Deborah James and Medea Benjamin pushing Starbucks to go Fair Trade, 1999.

We’re going to raise $25,000 by midnight on Dec. 31st.

Over the past 25 years, you have helped Global Exchange:

• transform the unfair practices of corporate giants like Nike, GAP, and Starbucks;
• build a thriving Fair Trade movement;
• monitor elections in Colombia, Mexico, and the U.S. and;
• build the Green Festival – the nation’s largest sustainability event.

Your support made all this, and much more, possible. Renew your commitment to social justice by making a donation today.

As we set our sights on the next 25 years, with your support we will reform U.S. gun laws, force Hershey’s to go Fair Trade, and continue to oppose unjust policies in the U.S. and abroad.

Your continued support will help us build an unstoppable movement for change.

Please donate today and make great things possible:

• One Hundred $25 gifts will cover the cost of a trip to Ethiopia to meet with Fair Trade cooperatives and develop increase relationships with local artisans.

• Fifty $100 gifts will tour a speaker from the frontlines of the drug war in Mexico, educating and inspiring thousands across the U.S. to change the broken policies that are fueling this tragic war.

• Five $250 gifts will sponsor a year-long youth fellowship to inspire and train the leaders of tomorrow.

• Twenty-five $1,000 gifts will support all creative actions we have planned in 2013 to expose the havoc that lobbyists are wreaking on our democracy.

Want to see what we have accomplished in 2012? Watch this video (or re-visit our winter, spring, summer and fall roundups) to find out:

If we can accomplish all that in one year, think of what we have in store for the next 25 years!

Give today and ring in another year full of social justice victories.

Here’s a very special video with highlights from our year, and we do mean “our” because we cannot do the work we do without YOU!

Please consider this your official invitation to JOIN US in this unstoppable movement for change. Together we are strong.

Here are some Elect Democracy campaign highlights:

• “How Wall Street is Burning Democracy” Report and Legislative Scorecard: We made it easy to find out how much Wall Street gave to Congressional campaigns to check how often Congresspeople voted in line with Wall Street’s lobby position on free trade bills, Wall Street regulation, the bailout, and more. The Huffington Post, Yes! Magazine, Alternet, Nation of Change, Daily Kos, and dozens of other news outlets covering our shocking revelation that Wall Street spends over $1,331 per minute on political influence via lobbying and campaign money.

• RNC/DNC: We brought our legislative scorecard and report to Tampa and Charlotte where we marched on both conventions with our call to get corporate money out of our democracy.

• Stick It to Super PACs: Just days before the most expensive U.S. election of all time we used email, phone, and social media to clog the gears of the ominous Super PACs! GOOD magazine, Upworthy, and others helped us spread the message. Over 1,500 people Stuck It to Super PACs on October 25th! You can still take action here.

• Election Day: do you remember that exact moment when the election was called and we learned that Barack Obama would remain President? I do. What has this election meant to you? Leave a comment on our blog.

• #StopTPP: I joined social, labour and faith based groups on the US/Canada border earlier this month to stop the TransPacific Partnership. To learn more about this ominous, 13 country free trade deal (and our work to stop it), read my blog about the TPPxBorder rally we attended on the U.S.-Canada border.

All that and so much more! A great place to read all about it is our online Media Center which has a vast collection of articles about our work this year.

Next year, we have even more ways to take action. Elect Democracy is taking on the hired hands that call the shots in DC: big shot lobbyists. From challenging Super PAC millions to lobbyist billions, our work is going to be fun, tough, and more important than ever.

We’ll also need your help. Compared to the amount of money flowing from Wall Street to Washington, when you see all we have accomplished, we truly make the most of every penny.

Consider giving a Global Exchange membership to a friend this season and support Elect Democracy.

Again, thank you so much for your action. I look forward to starting 2013 with refreshed energy and refueled strategies.

Happy Holidays!

Exactly 13 years after the #N30 actions to shut down the WTO, Global Exchange returns to Seattle with a similar message: #StopTPP!

We all know free trade agreements are politically, economically, and environmentally harmful.

But this weekend at TPPxBorder, hearing people speak to the real consequences of these deals brought my understanding of the dangers of these Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) to a very human scale.

Listening to the voices of people who are affected by these FTAs – a pulp mill worker from Everett, WA, who got laid off two years before pension, HIV positive people who won’t be able to afford life-saving medication because of patent laws that protect profits instead of access, a Philippine woman who was forced to leave her family in search of work – these voices remind me that free trade isn’t just an ‘issue’ to discuss or debate. Free trade is about about profits at the expense of people’s health and safely. About trade over ethics. About politics over people and planet.

Free trade ‘agreements’ are anything but consensual.

In fact, the only partnering happening in the TransPacific ‘Partnership’ is is the stitching together of the 1%- corporations and politicians-  whilst the entirety of civil society is excluded and ignored… for now.

That’s why on Saturday December 1, a crowd of hundreds gathered at the U.S.-Canada border to demonstrate our unity and solidarity against the TransPacific Partnership. Representatives from four of the 13 negotiating countries – along with New Zealand by phone – spoke of the risks that the TPP presents to their communities, and the powerful international unity being built to stand up and protect our dignity, our planet, and our human rights.

Jill Mangaliman, Philippine U.S. Solidarity Organization pusoseattle.wordpress.com/

We called this one TPPxBorder: The People’s Round. What I loved about this rally wasn’t only the fiery speakers, the diversity, the music, the unity, the hot coffee, and the ultra-legitimacy of our opposition to this heinous version of the TPP…. what I loved was learning about what an alternative deal would look like- one by and for the people. Listening to speakers and experts articulately describe what fair trade looks like, what it offers communities internationally, reminds me why these fights are so important, and the promise of real, practical, and respectful trade solutions. We have answers – now is the time to join hands and fight for them.

After our rally, and piñata action (in which people managed to overcome ‘blindfolds’ of corporate greenwashing and lobbyist money to finally destroy the TPP piñata and release the affordable jellybean ‘medicines’ and GMO-free popcorn trapped inside!) we headed indoors to a warm meal and strategy sessions to plan future action.

Global Exchange & Witness for Peace co-led a “Social Media to #StopTPP” breakout group to discuss “Twitterstorming”  the corporations secretly negotiating TPP.

The breakout group I co-lead was about how we can use social media to #StopTPP. Our strategy is to call out the corporations negotiating the TPP in secret… and put their secrets in public view on social media channels. This week, our coalition members are calling out two corporate interests a day on their ties to the TPP… would you like to join the Twitterstorm? Just follow @GlobalExchange and @ElectDemocracy on Twitter, then retweet our actions every day this week at 11am and 2pmPST to help spread the word about #StopTPP using the very follower lists that these corporations have built. We can use your help and you can participate from anywhere.

The TransPacific Partnership is on a 1%-gilded beltway and it’s moving fast. But there is time (and enough of us) to stop it. The first thing we all can do is help spread the word. None of us can afford another NAFTA. Help us get the last 250,000 signatures needed this year to reach 1 million on the Avaaz petition against the TPP! And ask your organization to sign the Unity Statement.

VIDEO: Unity Statement at TPPxBorder Rally Dec. 1, 2012

For more information about the TransPacific Partnership and what you can do to stop it, see “10 Reasons to Oppose the TPP.” Thank you for supporting Fair Trade this holiday season, and telling corporations negotiating the TPP in secret exactly what you think of them. Together, we can #StopTPP.

That’s right folks, the sign says “Free Trade, my Ass!”

Global Exchange Gift Membership Package

We all have our own ideas on what the Holidays are all about. Family. Laughter. Good will.

Corporate greed and commercialization? They certainly don’t make the list.

It’s time to take back the Holidays.

The true meaning of the season cannot be packaged in a box. Instead of taking part in the corporate craziness, why not get the loved ones on your list something that brings them the true meaning of the holiday season?

A Global Exchange Gift of Membership is the perfect gift! You can give the gift of Fair Trade, peace, justice, people power, and human rights. You pick the gift and we’ll take care of the rest.

6 Gift Memberships to choose from:

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When your family and friends unwrap their Global Exchange Gift Membership, they will join a compassionate community of dedicated activists working for peace, justice and human rights.

We’ll send out the membership card and gift package, plus keep your recipient in the loop about Global Exchange programs and events with our newsletter and e-mail action alerts.

Order your gifts by December 14th at midnight to guarantee delivery by December 24th 2012.

Wishing you joy, justice, and peace this Holiday Season!

Now to set the mood, here’s a little poem written by Global Exchange Generation for Justice member Andy Klase:

Click on the poem to see larger version on Facebook

P.S. If you live in the Bay Area or DC, please be sure to join us for our Fair Trade Store holiday event on December 6 from 5pm – 8pm. Shop for all your Fair Trade gifts, meet our staff, and if you’re a member double your discount (20% for one night only.)

Are you a Global Exchange supporter? Yes? Well then, you are pretty incredible, it’s true.

Throughout our near-25 years we’ve been proud to share the esteemed company of thousands of passionate, bold, and dedicated people, like you.

Your volunteering, your steady contributions, your protesting (at home and on the streets), your consideration for socially responsible travel, your Fair Trade shopping and your faith in justice – all of these actions mean the difference between dreaming a better world for people and the planet and actually making it happen.

To express our gratitude, some Global Exchange staff members gathered together recently to come up with a way to thank the people who make all of our work possible. 

The result is this short n sweet video filled with messages of thanks that come from the bottom of our hearts. We hope you enjoy it! (Oh, and keep an eye out for Abad’s cameo – Global Exchange’s friendly Labrador – who got caught with his tongue out!)

Does the gratitude train stop here?

Not at all!

This week, we’re also sharing stories of a few (five, to be exact) of the amazing individuals, like you, who make our work possible:

• Matt Ramsden, member and supporter, who keeps buying prize drawing tickets even though he has not won yet, all to support the work he cares about.
• Jenny White, superstar volunteer, chocolate lover, and scourge to corporate lobbyists.
• Jennifer Carino, former employee turned Global Exchange Monthly Supporter.
• Lea Murray, took a Reality Tour to Venezuela and came home inspired to share what she’d seen.
• and Lyla Seo, puts her values first when she shops Fair Trade at our San Francisco store.

There you have it, two different mediums, one important message, to say:

Thank you.

P.S. If you want to see all of the thank you pictures from the video (plus a few extras!), you can check them out at your leisure on our Facebook page.

In this post, we thank Lea Murray, Reality Tours traveler extraordinaire! To read about others we’re thankful for, click here.

Lea Murray, Reality Tours Traveler Extraordinaire

Lea (left) with fellow Reality Tours travelers

Reality Tours travelers aren’t tourists.

They’re travelers on a mission.

What makes Reality Tours travelers so awesome is what they do when they get home.  They don’t just unpack their suitcases, they unpack a life changing experience.  Speaking to family and friends.  Hosting film screenings.  And in a few instances, starting their own volunteer efforts to address the issues raised on their journeys.

Lea Murray traveled with Global Exchange on a Reality Tour to Venezuela in June of 2012, and her life hasn’t been the same since.

“Now that I have seen with my own eyes and heard with my own ears, what will I do?  I will re-think my life.  I have a new vision.  I want to see how other people live and experience life.  I want to travel to even more places where black Africans were dispersed during the slave trade.  I will travel to Haiti and Cuba and examine the plight of my black brothers and sisters in these small island countries.  I will re-think my business…I will open my eyes — see the vision — and do something to make a difference.  I will participate,” said Murray.

All of us at Global Exchange are grateful for Lea’s efforts to inspire and educate others about what she’s seen, and for the work done by the hundreds of other Reality Tours participants each year.

Every traveler makes a difference.

So to Lea and all Reality Tours travelers, we say…

Thank You.

Know that wherever your journey takes you, we are honored to have joined you.

P.S. Have you watched our new Thank You video yet?

In this post, we thank the persistently giving Matt Ramsden. To read about others we’re thankful for, click here.

Matt Ramsden, Steadfast Despite Prize Drawing Losses

Matt Ramsden is indispensable.

For the past few years, Matt has supported Global Exchange in myriad ways.  He continues to enter our prize drawings, despite never having won the coveted grand prize (or any of the other prizes, for that matter).  He has treated his loved ones to Global Exchange Gift of Membership packages come holiday season.  He has responded to emails, letters, and phone calls.  I’m sure if we sent out a message in Morse code, he’d tap a response right back to us.

Donations from Matt and thousands like him turn ideas into action. People from across the globe contribute, confident that every dollar, every hard earned cent, is put to work right away towards the critical issues of our time.

This support means that when the Caravan for Peace trekked across the United States calling for an end to the tragic insanity of the drug war, weary travelers had a place to sleep and something to eat.

This support helped people set up their own Elect Democracy barbecues to bring their neighbors together to talk about booting the Big Banks from politics.  And as we go toe to toe with lobbying giants, we’ll have people power on our side.

When we respond to calls from communities across the country to help craft legislation that affirms the rights of community members to decide what happens in their own backyards, your donations fund our stand against corporate greed.

To Matt, and to the teachers, students, retirees, metalworkers, dancers, parents, children, dreamers, nurses, taxi drivers, farmers, and everyone else whose dedication and commitment truly make this work possible –

Thank you.

P.S. Have you watched our new Thank You video yet?

In this post, we thank Global Exchange Monthly Sustainer (GEMS) Jennifer Carino. To read about others we’re thankful for, click here.

Jennifer Carino, Committed to the Cause

When Jennifer Carino stopped working at Global Exchange in 1998, she knew that she wanted to continue her support for an organization that had grown near and dear to her heart.  She was less confident, however, that she would remember to mail in her donation once a year.

So she became a Global Exchange Monthly Sustainer (GEMS).  Every month, her donation is made automatically by credit card.  Computers, as it turns out, aren’t all that forgetful.

We don’t mind licking a few less envelopes either. Monthly givers like Jennifer help reduce overhead by eliminating many mailing and outreach costs, allowing more of her donation to go towards our programmatic work.

More of each dollar goes towards crafting local ordinances to safeguard against corporate harm.  More of each dollar goes toward stopping lobbyists from hijacking our democracy.  More of each dollar goes toward ending the drug war and human rights abuses in Mexico.  More of each dollar goes towards communities, farmers, towards realigning our global social and economic order to meet the needs of people and ecosystems, not corporate shareholders.

Not to mention, fewer mailings means less paper, so giving monthly is more sustainable.  Over 250 people give each month, just like Jennifer.

So Jennifer Carino and all of our GEMS, for allowing us to focus on the work that matters most (and for saving us a few stamps)…

Thank you.

P.S.  Have you watched our new Thank You video yet?

Global Exchange Elect Democracy campaigner Hillary Lehr, one of the many US voters who turned out on Nov. 7th to cast her ballot

Did you feel it too? A nervous anticipation hung in the Global Exchange office all day yesterday as we wondered what the outcome of the U.S. Election would be – the President, the Congress, the state level initiatives and of course our local resolutions.

Now that we have the results – who won? (Share your answer in the comments!)

Here’s how the Global Exchange team has interpreted some of the results:

Barack Obama
Yep, “Bronco Bama” won the presidency for a second term. Obama’s victory represents the rejection of a breathtakingly dishonest campaign by an American plutocrat who amassed a personal fortune using techniques described by his own Republican primary opponents as “vulture capitalism.” His disdain for the 47% he deemed unworthy of his care became legendary. Fear that Romney and Ryan would shred social security, turn back the clock on health care, shut the door on educational opportunity, and pursue reckless military adventures abroad sealed the deal for Obama despite a chillingly effective 11th hours attempt by the Romney campaign to “shake the etch-a-sketch” and redraw a compassionate candidate.

The contours of the President’s winning campaign were largely drawn, not by the Obama campaign but by the Occupy movement; which brought to the forefront what filmmaker Michael Moore called the “huge popular sentiment against what the wealthy have done” to our country. As President Obama himself said on Spanish language TV during the campaign: Change does not come from Washington, but from outside.” We hope the President will listen with open ears to the voices and harbingers of conscious and genuine change.

Obama’s re-election, along with a rejection of Tea Party stalwarts in key Senate races could signal opening of doors to bi-partisan solutions to looming issues such as the fiscal cliff designed by the lame duck congress. Nevertheless, Obama’s winning coalition brought together communities concerned with peace, immigration justice, women’s rights, drug policy reform, LGBTQI equality, affordable health care, and safeguarding democracy from moneyed interests – all issues that we must continue to push President Obama to champion now that election stumping is over.  We have a lot of work to do in the next four years.

Meanwhile, there were other ‘winners’ too which we will watch. We must continue to build movements to roll back the Bush era restrictions on civil liberties that Obama has embraced, people and planet-killing global trade policies, cruel and counter productive drone warfare, saber rattling with Iran, the absurd blockade against Cuba. And we must address climate change, which shamefully didn’t come from the candidates’ platforms until tragedy hit the east coast.

WINS TO CELEBRATE…

Photo credit: http://www.winningprogressive.org/

Immigration Justice
This past summer President Obama announced that the Administration would no longer seek to deport ‘DREAMers’ (young, undocumented immigrants who were brought to the US as children by their parents, have been in the US for at least five years, and are law abiding and willing to attend college or serve in the military), lifting the threat of deportation from nearly 1 million DREAMers and a step to make U.S. immigration system more fair and just. This was a step in the right direction and perhaps the only positive gesture Obama could make in the face of congressional opposition to humane immigration reforms. Nevertheless, the record rate of deportations during the Obama years and the continuing militarization of the U.S. border are alarming indicators that Obama needs to hear loudly and clearly from his base that the repression must stop.

Women’s Rights
Voters chose to elect the highest number of women to Congress in history and rejected 4 House and Senate candidates who had openly defended limiting a woman’s right to choose even in cases of rape. Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill’s resounding defeat of Todd Akin (the Missouri congressman who notoriously said that ‘legitimate rape’ does not lead to pregnancy) should put an end that discussion. A women’s right to make her own choices about her bodies and health was sealed decades ago. It is good to see that even in conservative regions, the expression of extreme views like Akin’s and that of Indiana’s Mourdock spell political doom.

Drug Policy
Washington and Colorado both voted to regulate marijuana much like we do alcohol. Historically, actions at the state level were what spelled the beginning of the end for Prohibition in the 1930s. How these new laws work out in practice will be key to the prospects for further national and international efforts to replace prohibition with regulation as the most effective way to end the destruction of the seemingly endless drug war.

Voters in California passed Prop 34 which limits lifetime incarceration via the ‘three strikes’ law to violent or serious third offenses. This will lower California’s incarceration rate and will help limit the prison sentences of nonviolent drug offenders.

Voting Rights
Reports of voter intimidation, faulty machines, long lines, voter ID problems, and other forms of mismanagement and direct voter suppression broke in real time via social media and were framed as a major issue of democracy in crisis by media outlets. Had this been a closer election this could have led to a serious crisis. Thanks to the hard work of our friends at Video the Vote along with legal observer teams across the country, the effects of voter suppression were minimized. Nevertheless, we should support laws and practices that discourage voter disenfranchisement and suppression, including laws that disenfranchise ex-felons.

Marriage Equality
On Election Day Massachusetts, Maine, and Washington legalized marriage equality, and Minnesota defeated a restrictive state constitutional amendment which would have upheld a ban. Now, one tenth of states in the U.S. uphold marriage equality. Onward! The first openly gay Senator, Tammy Baldwin, was elected in Wisconsin last night as well. Congratulations, Tammy.

Affordable Health Care
New coverage for tens of thousands of Americans promised by “Obamacare” will not be snatched back on January 22, 2013, as Romney promised to do if elected.

WINS TO WATCH…

Money in Politics
This election was the most expensive election ever. Estimates place the final tally past $5.8 billion. We need campaign finance reform to protect democracy, plain and simple. This election saw some wins for the biggest spenders, but not across the board: in Connecticut, a losing candidate spent $50 million on the campaign and still lost.

It turns out that voters really stuck it to Super PACs by making their own choices at the polls yesterday. While Super PACs undoubtedly influenced the election, they certainly didn’t buy it. Huffington Post’s Mark Blumenthal summarized it well this morning: “As it turns out, you can’t buy a different electorate, or a better candidate, no matter how much money you throw at it.” Super PACs will have to face the fact that for the nearly $700 million they inserted into influencing the election, there isn’t a whole lot to show for it.

Elizabeth Warren, the candidate who ran on the issue of Wall Street regulation, won a tough race against Republican incumbent Rick Scott in Massachusetts. Last session’s Republican-dominated Senate refused to appoint Warren at the head of the Consumer Financial Protections Bureau but the people, with their votes, have said they want money out of politics.

Super PACs continue to attempt to influence state elections by funneling millions to influence voter choices on propositions such as California’s Propositions 30 and 32 – initiatives to raise taxes on the wealthiest in order to fund schools and to prevent union dues being spent on political action. The PACs’ misinformation is dangerous and, in some cases, illegal. An unfolding scandal to watch is the $11 million of Koch-bros-tied money that was laundered into the California election.

Global Exchange will continue our fight to Elect Democracy by challenging money in politics, especially with corporate campaign contributions and lobbying. Prepare yourself to push back against Wall Street’s greed and get ready to take on Wall Street’s post-election influence strategy: lobbying.

Free Trade Agreements
The presidential debates passed the blame for the economic crisis on shipping jobs to China, while supporting unfair free trade agreements that create conditions for off-shoring of jobs. President Obama’s support for the next big monster-free-trade deal, the TransPacific Partnership (TPP) will remain unchanged. The TPP aims to link 13 countries in free trade commitments – many written by corporation and is described by Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch as a “NAFTA on steroids.” This is definitely NOT the direction we should be going to create jobs in the U.S. nor to ensure the economic safety and well-being of other countries.

Stick with Global Exchange to continue the call for fair trade, not free trade, so take action to shut down this dangerous trade deal. The election busted this issue wide open, now is the time to challenge unfair trade agreements out of the corporate back rooms. Starting on December 1st we will join thousands of others calling for a People’s Round in the TPP.

End the Blockade Against Cuba
Enacted in 1962 during the Kennedy administration the economic, social, and political blockade (El Bloqueo) has long outlived its supposed usefulness. Year after year U.S. government officials have developed new formats for strengthening the blockade and preventing two countries that have a shared history – and are only geographically 90 miles apart – from having normal political and economic relations.

President Obama loosened travel regulations for American citizens to travel to Cuba in the past Administration. Now, it’s time to end the blockade all together.

Global Exchange joins forces with other U.S.-Cuba organizations to educate the U.S. public and U.S. government on the right of U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba to persuade Congress and successive U.S. Administrations to end the restrictions on U.S. citizens traveling to Cuba and on Cuban citizens traveling to the U.S.; These restrictions are a violation of our constitutional rights, as citizens of a democracy.

Drone Warfare and New (and ongoing) Wars
Drones built to kill must be stopped. As many as 3,000 people, including hundreds of noncombatants and even American citizens, have been killed in covert missions. The U.S. drone program has increased under the Obama Administration.

Iran. President Obama has given mixed and often nuanced messages on the U.S. position towards Iran. There must be peace with Iran, we simply can’t afford new wars and we must end the ones in which the U.S. has a continued presence.

Our friends at CODEPINK have launched Drones Watch, a coalition to monitor and regulate drone use. Start today by adding your name to this petition.

Climate Change: An Election Issue After All
Hurricane Sandy may have been an ironic October surprise for the election, but the consequences are enormous. Climate change and its related increasingly severe storms disproportionately impact poor communities and countries. Our thoughts are with Hurricane Sandy impacted communities in Cuba, Haiti and across the U.S. East Coast. Climate change and weather systems know no borders, and this wake-up call did indeed impact the election and the climate paradigm of U.S. voters. While it is technical ‘win’ that a “drill-baby-drill” candidate isn’t in the White House we must be prepared to push harder than ever to make President Obama take the real action to address climate change, including stopping the Keystone XL pipeline which he acknowledged in the second presidential debate a few weeks before the hurricane. This is one of the primary issues we must act on immediately for real and lasting change (and this does not mean increasing natural gas extraction by fracking.)

All in all, we’re encouraged by the results of a decisive election and like NPR, we’re sorry that the little red-headed kid was so exasperated by the election cycle. Nonetheless, voting is one of several essential tools for change-making. Participating in our elections (no matter how beleaguered and imperfect they may be) indicates strong values of respect, compassion, and integrity – the foundation of a healthy democracy (plus you get free stuff with your ‘I Voted!’ stickers).

But, while you may be celebrating, don’t let your guard down. A lot of angry corporations and rich folks woke up on November 7th and plan to fight harder than ever to protect their profits at all costs. If you are like me, you went home early last night, realized that there is much to do, woke up this morning, and got back to work.

TAKE ACTION:

What can you do? Join us and host a home screening of the award winning documentary “Heist: Who Stole the American Dream” and then set up a meeting with your Congressperson who will be home in December to call out the problems of Wall Street campaign contributions and lobbying. Find out more here.