[Seattle-editorial] FEATURE PROPOSAL: Race to the Bottom

[jonathan lawson]

use image: http://images.indymedia.org/imc/seattle/ftaa.jpg

subtitle: FTAA: NAFTA ON STEROIDS
title: Race to the Bottom!

For the  past decade, American wage earners have been thrust into a 'race 
to the bottom' by trade policies that export jobs and factories to wherever 
in the world labor costs, worker rights and environmental standards are 
lowest. It is estimated that since passage of the North American Free Trade 
Agreement in 1994, Washington State has lost over 40,000 jobs. As good jobs 
are eliminated, wages drop for those jobs that remain, benefits are cut, 
funding for schools and social services are slashed. In this race to the 
bottom, environmental regulations and food safety standards are also 
threatened in order to facilitate 'free' trade at any social cost.

<p>On Nov. 22, as the <a href="http://www.ftaaimc.org">FTAA Ministerial</a> 
continues in Miami, the Seattle-based <a 
href="http://www.seattleglobaljustice.org">Community Alliance for Global 
Justice</a> will sponsor a <a 
href="http://seattle.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=36212"><b>Race to 
the Bottom</b></a>. The 5K race will be a symbolic trip through Seattle to 
highlight local issues connected to unbalanced trade policy. Runners (and 
walkers) are encouraged to dress in either a corporate criminal or a fair 
trade champion costume. The run/march begins at 11:30am in Pioneer Square, 
and ends with a rally at the Labor Temple in Belltown.

<p><a href="http://www.seattleglobaljustice.org/racetobottom.htm">Race to 
the Bottom</a> | <a href="http://www.ftaaimc.org">FTAA IMC</a> | <a 
href="http://www.stopftaa.org">Stop the FTAA</a>