Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with labor historian Jeremy Brecher, author of "Globalization From Below: The Power of Solidarity," who discusses the challenges ahead for the growing global social justice movement. Listen to RealAudio and.or MP3 on Between The Lines website www.btlonline.org for week ending 4/20/01

Labor Historian Examines Challenges Ahead for Global Social Justice Movement
Interview by Scott Harris.

Even before the massive demonstrations which
disrupted the World Trade Organization's
November 1999 summit meeting in Seattle, a
growing activist movement here in the U.S. and
abroad had challenged the power of corporations
to set an agenda for international trade policy
which does not include provisions protecting labor,
human rights or the environment. This coalition
which includes trade unionists, environmentalists,
and students has also attacked institutions such as
the World Bank and International Monetary Fund
for implementing policies which they say hurt
indebted nations and their impoverished
populations.

Over the past 18 months a large number of
demonstrations advocating social justice have been
organized in cities large and small across the globe.
These protests, often employing non-violent civil
disobedience to draw public attention to their
cause, have encountered growing levels of police
surveillance and repression. From April 19 through
22 tens of thousands of activists are expected to
converge on Quebec City Canada to voice their
opposition to 34 heads of state negotiating a still
secret hemisphere-wide free trade agreement
known as the Free Trade Area of the Americas or
FTAA.

Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with labor
historian Jeremy Brecher, author of "Globalization
From Below: The Power of Solidarity," who
discusses the challenges ahead for the growing
global social justice movement.

"Globalization From Below: The Power of
Solidarity," published by South End Press. For
more information on the protests planned for
Quebec City, call (212) 894-3747, ext. 4994 or
visit their Web site at: www.stopftaa.org