Buffalo Says No to the FTAA

On April 22, a broad coalition including organized labor, environmental groups and community groups will converge on Quebec City in the Canadian province of Quebec to demonstrate against the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), which will impose NAFTA’s “free-trade� policies of job displacement, union busting, deregulation, privatization and environmental destruction on the entire western hemisphere.

On April 22, a broad coalition including organized labor, environmental groups and community groups will converge on Quebec City in the Canadian province of Quebec to demonstrate against the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), which will impose NAFTA’s “free-trade� policies of job displacement, union busting, deregulation, privatization and environmental destruction on the entire western hemisphere. The demonstrations will take place around the meeting of the delegates of 34 countries as they negotiate the FTAA.

In solidarity with the protests in Quebec, demonstrations will be held in cities across the country, including Buffalo, New York. Buffalo, like many other cities across the U.S., has lost thousands of high-paying union jobs since the passage of NAFTA. Demonstrations, rallies and concerts will take place in Buffalo April 20-22, culminating in a “Globalize Liberation Rally� on Sunday the 22nd.

The solidarity demonstrations have been endorsed by a diverse number of organizations including the AFL-CIO (including Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse Labor Councils), the Coalition for Economic Justice, CWA Local 14177, Food Not Bombs, the Latin American Solidarity Committee, UBEN (University at Buffalo Environmental Network) and the Sierra Club.

Local organizers for the demonstrations, the Buffalo Activist Network, have held a series of teach-ins about the FTAA at local colleges, union halls and community centers that have drawn much public suport. Local activists are also circulating a petition asking the Buffalo Common Council to adopt a resolution opposing the FTAA.

For more information on the demonstrations in Buffalo please visit www.a22buffalo.org.