Ten years after the Battle in Seattle, two thousand came together on a cold windy Saturday in Portland to once again say No to the WTO. 

Spearheaded by the Oregon Fair Trade Campaign and Jobs with Justice and backed up by 75 labor, environmental, immigrant rights and social justice organizations, the D5 mobilization against the WTO was a great success. People came from throughout Oregon and the Northwest.  JwJ Chapters in Eugene, Bend, Southern Oregon and Salem as well as Portland were well represented.

The March and rally were loud and spirited.  Teamsters and turtles were back together again as the Teamster truck led the march with protesters dressed in turtle outfits close behind.  Union locals and other organizations marched behind their colorful banners while radical cheerleaders and a rousing drum corps led us in chants and cheers. As there were in 1999, large puppets were sprinkled throughout the crowd.  A contingent of unemployed workers marched behind an “Organize the Unemployed” banner.

The action highlighted the role “free trade” has played in the loss of jobs, environmental destruction, “forced” migration and

Continue reading NO to the WTO, YES to the Right to Organize!