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From Seattle in 1999 and Quebec City
in 2001 to Argentina and Hong Kong
today, activists around the world are fighting
globalization because they believe in a
better world. What’s more, we’re winning.
In November, I was honoured to lead a
CUPE delegation to the People’s Summit
of the Americas in Mar del Plata,
Argentina. This event was organized to
oppose the Summit of the Americas, a
gathering of business and government
leaders looking to business and government
leaders looking to sign the Free Trade
Area of the Americas (FTAA) pact and
expand trade across the hemisphere.
However, the leftist governments of
Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Venezuela and
Bolivia soundly defeated the FTAA by
refusing to open their borders to greater
exploitation from American multi-nationals.
At the same time, labour is proposing
development alternatives that will protect
public services and make poverty history.
The People’s Summit was truly inspiring.
On the same trip, we participated in a
Public Services International conference
on trade and health care, as well as the
Health Care Workers Exchange. The latter
was a CUPE initiative to bring together
health care unions from all over the
Americas to work toward common goals.
As a group, we agreed to increase communication
between our unions. We also
declared April 7 as an international day of
action for health care.
In mid-December, Paul Moist and I led
a CUPE delegation to the World Trade
Organization negotiations in Hong Kong.
Labour representatives from around the
world worked with social justice groups
toward progressive trade rules that promote
equality and justice.
Globalization is threatening public
services in Canada and around the world.
Our international work is important to
our work at home. And our work at home
can help make ‘another world’ possible.
In solidarity,
Claude Généreux
National Secretary-Treasurer