An estimated 10,000-50,000 people will be in the streets of Seattle on Nov. 30 to protest the World Trade Organization (WTO) conference. What will U.S. labor's role be? As usual, there is a broad spectrum of opinion; there are different factions within the AFL-CIO and other labor organizations. The tension is palpable in Seattle between several rank-and-file activists and the AFL-CIO leadership.

What is agreed upon is the terrible track record of the WTO. Even the AFL-CIO agrees that the WTO rules "encourage exploitation of labor, the degradation of our environment, and do nothing to limit the growing power of multinational corporations and capital. The WTO has undermined the legitimate national regulations protecting the environment, human rights, and public health." (AFL-CIO Executive Council Statement, 8/4/99.)

What is also agreed upon, for the most part, is the need to mobilize huge numbers of protesters for the "Protest of the Century" on Nov. 30. Although there was some resistance in the upper echelon of the AFL-CIO, it appears that the 70,000-capacity Memorial Stadium has been secured for the massive rally in rainy Seattle.

The AFL-CIO assigned two out-of-town organizers to work in Seattle full-time starting last summer, but their mobilizing efforts have largely been invisible to local rank-and-file activists. Their apparent paralysis seems to reflect ambivalence within the upper AFL-CIO as to how much time and resources should be devoted to mobilizing. This might sound familiar to people involved with the Detroit newspaper strike.

There is also an unresolved conflict about what the main message should be regarding the future of the WTO. The AFL-CIO emphasizes reforming the WTO. The AFL-CIO sentiment is reflected in its 8/4/99 Executive Council Statement, "Justice in the Global Economy--A Program for the WTO Ministerial." It says: "We call upon the trade ministers at the 1999 Seattle WTO Ministerial to incorporate core workers' rights and environmental protection into WTO rules with strong enforcement procedures..." The document also calls for protecting national laws that safeguard the environment, public health, and social programs against WTO powers. The AFL-CIO makes a total of six recommendations for reforming the WTO.

In stark contrast, many rank and file activists feel strongly that the message should be an outright "No to WTO."

"The race to the bottom is now codified in world trade law. Once a WTO agreement has been signed, it effectively supercedes all domestic laws because of the WTO's ability to foster enormous punitive trade sanctions against any country judged to have acted inconsistently with any WTO agreement," said Martha Baskin, AFTRA rank and file activist. "Inconsistent acts can include labor laws, environmental protections, consumer safety laws, performance requirements--to mention a few."

Baskin added, "If the AFL-CIO thinks such an organization is going to incorporate workers' rights and child labor laws within its undemocratic structure, then they are, perhaps, living on another planet."

On the other hand, most of the international non-governmental organizations stress that the WTO should not undergo any further negotiations until a thorough assessment of the past five years of the WTO is completed. This is called the "no new round; assessment round" message. It is a message that seems to unite both the reform and opposition camps. It's also the main message of Global Tradewatch and the Citizen's Trade Campaign, which includes some international unions (the Steelworkers, UAW, the Teamsters, and UNITE).

LELO, a Seattle labor organization not affiliated with the AFL-CIO (and one that represents workers of color, low income earners, and women workers) has gathered rank and file workers from around the world in several meetings, including one in Mexico City last July. Tyree Scott, LELO leader and IBEW 46 electrician, does not hold back his criticism of the AFL-CIO: "While we agree with much of organized labor's message to the WTO, there are critical things missing from the AFL-CIO's message."

"Immigration rights and the condition of women worldwide must be addressed," he continued. "Workers should be able to migrate just as freely as capital is able to cross the frontier borders. Workers should not be confined to certain labor markets. We also need to address the necessity of child-care availability, wage equity, the status of exploited domestic workers, and how domestic violence affects women's ability to work for wages."

"The AFL-CIO is not addressing any of that," Scott said. "And who does the AFL-CIO represent? A very tiny fraction of the world's workers. We need to remember that most workers internationally do not even participate in the cash economy. How is their voice heard at the WTO? Certainly it's not conveyed by the AFL-CIO or anyone else at the WTO."

At its annual convention last August, the Washington State Labor Council scheduled special speakers on the WTO. Rank and file delegates were shocked to discover that leadership had not submitted any resolutions on the WTO. In response to rank and file outrage, the King County Labor Council leadership hastily submitted a resolution, but it lacked important language.

At the convention rank and file activists Martha Baskin, Dick Burton (WA Federation of Teachers), Lynn Dodson (WA Federation of Teachers), and Shirley McCollough (Postal Workers) introduced strong amendments. Two of these sailed through unanimously. The third passed by a slim margin.

The following week Baskin attended a meeting of the King County Labor Council (KCLC) Education Committee to raise concerns about rank and file input. She was told repeatedly by the Union City organizer at the meeting that the AFL-CIO approach on the WTO is "top down."

For the past two years Baskin has served as the appointed KCLC Fair Trade Representative. She led local labor efforts on the successful "fast track" fight. Baskin has consistently pushed for rank and file input into the AFL-CIO planning efforts around the WTO. As she raised a "No to WTO" perspective, she was excluded from many key conversations and meetings. Her funding requests were denied.

In mid-September Baskin announced that she and KCLC head Ron Judd had "mutually agreed" that she would resign from the KCLC Fair Trade Representative position. "I feel the national AFL-CIO, and the state and county labor councils mimic the autocratic structure of the WTO," concluded Baskin.

Regardless of what message you think should be promoted regarding the future of the WTO, you should take time off work for the protest of the century. No to WTO.

Help provide housing for visiting activists. To volunteer hospitality, call 1-877-STOPWTO or 206-770-9044. For more info, check out these websites: www.peopleforfairtrade.org, www.seattlewto.org, www.tradewatch.org, and www.agitprop.org/artandrevolution.