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Corporate lobbyists dominate US trade policy inside Washington. So to win the fight for global fairness, we must educate and organize our fellow citizens around the country. Here are suggestions on tactics to get you started on your local campaign to fight NAFTA expansion and to support the Fair Trade Bill of Rights. (To share the work, use the "local coalition partners" contact list.) Set up a "Fair Trade Action Table." To start spreading the word on the FTAA on your campus or in your community, set up a table in a place with heavy foot traffic. Ask folks to write letters or sign postcards to public officials about NAFTA and the Fair Trade Bill of Rights. Make a Presentation. Make a presentation to increase the interest of your organization, faith community, or club in issues of global fairness. Give examples of local impacts. We can help you think up such examples. Leave time for questions. Bring props or a video to dramatize the issues. Conclude by asking the audience to take a simple action on the spot, such as writing postcards to public officials. Circulate a sign-up sheet. (We can add these names to our national listserv). If the group shows enough interest, plan further actions. Talk to the Press. To reach a wider audience, write a letter to the editor of your local paper or set up a meeting with a local reporter or an editorial writer. Explain to them how NAFTA expansion can undermine environmental protection in your state and why we need a Fair Trade Bill of Rights. Share our materials with them. Screen a Video. The award-winning, feature-length documentary, Trade Off, captures the spirit of the Seattle protests against the WTO and features interviews with many of the leaders (see "web resources"). We can also provide you with a short video called "Matamoros, Mexico: The Human Face of Globalization" which shows NAFTA's health and environmental impacts in a Mexican border city. Try to publicize the screening a month in advance. Make sure to circulate a sign-in sheet. Ask participants to write short letters to public officials on the spot. Organize a "Townhall" or "Teach-In." To educate the public and the local media on the FTAA, organize a Townhall or Teach-In. Try to give yourself enough time to find a hall, contact coalition partners, publicize the event, and line up speakers. Our "resources" sheet and "contacts" list may help you develop topics and find speakers. Try to include a local angle for the press. Make sure to send out a media advisory and call reporters several days before the event. To help attract attention, ask a popular professor or a sympathetic local official to participate. Make sure to sign in participants so you can build a mailing list for future actions.
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