Against the Summit of the Americas

Whereas on April 20-22, 2001, the Summit of the Americas will convene in Quebec City; and,
Whereas the government and business concerns attending this Summit plan to begin establishing the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA); and,

Whereas the proposed Area would, in essence, expand the provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to cover all of North, South and Central America and the Caribbean, with the exception of Cuba; and,

Whereas the documented effects of NAFTA in Canada, Mexico and the United States include increased unemployment, depressed wage levels, weakened environmental regulations, increased consolidation of industry through corporate mergers and buyouts; and numerous harms to the working class in these countries in result of these conditions; and,

Whereas the Industrial Workers of the World has affirmed since its founding in 1905 that the working class and the employing class have nothing in common; and,

Whereas the groups and individuals comprising the Summit of the Americas Welcoming Committee/Le Comite d'Accueil du Sommet des Ameriques (CASA) and the Anti-Capitalist Convergence/La Convergence des Luttes Anti-Capitalistes (CLAC), along with many others, have called for international solidarity in resisting the Summit of the Americas;

Therefore be it resolved:

That the IWW condemns the Summit of the Americas as another act of war by the employing class against the working class of the Americas; and,

That the IWW pledges to resist implementation of the Free Trade Area of the Americas, and

That the IWW supports those who stand in resistance against the Summit of the Americas, and encourages IWW members to join in demonstrating their resistance to global capitalism.

IWW General Executive Board, January 2001

For information on protests in Quebec City, e-mail: [email protected] web: http://www.quebec2001.net tel: +1 514 526-8946 post: 2035, St. Laurent Boulevard, 2nd floor, Montreal, Quebec H2X 2T3 Canada

Originally appeared in the Industrial Worker #1630 (January/February 2001)