels. The group appears to be very well
organized and respected. It has been
described by The Financial Times as "a pressure group." Its
web site offers many links to
sites of activists, companies, governments and associations.
37) Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch
www.tradewatch.org
Joan Claybrook, President; Lori Wallach, Director; Ralph
Nader, Founder
"Fights for international trade and investment policies
promoting government and corporate
accountability, consumer health and safety, and
environmental protection through research
lobbying, public education and the media." Among the
group's issues are: The WTO, Fast
Track, AGOA, CBI, NAFTA, China and MAI.
38) Rainforest Action Network
www.ran.org
Randy Hayes, President and Founder
"Works to protect the Earth's rainforests and support the
rights of their inhabitants through
education, grassroots organizing, and non-violent direct
action. " The group claims to have
25,000 active members working with environmental and human
rights groups in 60
countries. This group is working to stop "destructive'
fossil fuel development by Shell Oil on
U'wa homeland in Colombia.
39) Ruckus Society
www.ruckus.org
John Sellers, Director, Han Shan, WTO coordinator
"A non-profit California corporation organized in 1995 to
provide training in the skills of
non-violent civil disobedience and direct action to help
environmental and human rights
organizations achieve their goals- "The group's action-camp
cosponsors include:
International Campaign for Tibet, Project Underground, RAN,
RFK Center, Friends of the
Earth and Native Forest Network. The society does not
necessarily advocate issues, it
provides training and support to those who do. Ruckus
activities have been covered and
featured by media worldwide.
40) Sheet Metal Workers Union
www.smwia.org/html/organization.html
Michael J. Sullivan, President; Vincent A. Panvini,
Director of Government Affairs
The union consists of 140,000 members in 200 affiliated
local unions in the U.S. and
Canada. The headquarters are in Washington, DC
41) Sierra Club
www.sierraclub.org
Carl Pope, Executive Director
The group's stated mission: "To explore, enjoy, and protect
the wild places of the earth, to
practice and promote the responsible use of the earth's
ecosystems and resources, to
educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the
quality of the natural and human
environments." The group's web site contains a "Vote
Watch", newsletters, daily updates,
and a magazine.
42) Sierra Club's Responsible Trade Program
www.sierraclub.org/trade
Dan Seligman, Director
This group's issues include: Forests, invasive species,
rainforests, sea turtles, food safety,
no NAFTA or MAI for Africa. It is located in Washington, DC
and its officials have testified
before Congress. Its web site features many books and links
to many organizations listed in
this document, in addition to: www.jimhightower.com (a
progressive populist radio
commentator), www.rtk.net/preamble (The Preamble Center)
and mai.flora.org.
43) Southwest Network for Environmental and Economic Justice
Richard Moore, contact
This group represents low-income, rural minorities.
"Objects to the sweeping powers of the
WTO to over-ride the laws of nations, states, and tribes."
The group states that it wants fair
trade and "... a WTO with principles."
44) Third World Network
www.southside.org.sg/souths/twn/twn
Martin Khor, Director
"An independent non-profit international network of
organizations and individuals involved in
issues relating to development, the Third World and
North-South issues. They represents
southern interests and perspectives at international forum
such as the UN conferences and
processes." The group's issues include: The WTO, UTNCTAD,
biotechnology, biodiversity,
the environment, human rights, gender issues, health,
agriculture, UN/peace and security,
economics, and third world resurgence.
45) UNITE
www.uniteunion.org
Ann Hoffman, Legislative Director Chris Chafe, Political
Action contact Union of Needle
Traders, Industrial and Textile Employees.
"Has fought aggressively for workers' rights, against
sweatshops, and against corporate
greed " This union represents workers in the U.S., Canada
and Puerto Rico. UNITE is
against the WTO and has started telephoning members of
Congress opposing permanent
NTR status for China, and CBI (has said it will try to
"kill" the bill in 2000). The web site has
links to the AFL-CIO and Congressional sites. The union
appears very organized and offers
extensive information on how workers can mobilize to lobby
Congress.
46) United Automobile Workers
www.uaw.org
Steve Yokich, President
This group states that it stands for justice for working
people. It has an extensive web site
devoted to contacting members of Congress. The union has
joined forces with the
Steelworkers and Machinists unions. It is against MAI, the
WTO and MFN.
47) United Farmworkers of America
www.ufw.org/ufw/
Rudy Arredondo, Manager in Washington, DC
This group advocates "... bringing justice to farm
workers". The group seems to be relatively
organized. Its web site provides information on how to
lobby Congress as well as many
links to labor unions, the government, media, contract
companies and Hispanic groups.
48) United Steelworkers of America
www.uswa.org
George Becker, President
"Represents over 700, 000 workers in the U.S. and Canada.
One of the most diversified and
effective unions in the nation." The union states that it
will continue to challenge the WTO
and supports an annual review of NTR status for China
instead of a permanent one. It has
recently merged with IAM and UAW. Its web site includes
information on how to contact
members of Congress.
49) United Students Against Sweatshops
home.sprintmail.com/~jeffnkari/USAS/
Eric Brakken, organizer
"An international coalition devoted to stopping sweatshop
labor. Demand that their
universities take responsibility for the conditions under
which their licensed apparel is made
by adopting Codes of Conduct to regulate the behavior of
their manufacturers." The group
works to raise awareness about sweatshops on college
campuses across the U.S.
###
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