Alliance for Responsible Trade

Here are descriptions of actions and links to the videos made from groups in Chicago, Portland, Louisville and Boston as a part of the call by the World Social Forum to demonstrate widespread opposition to the status quo.

Chicago:
Dear friends:
Many thanks to all the Chicago-based groups that signed on to the letter initiated by the Chicago Trade With Justice Working Group, opposing ratification of the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement. The letter was delivered this morning to the Chicago offices of Senators Durbin and Obama, and it is also being faxed to all members of the U.S. House from Illinois.

You can read the final text of the letter below, or by clicking on this link: http://mingas.info/node/72

Further, in a video just posted on YouTube, members of several of these groups give their reasons for opposing the U.S.-Colombia FTA. We encourage you to view it, give it a rating, and leave a comment to increase visibility on the site:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=HgTzdJ2Rkqs

Please feel free to share the information and these links with others and encourage them to do the same. Select this article to read the letter and see links to the actions of the other groups.

A LETTER from CHICAGO-AREA ORGANIZATIONS AND UNIONS OPPOSING the U.S.-COLOMBIA FREE TRADE AGREEMENT
January 28, 2008
Dear Senators Durbin and Obama:

In light of upcoming Congressional consideration of the pending Free Trade Agreement with Colombia, we write to you today as Chicago-area trade unions and human rights, ecojustice, faith, and community organizations concerned about significant flaws in the current trade model as a whole, and in particular in the U.S.-Colombia FTA.

The Colombia agreement stands out from all other trade agreements negotiated by the United States due to the unparalleled levels of violence experienced by Colombian workers. Colombia continues to be the most dangerous country in the world for trade unionists. In 2006 alone, 72 trade unionists were assassinated in Colombia, out of 136 killed globally. That same year 244 Colombian union members suffered death threats, in addition to forced displacement, violent intimidation, arbitrary detention, kidnapping, harassment, and torture. These forms of violence victimize not only workers but also families and entire communities.

The agreement also poses major threats to the rights of indigenous and Afro-Colombian groups, particularly around issues of land control. In preparation for FTA implementation, the Colombian government has passed new laws that threaten the collective land holdings of these groups. In order to make Colombia more attractive to U.S. investors, indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities that have collective title to their lands will now own only the first three meters of the trees on their land, with the rest made available to loggers.

Further, as the Colombian countryside is being taken over by companies cultivating African oil palm for export, thousands of acres of forest are being destroyed. Increased investment by U.S. companies in natural resource exploitation will only exacerbate this problem. The FTA limits itself to demanding that Colombia's government comply with its own very lax environmental laws, which have been aggressively weakened in recent years. Global climate change will proceed apace.

The Free Trade Agreement process overrides the democratic processes of both countries. With corporations permitted to sue for damages where regulations and laws diminish their profits, either nation might be required to ignore its own sovereign laws and even provisions of its constitution. Only those who have the money and power end up benefiting under this current model of trade: international corporations and government elites.

Perhaps the most alarming aspect of this particular agreement is the ongoing collusion between the Uribe administration and the paramilitary apparatus in Colombia. As has been demonstrated by the arrests of Colombian Members of Congress and government leaders in recent months, collaboration between paramilitary groups, the Colombian military, and the political establishment has been extensive, reaching deeply into President Uribe's political circle. Ratifying a trade agreement with Colombia would send a clear signal that the United States is willing to support a terrorist state if there is potential for economic benefit.

The expanded labor and environmental provisions that were added to the trade template do not compensate for the flawed economic model it is based upon. A new vision for trade will have to be grounded in democratic and inclusive processes and a genuine respect for human rights and the environment.

We therefore call on you to take a public, vocal position against the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement and the other pending agreements (South Korea, Panama) based on the current trade model. We hope you will find the courage and clarity to stand with us in calling for real change.

Sincerely,

Wellington Avenue United Church of Christ, Peace and Social Justice Committee
US Labor Education in the Americas Project (USLEAP)
United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America (UE), Western Region
Tinta Roja Projects
Teamsters Local 743
Sacred Heart Province JPIC
Progressive Democrats of America
Pilsen Green Party
National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities (NALACC), Chicago Chapter
MIGUA Chicago
Metro Chicago Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR)
Loyola Students Against Sweatshops
Latinos Progresando
Labor Express Radio
Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA)
La Voz de los de Abajo
Jobs with Justice Chicago
Environmental Research Foundation
Eco-Justice Collaborative
Durango Unido en Chicago
Democratic Socialists of America, Chicago Chapter
Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), Chicago Chapter
Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU), Chicago Chapter
Christian Peacemaker Teams - Chicago
Chicagoans for a Peaceful Colombia
Chicago Socialist Party
Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America (CRLN)
Chicago Fair Trade
8th Day Center for Justice

cc: All Illinois Members of U.S. House
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Portland:
Thanks to everyone who came out in the freezing rain to Saturday's protest against the Colombia FTA. Considering the weather, we had a good group of people present. Check out the video from the street theater skit and help us spread the word by forwarding this message and posting links to the video on your personal websites!

--Arthur

An activist shot in Pioneer Square!!??? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQjEhqZmvrk

Not exactly. Check out this fake, funny video of a television reporter covering a drive-by shooting in the City of Roses. He gradually learns that it has something to do with the latest Bush administration trade deal -- and that The Environment, Family Wage Jobs, Food Safety and more are now all under attack.

Watch the video "Another Deadly Trade Deal" on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQjEhqZmvrk

This was a made-for-the-web street theater piece put together by labor, environmental and human rights advocates during a rally against the Colombia Free Trade Agreement that took place in Portland, Oregon on January 26, 2008 as part of a "Global Day of Action."
When you've watched the video and want to learn more about the Colombia trade deal -- and how you can help stop it -- visit: http://www.citizenstrade.org/orftc-colombia.php

Please help spread the word by posting the video on your sites and forwarding this email wherever appropriate!

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Louisville:

Friends,
    See the youtube piece that was made from our mobile street theater
action yesterday as part of the Global Day of Action.

peace and hijinks,

Stephen (Esteban) Bartlett

http://www.hillbillyreport.com/blog/2008/01/george-w-bush-d.html

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Boston:

Resolute Rejection of US-Colombia FTA

With Condoleezza Rice in Colombia promoting a Free Trade Agreement with the United States, Boston activists hosted a Colombian mine workers union representative to discuss the same topic. Sintraminergética's Orlando Acosta made it very clear that unionists don't want a free trade agreement. Instead they see it as something that will further open up their country to powerful transnational corporations, like Alabama-based Drummond Company.

Melt Ice Action Report by Sergio Reyes

Sun, 01/27/2008 - 19:08 - organizer

The Boston May Day Coalition called for a "speak-out against ICE raids on undocumented migrant workers", in the context of a week of transnational action ending January 26. The International Council of the World Social Forum decided that instead of convening its eighth World Forum this year (2008), it would conduct a global week of action.