Community Alliance for Global Justice
Community Alliance for Global Justice
november 11, 2003, Seattle WA
by Johanne Pelletier and Francis Murchison
CAGJ localAn invitation brought us inside after a run through the cold autumn rain in Seattle’s international district to the headquarters of this social justice group. We were welcomed by a warm meal and a convivial atmosphere into a general meeting of Community Alliance for Global Justice.
Among the twenty odd people present at the meeting were women and men of all ages, students, seniors, and working people; a very diverse group all joined together by common goals. To start things off, everyone introduced themselves to the group. Afterwards, one of the volunteers talked to us about the Buenos Aires Consensus and about the recent massacre of protesters in Bolivia that led to the flight of Gonzalo Sandrez de Lozada, the former president, to Miami where he sought refuge. These are two important developments in the process of active resistance to Free Trade in the Americas.
As a group that resists corporate globalization, the Community Alliance for Global Justice (CAGJ) works “to increase understanding of local connections to the global economy, and expand public participation in shaping it.” The main point on the agenda for the evening was the planning of their next concrete action, the Race to the Bottom: Fun Run and March. This major event will coincide with the Miami negotiation of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and intends to connect local impact and issues associated with unbalanced trade policy. The protest will see activists move through the city of Seattle, making stops in key locations such as the ferry docks and the Federal Building where jobs are in danger of being outsourced as a result of privatization. All participated actively in the preparations of the Race to the Bottom, giving their best to the effort in an open and friendly fashion.
Post-WTO Seattle
CAGJ was brought to life two years ago by a founding board of approximately ten organizers who decided to form a membership organization in reaction to the lack of long-term initiatives in Washington State. In 1999, an influx of activists from outside Seattle coordinated the World Trade Organization (WTO) protests that played a large part in the failure of the WTO meetings. The networks that were started during the protest were short-term and the movement fell apart after the event in spite of several efforts to sustain the initiative. The founding board of CAGJ acted on the realization that if organizing to change the world were going to happen then they needed to build an organization that would last and remain stable.
A lot on their plate
Since its formation, CAGJ has been endeavoring to develop the skills of local activists in order to build a base of people that are educated and ready to mobilize over the long term.
Since becoming active in December 2001, CAGJ has conducted many activities in the Seattle area focusing primarily on public education Over a hundred people attended a conference organized in the fall of 2002 called “No more NAFTAs”, which was about the legacy of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the threat of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). They have also run over a dozen community workshops on the FTAA and related issues. In order to link global and local issues, CAGJ has promoted fair trade alternatives by convening meetings of the Seattle Sustainable Coffee Coalition who work with a network of organizations to expand the consciousness and sales of Fair trade, organic, shade-grown coffee.
This summer, the Community Alliance for Global Justice continued with its mandate for public education by presenting a series of films on key subjects such as the coup against president Chavez in Venezuela, the Movimento Sem Terra (MST) in Brazil, and the situation of immigrants in the United States. Also, in continuation of their previous efforts, CAGJ has been conducting public outreach campaigns for the upcoming Race to the Bottom, garnishing support among local unions, churches, schools, and the public service sector.
Because of the diversity in their membership, CAGJ combines a variety of political perspectives as well as ideas on how to work for change allowing multiple directions of focus. Certain members concentrate on movement building while others work on policy. Some time ago the Alliance held a ‘sit in’ at US Senator Maria Cantwell’s office in order to convince her to meet with local partners of the coalition against Fast Track*. They succeeded and are now able to have regular meetings with the Senator. In an important symbolic effort, CAGJ is trying to get Seattle City Council to take an official position against the FTAA to help with the unified front already present and growing in Seattle. The next phase in the FTAA campaign is to build groups of advocates to work in Washington State’s congressional districts. The groups will mobilize public opinion in resistance to the FTAA in order to pressure representatives in the different districts to vote against it in Congress.
Part of the local work involves building alliances in their community around Free Trade issues. CAGJ works in numerous coalitions and in collaboration with various organizations such as unions, school groups, and with Latin American organizations to take a united position against the FTAA. An example of this is how CAGJ is an active member of ‘Jobs with Justice’, a labor based coalition of over 125 member groups with whom they work closely.
Like many other anti-globalization organizations in the U.S., CAGJ is made up of mostly white members which provides a less welcoming space for people of colour who wish to organize on the same issues. One of the major goals CAGJ has is to increase the diversity of the global justice movement by building an anti-racist, multi-cultural organization. To achieve these goals, the Alliance is working internally by encouraging all members to participate in training on undoing racism and intending that the Board maintain a standard of at least 50% people of colour in the future. Also, they are committed to addressing the role that racism plays in the global economy and support the efforts of social justice organizations led by people of colour.
On the whole the Community Alliance for Global Justice sees itself as part of a hemispheric wide campaign against the FTAA and as a part of the broader movement that struggles worldwide against neo-conservatism and corporate globalization. CAGJ has asked the question “Who wins this race to the bottom?” about an international trade system where apparently giant corporations use the rules of trade to increase their profits while society and environment across the globe suffer. On the 22nd of November their Race to the Bottom, Fun Run and March will highlight the strength and the togetherness of popular mobilization against the FTAA.
* Fast Track is legislation that allows President George W. Bush the power to negotiate new trade treaties with minimal congressional oversight.
Community Alliance for Global Justice
606, Maynard Ave. S. #252
Seattle, WA 98104
Phone: 206 405 4600 Fax: 206 405 4602
Email: cagj@riseup.net
Website: www.seattleglobaljustice.org
