Subject: [PEN-L:17621] Seattle II Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2000 17:24:02 -0500 From: Richardson_D <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: pen-l <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Hi -- > We are writing to ask for your ONE-TIME SUPPORT FOR A MAJOR DEMONSTRATION > ON APRIL 16 IN WASHINGTON, DC, against the IMF and World Bank. If you > contribute, your name and address will not become part of a "list." We > will not share your name and address with other organizations. PLEASE > FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS. > > David Schlein, National Vice President > American Federation of Government Employees > > Robert L. Clark, Secretary-Treasurer > United Electrical, Machine, and Radio Workers > > The Alliance for Global Justice is acting as the fiscal sponsor for the > April 16th Coalition. Please donate on-line at > http://www.a16.org/form_support.html, Or by check, made out to > Mobilization for Global Justice/AGJ, 1247 E Street SE, Washington DC > 20003. > > THE MOVEMENT FOR GLOBAL ECONOMIC JUSTICE HAD ITS U.S. COMING-OUT PARTY IN > SEATTLE. The movement that came to light with the World Trade > Organization (WTO) meetings - the movement all of us have been building - > will have its next big opportunity to demand that people be put ahead of > profits in Washington, DC, the home of the International Monetary Fund > (IMF) and World Bank, the rule-makers for the global economy. > > WTO head Mike Moore is expected to join World Bank President James > Wolfensohn, new IMF head Horst Koehler, and the Finance Ministers and > heads of Central Banks who make up the governing body of the IMF on > Sunday, April 16. This is one of the routine high-level meetings > dedicated to making the world safer and more profitable for corporations - > and more dangerous for the planet and its people. The formal joint > meetings continue April 17. > > ORGANIZATIONS FROM AROUND THE U.S., AND AROUND THE WORLD, ARE MAKING PLANS > > TO COME TO WASHINGTON to tell the economic decision-makers that we are not > going to close our eyes to their actions. Please see the list at > http://www.a16.org. We know that the injustices of the global economy > were not born with the WTO, and are hardly the sole responsibility of the > WTO. The IMF and World Bank, more than any other institutions, are the > coercive powers which have shaped the present global economy, and which > gave birth to the WTO in the first place. > > The reason that the Seattle mobilization was so effective was that > labor stood with the direct action folks, if not alongside, at least near > by. The result was a story that could not be relegated to the back pages > or the cutting room floor. The purpose of April 16 is to re-unite this > coalition. Therefore the AFL-CIO together with the American Federation of > Government Employees (AFGE), United Electrical Workers (UE), United Steel > Workers (USWA) and the central labor councils of Washington DC, San > Francisco, and San Jose, are sponsoring a legal Rally and March for Global > Justice. > > A week of activities is being planned, including > Sunday April 9, Jubilee 2000/USA mobilization for debt cancellation > Wednesday April 12, AFL-CIO lobbying day against China most favored nation > Saturday April 15, Latin America/Caribbean Solidarity Conference > Sunday April 16, Two Main Events: > Legal Rally and March for Global Justice > Direct Action for Global Justice > The schedule for the direct action will not be final until April 15. The > Legal Demo will assemble on The Ellipse, between the White House and the > Washington Monument, at 11:00 AM on April 16, 2000. The tentative > schedule is > 11:00 Music and cultural events > 12:00 Speakers, with a song or two > 1:30 March > 3:30 Return to Ellipse, more talk, a few songs. > 5:00 Disperse to numerous receptions and SpokesCouncil > April 18 > 11:00 - 1:00 Rally on the Ellipse > > Invited speakers include Members of Congress Dennis Kucinich and Cynthia > McKinney, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, AFGE President Bobby Harnage, UE > Secretary-Treasurer Robert L. Clark, Michael Moore, Amy Goodman, DSA's > Horace Small, TransAfrica's Randall Robinson, Philippines Freedom from > Debt leader Matet, India's Vanetta Gupta, South Africa's Dennis Brutus, > Kensington Welfare Rights' Cheri Honkala, and Public Citizen's Ralph > Nader. > > Please donate on-line at http://www.a16.org/form_support.html. > > Many of the organizations that played leading roles in organizing the > Seattle demonstrations -- Direct Action Network, the Ruckus Society, > Global Exchange, Rainforest Action Network, and others -- are organizing > for April 16 in Washington. Caravans are being planned from as far away > as the West Coast and even from Winnipeg, Canada. Experienced activists > from dozens of organizations have formed the Alliance for Global Justice > coalition with 10 working groups (e.g., communications, logistics, > outreach, labor, more being > are added all the time) that have been meeting regularly and making > concrete plans. > > WE WILL BE SHOWING THAT U.S. ACTIVISTS KNOW ABOUT THE IMPACT OF WORLD BANK > AND IMF PROGRAMS and stand in solidarity to demand an end to the > devastation they cause not only in the global South, but also here in > America. Our partner organizations around the world have challenged these > destructive > policies in the streets for years. Time and again they have asked us what > we in the U.S. are doing to help them. The strong showing made in Seattle > on behalf of the world's victims of savage corporate globalization gave a > new impetus to the movement for economic justice - both here and abroad. > > Please donate on-line at http://www.a16.org/form_support.html. > > The events in Seattle continue to reverberate through the corporate > boardrooms and the halls of power. PRESIDENT CLINTON, speaking to the > heads of the world's richest transnational corporations in Davos, > Switzerland told them, "We cannot pretend that globalization is just about > economics." > > The Washington Post in its coverage of Clinton's Davos speech opined: > "Clinton's remarks seemed designed as a reminder that these fears - even > expressed in unwelcome and sometimes violent ways, as they were in Seattle > - have a legitimacy that deserves attention in the world's executive > suites and government ministries." Of course the violence was almost > entirely police violence, but the Washington Post and the New York Times > are the keepers of "official reality," and in official reality it is > always the protesters who are violent. > > It is vital that the rulers of the world's economic system understand > clearly that Seattle was not a one-shot event and that now they can return > to business as usual. They must understand as well that the WTO, in > itself, > is not the issue. The issue is the rules that promote profits over the > needs of people and the environment. > > AFL-CIO PRESIDENT JOHN SWEENEY, also in Davos, told the corporate > big-wigs, "Understand the message of Seattle ... It was a call for new > global rules, democratically developed. Workers North and South marched > together. And the many different voices made one clear statement: > Fundamental reform is needed." On April 16 we will let them know that > fundamental change does not mean renaming their programs or other public > relations scams. Fundamental reform means rules that empower the people > of the world to make the > decisions about how they live their lives - not the transnational CEO's or > their purchased political leaders. > > Sweeney also warned them, "If the global system continues to generate > growing inequality, environmental destruction and a race to the bottom for > working people, then it will generate an increasingly volatile reaction > that will make Seattle look tame." > > Sweeney's prediction is actually a description of events going on right > now. We are not much aware of them because they do not often get > mentioned in our media. The Zapatista uprising in Mexico, the recent coup > in Ecuador, the civil war in the Congo, the turmoil in Indonesia, and the > threat of the U'Wa people to commit mass suicide, are all expressions of > the social explosion that has arisen from the desperation caused by the > policies of the World Bank, IMF, and their corporate directors. > > We are posting this message because WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT, BOTH MORAL AND > MATERIAL. We need to know that you support this movement and these > actions. And we need your financial contributions to make it all > possible. We need to raise at least $50,000 between now and April 16. > Publicity and outreach > cost money. We need a stage and sound system, phones and office space. > We need transportation subsidies for students and the disadvantaged. Many > organizations are donating staff, copying, phones, postage, etc. to the > effort, but it is not enough. We need your help. > > WE CANNOT LET THIS MEETING TAKE PLACE IN SECRET. Government officials > paving the way for corporate profits - all the while claiming to work for > development and poverty reduction - must be put on notice: The people > power demonstrated in Seattle will not die. We demand global economic > justice for all. Now! > > WE KNOW THAT CORPORATE GLOBALIZATION IS NO ACCIDENT. The rules that allow > multinational corporations to plunder resources, devastate ecosystems, > exploit workers, and require policies that prioritize their profits are > made in meetings of Finance Ministers, Treasury officials, and Trade > Ministers. Although the officials making these decisions represent > governments, many of them formally democratic, their blueprint is one of > corporate empowerment. They just assume the people will accept that > greater profits for corporations will mean a better future for us all. > > MASSIVE DEMONSTRATIONS OF OPPOSITION TO THAT AGENDA at economic summits in > Vancouver, Birmingham (UK), Cologne, Geneva, and most recently and > importantly Seattle have shown that many, many people do not accept this > logic. This April we will continue to bring this message to the > decision-makers as they convene on US soil, making sure they understand > that resistance to their agenda is truly global. > > We need your support, both moral and material. We need to know that you > support this movement and these actions. And we need your financial > contributions to make it all possible. We need to raise at least $50,000 > between now and April 16. Publicity and outreach cost money. We need a > stage and sound system, phones and office space. We need transportation > subsidies for students and the disadvantaged. Many organizations are > donating staff, copying, phones, postage, etc. to the effort, but it is > not enough. We need your help. And please show up on April 16.THIS NEW > CHALLENGE HAS INSPIRED AND ENERGIZED the Alliance for Global Justice. > Three weeks before the event, we are all pitching in. We urge you to > support this > landmark event in the history of the worldwide movement for economic > justice by helping to support the many added expenses involved with this > mobilization. > > PLEASE PLAN TO COME TO WASHINGTON IN APRIL! We'll be putting together a > week of teach-ins, training, and popular actions in advance of the big > protest on April 16. > > Sunday April 9, Jubilee 2000/USA mobilization for debt cancellation > Wednesday April 12, AFL-CIO lobbying day against China most favored nation > Saturday April 15, Latin America/Caribbean Solidarity Conference > Sunday April 16, Two Main Events: > Legal Rally and March for Global Justice > Direct Action for Global Justice > > The Alliance for Global Justice is acting as the fiscal sponsor for the > April 16th Coalition. Please donate on-line at > http://www.a16.org/form_support.html. > Or by check, made out to Mobilization for Global Justice/AGJ, 1247 E > Street > SE, Washington DC 20003. > > Your donation is tax deductible. Please be as generous as you can for > this > one-time request. > > In Solidarity, > > David Schlein, National Vice President > American Federation of Government Employees > > Robert L. Clark, Secretary-Treasurer > United Electrical, Machine, and Radio Workers > > P.S. To stay informed on the organizing efforts -- and to get further > involved -- subscribe to our e-mail listserv by sending a blank message > from > your account to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit > the coalition website at http://www.a16.org. > Part 1.2 Type: application/ms-tnef Encoding: base64