JUNE 7-13, 1998 THE DETROIT VOL. 3 NO. 30 75 CENTS CONTINUING THE STRUGGLE FOR JUSTICE AND CONTRACTS ©TDSJ INSIDE # Shared INDEX loss Classifieds Page 26 Barbara Case, Crossword Page 27 mother of slain Children’s Entertainment Page 11 Protective Movie Guide Page 12 Services worker Lisa Putman, is Horoscope Page 24 comforted by Belinda Smith Editorials Page 8 after a memorial Susan Watson Page 3 service last week. Smith is a mem­ ber of UAW Local 6000, which rep­ resents state Truckers workers. Hundreds attend­ ed the service at the Sterling win huge Heights FIA office where Putman worked. See victory essay on Page 5. By Alan F orsyth Journal Staff Writer rivers for five Detroit- area beer distributors have won a decision that could mean tens of mil­ Journal photo by GEORGE WALDMAN Dlions of dollars in back pay to about 400 truck drivers who are mem­ bers of Teamsters Local 1038. Union lawyer Sam McKnight, who represented Local 1038, says the back pay and interest could exceed $40 million by his “low-ball ‘NAFTA on steroids’ estim ate.” An eventual award could be one of largest in the 63-year history of the National Labor Relations Trade treaty would Board, he said. On Tuesday the U.S. Sixth By Mark K. A nderson Multilateral Agreement on Invest­also environmental, human rights Circuit Court of Appeals in Alternet News Service ment. and labor regulations. Cincinnati ruled that the five dis­ ere’s a quick test: global MAI is an as-yet-unratified interna­ Ostensibly, MAI’s goal is to foster tributors had “fraudulently con­ trade, economic neoliberal­ tional trade treaty most Americans international commerce via deregula­ cealed an illegal bargaining pact” ism, Multilateral Agree­ haven’t heard of. For three years, ittion, but critics say it would gut pow­ in their 1990 and 1991 negotia­ ment on Investment. has been written and rewritten ers of democratically elected govern­ tions with Local 1038. The compa­ HHave you lost interest yet? Therebehind closed doors, almost exclusive­ments for the sake of private profi­ nies originally had agreed to bar­ are people who hope you have, so lythat by representatives from transna­teers. gain separately, McKnight said, you won’t stick around to hear suchtional corporations and unelected The treaty would need to be ratified but then seemed to be bargaining terms as “dismantling democracy,” trade bureaucrats. by its host governments. In the together “unwriting the Constitution” andWhat they’ve created is an agree­ United States, that means a signa­ The court upheld an order by the “corporate feudalism.” ment that would bind its 29 signatoryture by the president — who is National Labor Relations Board The latter phrases are a loud countries (the richest nations in thestrongly in favor of MAI — and a two- which said the distributors must bunch, more sensational than infor­world) to terms that give multination­thirds majority in the Senate. When mative. All the same, they’re relevant al corporations unprecedented power See BEER, Page 6 to any discussion about MAI, or thein shaping not only global trade but See MAI, Page 6 PAGE 10 THE DETROIT SUNDAY JOURNAL JUNE 7, 1998 0 AUTOMOBILE* AEROSPACE* AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT WORKERS ‘ o fAMERICA (UAW) CWI10CAI #400fh $2$! UAW LOCAL 4444 From our Membership, Word spread on MAI 3938 Bellevue Rd. • Toledo, OH 43613 Executive Board, and Officers: We Support The Locked- MAI, From Page 1 Regulations that stand in the way of Out Newspaper Workers! investment in any MAI signatory Supports Carl Richter -Pres. Marilyn Burke •Sec. the treaty finally is presented to thecountry would be prohibited. Jim Cynowa - V. Pres. R. Waszkiewicz Trees.- public, perhaps in October, the If MAI had been around in the V Senate will most likely be the key 1980s, Public Citizen says, the world­ Locked Out American battleground. wide sanctions that eventually The language surrounding MAI brought down South Africa’s Newspaper U.A.W. LOCAL 160 can be complex and even misleading, apartheid regime would have been MEMBERSHIP, LEADERSHIP AND but consumer advocate Ralph Naderprohibited. “Countries will no longer RETIREE CHAPTER WILL has come closest to capturing itsbe able to limit the migration of capi­ CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THE #fe, Workers NEWSPAPER WORKERS IN THEIR | essence: “NAFTA on steroids.” tal,” said David Morris, vice-presi­ STRUGGLE THROUGH ACTION ■ NAFTA, the three-country agree­dent of the Institute for Local Self- AND $$$ UNTIL 1USTICE IS SERVED! James Ray Jr. James Dudley ment that Ross Perot made famousReliance. “A corporation such as Nike President Secretary/Treasurer with his “giant sucking sound,” iswill be able to sue a Vietnamese city IN SOLinnm • U WE beginning to work its talons into to overturn an ordinance that American, Mexican and requires it to buy part Martens, Ice, Geary, Klass, Canadian political and For more info of its supplies locally, U A W LO C A L economic life. Among the ■ Friends of the Earth:but Nike’s workers will jEgghio, Israel& Gorchow, p.c. effects of the North202-783-7400; be unable to sue the American Free Trade company if it overworks Attorneys and Counselors at Law www.foe.org 387 Agreement that are most or underpays them.” Representing Unions & Jim Hall, President relevant for discussion of■ Public Citizen: MAI would shield Working People the MAI is a provision202-546-4996; corporations from all • Personal Injuries that allows corporationswww.citizen.org “strife” as well as “revo­ • Workers’ Compensation Membership, to sue any of the three■ Preamble Center for lution, states of emer­ • Employee Rights Leadership and Retirees signatory governments Public Policy: gency or any other sim­ 1400 NORTH PARK PLAZA for real or projected prof­202-265-3263; ilar events.” So protests it losses resulting from and boycotts would be 17117 W. NINE MILE RD. Support The Locked-Out e-mail: SOUTHFIELD, Ml 48075 regulation. preamble@rtk. net grounds for a corpora­ Last year Canada out­ tion to demand com­ Downriver Office: Newspaper Workers. ■ Sierra Club: lawed a gasoline additive pensation from the 8415 Park Ave. 202-547-1141; manufactured by the country where such Allen Park, Ml 48101 www. sierraclub. org U.S.-based Ethyl Corp. “strife” occurred. (313) 381-0806 “One day longer than because it may be poi­ ■ International Forum Moreover, it would Gannett and Knight Ridder” sonous to humans andon Globalization: ban “performance (248) 559-2110 the environment. Armed415-771-3394; requirements,” mean­ by NAFTA, Ethyl suedwww.ifg.org ing governments could the Canadian govern­ not set standards Subscribe Today! ment for $250 million. Part of its regarding local hiring, local reinvest­ argum ent is th at merely debating the ment, environmental practices, safety of Ethyl’s product constitutedemployment levels, joint ventures or an “expropriation” of the company’slocation of headquarters. Mail Subscription Form profits. For instance, the MAI could be But if you think NAFTA’s bad, justused to overturn the Community wait till its pumped-up big brotherReinvest-ment Act which encourages comes to town. As Friends of thebanks to invest in impoverished Earth President Brent Blackwelder areas around the United States. put it, “The MAI would give corpora­With so many of its provisions ben­ OURNAL tions unprecedented power to directlyefiting corporate interests at the challenge governments’ environmen­expense of governments and citizens, 3 MONTHS $15 or 6 MONTHS $30 tal, health, labor and other safe­MAI will be a tough sell when it’s Enclose a check or money order, or fill out charge card information to bill yourguards. The MAI would be a dagger unveiled for public consideration. VISA or MasterCard account. To charge by phone, please call (313) 964-5655. through the heart of democracy.” Chantell Taylor, Public Citizen’s Since 1995, the home of MAI hasGlobal Trade Watch coordinator, said Nam e________ been in the headquarters of the invi­when people understand it, “this Address__________________________________________________ tation-only Organization for Eco­thing kills itself.” nomic Cooperation and DevelopmentThat may be the reason MAI has City, State, Zip+4__________________________________________ in Paris. Member countries of the been a stealth treaty so long. “We’ve Phone ___( ) ____________________________________________ OECD are home to 487 of the Fortunebeen putting on conferences all over 500 and 92 percent of the investmentthe country, trying to get local work­ Amount enclosed (or to be charged): $ capital on the planet. ing groups on this issue and balanced Please charge to my: VISA__ MasterCard Until last year, only a select few debates — two pro- and two con-MAI people and organizations around thespeakers,” Taylor said. “Of course, we Card number: Expires, world knew MAI existed. It took a couldn’t find any proponents.” (We must have your full card number AND expiration date to charge your payment. Thanks!) leaked version of the its text a year Because U.S. labor unions and citi­ ago to draw public scrutiny. Publiczens groups were able last year to Mail to: The Detroit Sunday Journal Citizen, which first publicly distribut­defeat fast-track, Taylor is optimistic For Office Use Only Attn.: Mail Subscriptions ed a draft of MAI, is at the forefront about the anti-MAI movement. 450 W. Fort, 2nd floor Date rec'd ___________ of activism to defeat the treaty. It has But the treaty has some powerful posted an electronic version atand well-funded proponents — and Detroit, Ml 48226 Start date __ www.citizen.org. plenty of opportunities to sneak If The Sunday Journal ceases publication for any According to MAI, all treaty signers through, even with increased public Check No. reason, unused portions of subscriptions cannot be would be automatically given “mostawareness. As Noam Chomsky wrote refunded and will be considered as contributions. favored nation” status when tradingin a MAI-related article in Z maga­ Mail subscriptions available in the U.S.