Labor unions declare goal: Revise FTAA agreement or stop it cold

[Judi Lynn]

Labor unions declare goal: Revise FTAA agreement or stop it cold

By Joan Fleischer Tamen and Tom Stieghorst
Business Writers
Posted November 20 2003

On the eve of a planned protest march through the streets of Miami, AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney on Wednesday rallied union members from the United States and throughout the Americas to oppose the ongoing Free Trade Area of the Americas talks.

"Our mission, very simply, is either to radically rewrite the `Bush' Free Trade Area of the Americas agreement -- or stop it cold," Sweeney said to a cheering crowd of nearly 900 at an International Workers Forum at the Gusman Center in Miami, several blocks from official events of the trade ministers meetings.

The unions object to be being excluded from official FTAA negotiations.

They want to get their message across today during a rally at Bayfront Park followed by a march. As many as 150 busloads of union members and retirees from Florida and the United States are expected.
(snip/...)

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-zlabor20nov20,0,6358504.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines

[DUreader]

1. Solidarity!

Look for a news blackout on the events in Miami today

[mbperrin]

2. Look! Over there! It's Kobe!

Over there! It's Michael! Over there! It's Scott! Over there! It's Tony! (whoops, no, don't look there!) Over there! It's the blackout from months ago!

uhhhhhhh, what's an FTAA? Never mind! Look! It's the first day of winter!

[lostnfound]

3. If labor unions also mentioned plight of workers in partner countries...

it would change the whole 'me vs them' from
..."me vs those Mexicans or Koreans or Chinese"
to
..."me vs the billionaires that make these decisions"

The first is divisive along political lines;
the second would build solidarity and focus on the root cause, the economics and ethics of unrestrained excess capital?

[truthspeaker]

4. they have mentioned that

On NPR this morning I heard a steelworker talking about how workers in many other countries don't have a right to organize.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

5. FYI.

Peter Werbe has been covering this for Mike Malloy. He's down in Miami. Tonight's show should be interesting. This is the big protest day, both in Miami and the UK.

http://www.ieamericaradio.com/listen.asp 6-9PST