Resolution in Support of the WTO Protest Anniversary Events

September 19, 2019

WHEREAS, protests at the WTO ministerial meeting in Seattle in 1999 marked a turning point in the national understanding of the difference between bad trade policy that puts global corporations first, and good trade policy that improves well-being for workers and communities, and

WHEREAS, MLK Labor leaders and activists took a lead role in planning the protests and hundreds of our sisters and brothers marched and participated in many ways, and 

WHEREAS, this year marks the 20th anniversary of the protests in 1999, so we now have 20 years of lived experience with the failed policies of the WTO and corporate-centric trade agreements designed under WTO principles, and 

WHEREAS, the Washington Fair Trade Coalition and organizational members from labor and civil society, are planning several events for December 7, 2019, and 

WHEREAS, the events this December will recognize the spirit of the protests in 1999, look at where we are 20 years later, and consider better ways to manage globalization in the future, and

WHEREAS, organizers expect speakers to include leadership from the AFL-CIO, Nobel Prize laureate Joseph Stiglitz, other representatives from labor, community allies, and tribes in the Northwest, and

WHEREAS, the events on December 7 should generate national attention, and help influence the 2020 presidential campaigns, which will be entering the caucus and primary season in December, now 

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that MLK Labor endorses the events planned for December 7, 2019, to mark the 20th anniversary of the WTO protests in 1999, including use of our logo in the program and materials, and be it further

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that MLK Labor encourages affiliates and community allies to endorse and support the events, and mobilize participation by leaders, members, and activists, and be it further 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that MLK Labor encourages our labor sisters and brothers to bring any materials they kept from 1999 to the events in December this year, and be it finally

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that MLK Labor will support the events with a contribution of $200.