Fw: CALL TO ACTION: The WEF Race To the Bottom, May 23

[Mark Rickling]

> PLEASE DISTRIBUTE WIDELY
>
> ATTENTION ALL RUNNERS! -- ATTENTION ALL RUNNERS!
>
> Join Thousands of People From Across the Economic Spectrum for the FIRST
> EVER RACE TO THE BOTTOM!  Whether you're an MBA in the Rat Race or an
> underemployed activist with the Human Race, this Race to the Bottom is a
> can't-miss event for anyone trying to get ahead *or* left behind.
>
> --Watch CORPORATIONS GROAN under the weight of billions of dollars in
> tax-free profits as immigrants are denied basic services!
> --Feel the HEAT OF COMPETITION as it drags down workers, environmental
> protection and human rights!
> --See the WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM SLITHER its way from one five star hotel to
> the next!
> --Hear the THUNDER OF THOUSANDS of the working poor pound the asphalt!
> --Watch Corporate EXECUTIVES BRIBE THEIR WAY into new markets!
>
> Awards immediately after the race in the categories of:
>      --Most Depraved Workfare Boss
>      --Country That Busted the Most Unions to Please Multinational
> Corporations
>      --Politician Quickest to Blame Poor Women for Society's Problems
>
> So Where's it all Happening?
> The RACE TO THE BOTTOM Starts at the World Bank and IMF on Thursday, May
> 23
> Washington, DC and ends at the World Economic Forum (WEF) a.k.a. U.S.
> Chamber of Congress
>
> When: Thursday, May 23, 4-7 PM
>
> Where: Starts across from the IMF/WB headquarters, 18th & H Sts. NW,
> Wash., DC, ends at 16th and H St, NW, across from Lafayette Park and the
> White House.
>
> Who: National Coalition for Jobs and Income Support and the Mobilization
> for Global Justice
>
> For more background and contact information, visit <www.globalizethis.org>
> and  <www.nationalcampaign.org>.  And don't forget your running shoes!
>
> For more details, read on:
>
> In a new alliance between the global justice movement and the anti-poverty
> movement, the Mobilization for Global Justice (MGJ) and the National
> Campaign for Jobs and Income Security (NCJIS) are joining forces to
> confront the world's privileged and elite as they gather for the
> Trans-Atlantic meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF).
>
> We call on all those who care about ending poverty at home and abroad to
> join us in this event, which promises to fill the streets outside the
> closed doors of the WEF with a loud, boisterous rally and theatrical Race
> to the Bottom. Help us send a clear message to the world's wealthy and to
> the politicians they control: We demand an end to policies that impoverish
> people everywhere.    We demand an end to the policies that concentrate
> wealth, income and power in the hands of the WEF members and a select few,
> while leaving one in six children in the United States in poverty, and
> billions around the world struggling to survive on less than two dollars a
> day.
>
> With the collaboration of NCJIS, whose members are predominantly those
> living in poverty directly affected by the regressive "Welfare Reform" of
> 1996, the MGJ hopes to launch a strong, enduring coalition to link local
> and global poverty issues and to immediately impact President Bush's
> proposed welfare legislation, which only further penalizes the poor while
> doing nothing to end poverty.
>
> NCJIS is a coalition of more than 1000 grassroots community groups
> composed primarily of and led by low-income people.  It believes that
> people most affected by public policies must develoup solutions and speak
> in their own voices.  NCJIS is spearheading a national effort to to
> transform TANF into a meaningful anti-poverty program. In March of 2002,
> NCJIS held a day of events in DC, that involved rallies, lobbying and two
> separate direct actions involving over 1000 people and two notorious
> enemies of poverty reduction: the Heritage Foundation and the Democratic
> Leadership Council.  For more information, see <www.nationalcampaign.org>.
>
> The Mobilization for Global Justice is a Washington, DC based organization
> of groups and individuals focused on the growing problem of corporate
> globalization in today's world.  It sponsors educational events, rallies
> and demonstrations that serve to highlight the harmful neo-liberal
> economic policies carried out by unaccountable, undemocratic international
> financial institutions.  Visit our web site at <www.globalizethis.org>.
>
> Please add your ride or housing posting for the RACE TO THE BOTTOM at
> <http://riseup.net/may2002/>
>
> Meetings in DC every Wednesday night, see www.globalizethis.org or email
> racetothebottom at nationalcampaign.org for details.
>
> Additional events are planned for the days around the WEF meeting, such as
> kickoff events for the Washington, DC Social Forum planned for this fall.
>
> P.S. Remember to bring your running shoes!