Resources being developed for FTAA Organizing

Handouts and Action Packets

1. FTAA Action Packet
This packet will prepare activists to speak on the FTAA, lead teach-ins, and organize in their communities. Excellent thorough paper on the FTAA, a two-side fact sheet and one-side handout, talking points, sample letters to newspapers and Congress, a sample petition,
soundbites, website and reading lists, overheads and graphs. $10 from ACERCA, PO Box 57, Burlington, VT 05402,,

2. FTAA Primer
This 20-page booklet describes the FTAA's likely contents, its negotiating groups, its connections to other global trade bodies, its requirements, its lack of democracy and transparency, NAFTA Chapter 11 cases, Fast Track, and the opposition to the FTAA. Sidebars discuss immigration, forests, labor unions, sweatshops, indigenous issues in the North and South, genetic engineering, militarization, economic development in the South, financial flows, intellectual property rights, and dry canals. Contact ACERCA (above) for single copies or bulk rates.

3. FTAA "Campaign of Inquiry" Packet
Backgrounder on the FTAA, action points, and sample letters to Members of Congress and letters to the editor for a campaign of inquiry on FTAA, demanding release of the text and related documents as well as an opening of the negotiations process. The campaign will educate the public and pressure Congress, the White House, the USTR, etc. Download the packet from http://www.tradewatch.org/FTAA/ftaahome.html or contact Alesha Daughtrey, Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch, 215 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Washington DC 20003,,

4. Pocket booklet on the FTAA
"Free Trade Area of the Americas: Demystifying the Corporate Jargon" will educate activists and others about the terminology of the FTAA such as deregulation of capital controls, intellectual property rights, broader definition of investment, national treatment, etc and the detrimental effects it will have on humans and environments in the Americas. Similar to the booklets on the WTO, World Bank, and IMF put out for the actions in Seattle and Washington, DC. For information or to sponsor the booklet contact . Published by the Alliance for Global Justice.

5. Sectoral analysis of the FTAA
Analyzes the impact of the FTAA on labor, the environment, women, immigrants, the faith community, consumers/food safety, and farmers. Available from the Alliance for Responsible Trade, 4834 N. Springfield, Chicago, IL 60625, or ,

6. Environmental Action Kit on the FTAA
The Sierra Club's Responsible Trade Program is producing an action kit on the FTAA's environmental impacts that will include a four-page factsheet, training materials on communicating to the media and to the general public about the FTAA, and suggestions on how to build a local Responsible Trade coalition. They will support these materials by helping to organize local "town hall" meetings, conducting speaking tours, connecting Sierra Club activists to other coalition partners in your area, and supporting both local actions and participation at the Quebec Summit of the Americas. Contact Dan Seligman at or at

7. Fact sheets on FTAA's effects on forests and
indigenous peoples, and who's behind the FTAA (Citigroup, Boise Cascade, the Business Roundtable, and the role the private financial sector plays in back boardroom wheeling
and dealing). Teach-in support also available. Contact Beka Economopoulos at Rainforest Action Network,,

8. Free Trade Action Kit: about 11 popular education pieces, in English and French. Its focus is the FTAA, targeted at Canadians, though it can be modified to fit US reality. Common Frontiers-Canada, Patty Barrera,

9. Four-page 11x17 handout on the FTAA for union and other use. Massachusetts Jobs with Justice, or

10. Resistance Journal on the FTAA and the Summit of the Americas Titled "It didn't start in Seattle, and it's not going to stop with Quebec City," this 12- or 16-page newspaper offers information on the FTAA and the Quebec action. Anti-Capitalist Convergence (CLAC), or

11. Field Guide to Quebec
For anti-FTAA activists with info on the police operation, the activist operation, getting around in Quebec, the protest schedule, etc. Download from www.stopftaa.org

12. "The Free Trade Area of the Americas," authoritative analysis by Maude Barlow of the Council of Canadians and International Forum on Globalization. Download from www.canadians.org

Workshops
1. FTAA for Beginners
This workshop describes the FTAA and how it fits into the global economy. NAFTA case studies, the Corporate Bill of Rights, and a radio talk show exercise lead up to an "Action Steps" section where participants identify local allies and select tactics for a long-term anti-FTAA campaign. $25 for trainer's guide and handouts, + $25 for 2-x-3 foot flipcharts postpaid, from United for a Fair Economy, 37 Temple Place, Boston MA 02111, x
24,

2. Popular education workshops on corporate-centered globalization
These workshops from the Alliance for Responsible Trade and the Mexico Solidarity Network will:
- Bring globalization home, helping participants to understand the impact of globalization in their own communities and linking to ongoing local struggles.
- Educate, helping participants to form coherent arguments against corporate-centered globalization and in favor of alternatives.
- Formulate, helping participants to develop effective strategies for broadening the movement and envisioning alternatives to corporate-centered globalization.
The workshops use the US-Mexico relationship as a laboratory that for decades has defined the process of globalization. Discussions of NAFTA and the maqiladora model bring home the affects of globalization. The Free Trade Area of the Americas (NAFTA for the Americas) is highlighted as the next major step in corporate control. Workshops end with practical discussions around strategy and movement-building. Workshops can be tailored for various timeframes, with the most comprehensive workshops requiring a day. To schedule a workshop on your campus or in your community, contact the Mexico Solidarity Network, or ,

Videotapes
Nine-minute videotape for union and other use features interviews with industrial, service, and public sector workers. Massachusetts Jobs with Justice, or

Caravans
Turning Point Southeastern Road Show, late January through March, , ,
www.davidrovics.com

Call to Action, cross-country, mid-February through mid-
April,, ,
www.calltoaction.org

Rustbelt Road Show, mid-March to Quebec, probably
focusing on old industrial towns south of the Great
Lakes. www.pcan.org, www. agp.org, , 610-
.

CLAC, Maritime Canada tour January 31 to February 10,
Eastern US tour February 12 to March 3, other stops
avalable on request., ,
www.quebec2001.net
NAFTA RESOURCES

Printed materials

"NAFTA at Seven" and "NAFTA at Five," comprehensive critiques of NAFTA's effects on jobs, the environment, food safety, etc. Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch, www.tradewatch.org, .

"Seven Years Under NAFTA," an excellent seven-page handout with graphs describing NAFTA's impact on Mexico and the United States. Sarah Anderson, Institute for Policy Studies, www.ips-dc.org

"Six Years of NAFTA: A View from Inside the Maquiladoras." A report by the Comite Fronterizo de Obreras (Border Committee of Women Workers), 30 pp, October 1999. $5 from American Friends Service Committee (see next item for ordering information).

The Maquiladora Reader, case studies on all aspects of the sweatshops on the US-Mexico border, 1999. American Friends Service Committee, www.afsc.org/maquiladora/htm, $14.95 plus $3.50 for shipping. 30% discount for five or more copies. Order from Literature Resources, AFSC, 1501 Cherry St, Philadelphia, PA . Checks to AFSC or call to pay by credit card.

Videotapes

From the Mountains to the Maquiladoras, 1991, 25 mins. Nine women laid off from their jobs in Tennessee decide to visit factories on the Mexico-US border and check up on General Motors, Converse, Levi, and General Electric. Examines repressive labor practices, horrendous living conditions, and the lack of any environmental regulations. High school to adult. Donation A

Leaving Home: A Road Trip Into Our Free Trade Future, 1992, 14 mins. or 60 mins. From the public TV series, "We Do the Work," this program examines the real cost of the Mexico-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. Looks at how the workers on both sides of the border have been affected by a free trade policy in place for the last 25 years, the Mexico-U.S. maquiladora program. Includes debate by advocates and opponents of free trade agreements. Donation A short version; Donation A2 long version

Ties that Bind: Stories Behind the Immigration Controversy, 1996, 56 mins. Three stories. The first section shows how post-NAFTA regulations have benefited multinational companies while
constricting the movement of people. The second documents the one billion dollars spent to maintain southern and follows a mother and daughter crossing the border illegally. The third shows how immigrants built up the United States. High school and older. Donation A

Time Has Come! An Immigrant Community Stands Up to the Border Patrol, 1996, 40 mins. The Hispanic immigrant community of El Paso, Texas learns to exercise its civil rights, especially when dealing with the Border Patrol.

Free Trade and Democracy, 2 tapes, 1993, 120 mins. & 60 min. Q&A tape
Noam Chomsky and Hilda Salazar Ramirez' scathing critique of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1993. Examines impact of NAFTA on human rights, environmental concerns, workers rights, small companies, the Mexican constitution and unemployment rates. Donation A

Rent videos from American Friends Service Committee New England Regional Office,. Requested Donations for private viewing: $2/day plus shipping. Requested Donations for public showings and classes: Donation A - $10-$15; Donation A1, A2 & B - $15-$20 plus shipping. Check out http://www.afsc.org/nero/nevlib.htm for hundreds of other videos, films and slide shows on 100 to pics.

1. FTAA Action Packet
This packet will prepare activists to speak on the FTAA, lead teach-ins, and organize in their communities. It will include a paper on the FTAA, talking points, an outline for a speech, a sample letter to the editor, a sample letter to Congress, a sample petition, soundbites, website and reading lists, overheads and graphs. Available the third week of January. Order from ACERCA, PO Box 57, Burlington, VT 05402,,

2. FTAA "Campaign of Inquiry" Packet
Backgrounder on the FTAA, action points, and sample letters to Members of Congress and letters to the editor for a campaign of inquiry on FTAA, demanding release of the text and related documents as well as an opening of the negotiations process. The campaign will educate the public and pressure Congress, the White House, the USTR, etc. Download the packet from or contact Alesha Daughtrey, Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch, 215 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Washington DC 20003,,

3. "FTAA for Beginners," a two-hour participatory workshop This workshop describes the FTAA and what it will do to our communities, starting with what people know: NAFTA. It includes NAFTA case studies; a race, gender, and class analysis of NAFTA; and a framework of expanding corporate globalization (WTO, MAI, NAFTA). It ends with a strategy planning session where participants identify local allies for a long-term anti-FTAA campaign. $25 for trainer's guide and handouts, + $25 for 2-x-3 foot flipcharts postpaid, from United for a Fair Economy, 37 Temple Place, Boston MA 02111, x 24,

4. Popular education training for anti-FTAA activists
The Alliance for Responsible Trade is producing a six-hour popular education workshop for campus, labor, religious, and community use. It will prepare activists to form local coalitions against the FTAA and build support for the Quebec protests, either by recruiting people to go to Quebec or by promoting local solidarity demonstrations. After a six-hour training, ART trainers can stay in your community for several days to work with the most interested activists, but will need financial support to bring you the workshop. Available from ART, 4834 N. Springfield, Chicago, IL 60625,,

5. Printed materials from ART and Chicago AFSC
-Six or eight four-page pieces that provide an overview of the FTAA, analyze its effect on various constituencies (labor, consumers, religious groups...), and offer alternatives for local organizing.
-A brochure describing the Alliance for Responsible Trade, the Alternatives for the Americas, and suggestions for local organizing.
-A videotape that describes the FTAA.
-The Alternatives for the Americas document and a two-page summary of it. All the above will be available from ART (see #4).
-Short pieces: "Questions and answers about the FTAA," "Mexico Under NAFTA," "United States Under NAFTA," "Overview of Neoliberalism," from Chicago AFSC, 59 East Van Buren, suite 1400, Chicago IL 60605, ,

6. Pocket booklet on the FTAA
"Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA): What are the Corporations Plotting This Time and Why Do You Care?" will educate activists and others about the terminology of the FTAA such as Deregulation of capital controls, Intellectual property and patent rights protection, Broader definition of investment, National Treatment, etc and what these things mean for humans and other living things. Groups that order 500 copies for $325 can sell the booklet for $1-$1.50 and make a bit of money for themselves. They also get listed on the back cover as co-sponsors. It will be available in January from the Alliance for Global Justice. Groups interested in co-sponsoring should contact

6. Environmental Action Kit on the FTAA
The Sierra Club's Responsible Trade Program is producing an action kit on the FTAA's environmental impacts that will include a four-page factsheet, training materials on communicating to the media and to the general public about the FTAA, and suggestions on how to build a local Responsible Trade coalition. We will support these materials by helping to organize local "town hall" meetings, conducting speaking tours, connecting Sierra Club activists to other coalition partners in your area, and supporting both local actions and participation at the Quebec Summit of the Americas. For futher information, contact Dan Seligman at or at

8. Fact sheets on FTAA's impacts on forests and indigenous peoples, and
Who's Behind the FTAA
Rainforest Action Network will produce printed materials on how FTAA affects forests and indigenous peoples. They'll also develop materials on "Who Writes the FTAA, Who Benefits?" that will spotlight Citigroup, the Business Roundtable, and the role the private financial sector plays in back boardroom wheeling and dealing. Can provide teach-in support. Contact Beka Economopoulos at Rainforest Action Network,,