Not all WTO opponents will be in the streets. Some nongovernmental organizations are coming for teach-ins or conferences such as one being sponsored by the International Forum on Globalization. While some groups, such as the Third World-based Peoples' Global Action (a movement especially popular among peasant farmers in countries like India), wish flatly to destroy the WTO, others want simply to fix it. The Seattle Host Organization is attempting to create space for public dialogue with a series of "public sector programs" during the ministerials, including programs on labor issues, electronic commerce, agriculture and food products, environmental issues, and trade in services. These aren't exactly all anti-free trade—the electronic commerce forum, for example, is being organized by Microsoft. But two are being organized by individuals who have publicly challenged the course of the WTO: Patti Goldman of Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund is coordinating the environmental program, while labor is being handled by the King County Labor Council's Ron Judd.
Tinkering with trade
"We are not going to be denouncing the WTO, asking that it be killed or go away," says Judd, who will also help oversee the November 30 labor rally that will probably be the largest and most visible protest of the week. "We don't believe the rules as presently written are working very well for workers . . . we want to make WTO make as part of their mandate sanctions against [countries that violate] workers' rights: child labor, slave labor, the right to organize, the right to bargain collectively, ending discrimination in the workplace." Goldman, in describing the usefulness of working with the Seattle Host Organization rather than outside the doors, says, "I think there is some advantage to having some powerful speakers who can describe [the WTO's] effects on the environment."
Shepard Fairey
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The biggest challenge for WTO opponents will be deciding what they want and speaking with a unified voice. Public Citizen's Dolan and the Citizens' Trade Campaign are attempting to unify protest organizers around a demand that, rather than hammering out yet more agreements, trade ministers use the Seattle Round to take stock and analyze the effects of the trade agreements already in place. They are convinced, of course, that any objective analysis of the last four years will find enormous harm to the economies and resources of the developing world as well as democracy worldwide. Free trade proponents see no need for such introspection. In the state of Washington, it's hard to find an elected official who doesn't crow the praises of trade: Patty Murray, Slade Gorton, Gary Locke, and Jim McDermott are all on board. They tout free trade as beneficial for the state's Pacific Rim-based economy (and, of course, for Boeing). The Seattle Host Organization claims that, as a hosting group, it takes no position on the WTO's actions, but both privately and publicly a lot of time and money are being spent promoting the glories of free trade. The SHO is doing extensive public outreach in the coming months, including town hall meetings, business outreach events, a school curriculum extolling the virtues of free trade, and regional events concerning trade in different continents (the Africa forum will be convened by McDermott, busy promoting his Africa free trade bill in Congress).
"Remember Seattle?"
Can protests in the streets of Seattle challenge the dominance of free trade policies? In the short term, no. Free trade enjoys solid bipartisan support, led by the Clinton/ Gore Administration and the ever-accommodating Republican wing of America's one-party state. Among both Democrats and Republicans, those who question the wisdom of unfettered trade are relegated to the fringes of the party. The coalition of labor, environmental, agricultural, consumer, human rights, and constitutionalist groups that hope to slow, if not stop, the momentum of an ever-increasing number of free trade agreements anticipates using Seattle as a springboard. By filling the streets for several days, snarling traffic, worrying the cops, and tapping out what few meeting places and motel rooms remain, they may just possibly galvanize a movement.
Seattle's protests aren't likely to change the outcome of the momentous trade talks that will be held here. But the first step in changing a policy is letting the public know that the political terrain is even contested. The hope of the tens of thousands of protesters descending on Seattle this fall is that it will be the start of something big. The goal, according to Dolan, is "to create something that later will cause politicians to say, 'Remember Seattle?'—and it gives them pause before they advance the corporate agenda." As Derdowski drily notes: "To give away your fundamental liberties for the sake of trade dollars is a very poor choice."*
For a schedule of planned anti-WTO events in Seattle or to help with preparations, contact People for Fair Trade at 1-877-STOP-WTO. Volunteers are welcomed at the Public Citizen storefront: 1914 4th Ave in downtown Seattle. For help or information on the November 30 march/rally, contact the King County Labor Council at 206-441-8510. More information on the WTO is available through the following Web sites: www.tradewatch.org; www.peopleforfairtrade.org; www.seattlewto.org
