The Iowa Fair Trade Campaign is a joint effort of activists from organized labor, the environmentalist community, family farm & consumer advocates, and people of faith who demand a new fair trading model to create a sustainable global economy that benefits all working people.

Our current project is to engage Presidential candidates to make specific commitments to review and potentially renegotiate corporate trade deals and remove harmful, anti-democratic provisions that lead to the race to the bottom. Get Involved!

The NAFTA/World Trade Organization (WTO) model of trade is a proven failure. Iowa has lost thousands of jobs because these agreements reward companies that take jobs offshore to wherever they find the lowest wages and the weakest environmental regulations.Moreover, wages decline and workers face the constant threat of having their jobs sent overseas.

Current unfair trade rules hurt Iowa's family farmers by creating an uneven playing field that rewards the unsustainable practices of agribusiness and factory farms. This model also gives corporations rights to challenge democratically determined local public interest laws, challenging our sovereignty and restricting government's ability to ensure public health safety.

As of December 11, 2007, the following organizations have endorsed the Fair Trade 2008 Statement of Principles (PDF):

  • Archdiocese of Dubuque - Rural Life & Community Development Office
  • American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) - Iowa
  • Catholic Peace Ministries
  • Central Iowa Building & Construction Trades Council
  • Clinton Labor Congress, IFL, AFL-CIO
  • Communications Workers of America (CWA) - Iowa State Council
  • Dubuque Federation of Labor, IFL, AFL-CIO
  • Hawkeye Labor Council, IFL, AFL-CIO
  • Independent Cattlemen of Iowa (ICI)
  • Iowa Citizen Action Network - ICAN
  • Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement - Iowa CCI
  • Iowa City Federation of Labor, IFL, AFL-CIO
  • Iowa Conference of Teamsters - IBT
  • Iowa Farmers Union (IAFU)
  • Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO - IFL
  • Iowa Postal Workers Union - APWU
  • Iowa State Council of Machinists - IAMAW
  • National Catholic Rural Life Conference
  • Northwest Iowa Labor Council, IFL, AFL-CIO
  • Southern Iowa Labor Council, IFL, AFL-CIO
  • Southwest Iowa Labor Council, IFL, AFL-CIO
  • Progressive Action for the Common Good - Corporate Reform Forum
  • Quad Cities Federation of Labor
  • United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) - Iowa
  • United Steelworkers of America (USW) - Iowa Sub-District
  • Working Families Win – Iowa