Program to explore labor, activist alliances

“Labor’s Program after the WTO: The Future of the Alliance Between Unions and Social-Justice Activists,” is the title of a program to be held next week on campus. The event gets under way with a film festival and forum Friday, March 3, followed by all-day workshops on Saturday.

Participants in Friday’s forum, which begins at 7 p.m. in 120 Kane, include Ron Judd, executive secretary, King County Labor Council, AFL-CIO; George Becker, international president, United Steelworkers of America; Tyree Scott, Labor and Employment Law Office; David Solnit, Direct Action Network; and Patti Goldman, Earth Justice Defense Fund. The film festival will run from noon to 6:30 p.m. in 334 Odegaard.

Brian McWilliams, international president of the International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union, will kick off Saturday’s events with a 10 a.m. speech outlining strategies for implementing economic, social, and environmental justice worldwide. The speech will be in 249 Savery.

The rest of the day will be devoted to workshops on the following topics: Creating and Enforcing International Labor Rights and Standards, International Solidarity: Strategies for Justice in the Age of Globalization and The Labor Movement: Building Power for Workers through Coalition Building.

The program - which is jointly sponsored by the Center for Labor Studies and Harry Bridges Chair; Students for Economic Democracy; King County Labor Council, AFL-CIO; and Labor and the Employment Law Office - is free and open to the public. For more information contact Betsi Beem, 543-7946.