I Was There
And We Refuse To Be Silenced

Did you hear or read about the recent protests in Miami over the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) in your local newspaper or on your regular TV or radio station? If you did, consider yourself well informed.

You had to dig to find the story about how some 20,000 people tried to make their voices heard against a trade agreement that would multiply the effects of NAFTA by bringing the "benefits" of free trade to countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, making them the latest targets for low-wage exploitation and the export of more U.S. jobs. The media focused on the animal rights activists wearing dolphin suits and the usual band of anarchists who tangled with police. The Washington Post even described some of the demonstrators as "comic."

I was there, along with Secretary-Treasurer OConnor and other IBEW brothers and sisters from Florida and elsewhere representing almost all of our branches, as well as other trade union members. There was nothing violent about our demonstration. And there was certainly nothing funny about the message we were there to deliver--the message that we are sick and tired of the FTAA and other trade agreements that have decimated jobs and communities across North America only to line the pockets of an ever smaller corporate elite.

Weve published the numbers before, but theyre worth going over again. Since 1998, some 2.4 million manufacturing jobs have been lost in the United States, a 13 percent drop in that sector. About one half million of those jobs are attributed to NAFTA, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The United States trade deficit is close to $500 billion and counting, and the Bush Administration and their allies dont care.

The IBEW members and other trade union folks marching in Florida werent there to protest abstract numbers. They were there to talk about the loss of the real jobs of real people--the lost television jobs in Indiana, the disappearing high tech jobs in Oklahoma City, Orlando, Allentown, Pennsylvania, Columbus, Ohio and elsewhere, and the virtual extinction of electronic manufacturing in North America. I admire our brothers and sisters who made the effort to come to Miami, and I thank them for speaking out for all workers.

Unfair trade agreements give corporations ammunition to squeeze workers on the grounds of being "competitive" with developing nations. Bad trade policies cause people to lose health insurance, drain state budgets of needed revenues for schools, reduce contributions that sustain pension funds, and generally drive down wages and standards in industry after industry. No one is secure in an atmosphere like we have today.

You may have heard that the meeting of the trade ministers ended without an agreement on FTAA. That is only temporary. There is too much money at stake for the big players for them to give up. As Robert Zoellick, the U.S Trade Representative, put it: "I view [the talks] as a nine-course sit-down dinner." Thats a good comparison. The fat cats may have their banquet, but those of us just trying to get by in an ever more polarized economy are going to be left with the crumbs.

We have fought too hard to win fairness, decency, and the opportunity to make a living and build a decent way of life to give up now. The fight to turn things around is just beginning. The upcoming year is going to tell us a lot about what kind of future we will have and what kind of society our children and grandchildren will inherit. We will be calling on you to help carry the fight in 2004.

In the meantime, I wish every member of the extended IBEW family a happy and healthy holiday season. If you have not yet done your gift buying, please shop for North American-made products. And may the spirit of the season sustain your hearts and souls so that we enter the New Year with the spirit of determination.

Ed Hill
International President