As Max Rameau assumes his new position as the leadership development coordinator at the Miami Workers Center, he will take on an even bigger responsibility.

The Miami Workers Center has been involved in causes and issues, including police brutality, Haitian refugee rights, the war in Iraq, Election Reform Coalition, fix HOPE VI, and its newest campaign, fighting against Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).

The Free Trade Area of the Americas is essentially an expansion of the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

According to critics, the Free Trade Area of the Americas "is an international business deal disguised as a proposed treaty" that would create the world's largest free-market zone affecting 650 million poeople and generating $9 trillion in capital.

"People will be talking about it all over the world," said Rameau. "The Miami Workers Center along with Power U for Social Change have taken the lead to inform the Black community of the FTA and how it will affect America and countries of Black population.

"We are actively trying to get into meetings to inform the Black community," he said. The Times was invited to Miami Workers Center's workshop on the FTAA last Sunday, the morning presentation informed the audience about trade agreements and their impact on people's everyday lives.

The afternoon session described techniques and tools for individuals and organizitions to create and deliver anti-FTAA presentations. The workshops were well-attended.

At an NAACP meeting last Monday, Rameau fave an anti-FTAA presentation. "The NAACP president, Brad Brown has agreed to take an active role to inform the community as to what the FTAA means and how it will affest the Black community," Rameau said.

The Free Trade Area of the Americas was constructed at the "Summit of the Americas" held in Miami in December of 1994 and attended by heads of state from 34 countries.

Since then, businesses and government representatives from all other countries except Cuba have been secretly drafting a plan to create the largest trading bloc in the world by 2005.

The FTAA will have a huge impact on people's everyday lives -- on the food we eat, the water we drink, our child's access to education and healthcare," said Sushma Sheth, Policy/Communications Director for Miami Workers Center.

The conference FTAA Ministerial is scheduled for Novemeber 19th through the 21st in Miami. At the same time, Globalization and the African World (GAW) will gather and address the real effects the corporate globalization has on third world countries, immigrants to the US and communities of color, particularly people of African descent.

This conference serves as an alternative people's conference counteracting the FTAA Ministerial.

Where the FTAA represents mega-corporations and profits, the GAW represents the African diaspora and her struggles.

The GAW will give the black community an active and organized voice in the social justice movement.

While citizens are being left in the dark, corporations are helping write the rules for the FTAA.

Corporations and wealth business owners stand to gain financially from a system that puts their interst above all others.

"Members of African centered organizations from any country are encouraged to participate in FTAA campaign." Meetings and workshop dates are in the making, said Rameau.