Cross-Border Action Calls for a Pro-Worker Trade Agenda

Labor advocates, environmentalists, immigrant rights activists and others gathered at Peace Arch Park along the U.S./Canada border in Blaine, Washington to call for a just-and-sustainable trade agenda that put the interests of people ahead of greedy corporations.

Part of coordinated Cross-Border Days of Solidarity Against Rigged Trade the gathering came head of the July 1, 2026 deadline for governments to consider changes to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) Agreement trade pact.  Organizers say the moment is a critical opportunity for public pressure to secure changes that will benefit workers and communities continent-wide.

“People want to confront the ways in which corporations have hijacked trade agreements to amass power and wealth off the backs of working people and the planet,” said Julie Bouanna, executive director of the Washington Fair Trade Coalition.  “Especially during this time, it’s so important to come together and celebrate cross-border and cross-issue solidarity.”

During the event, people discussed the alternative Fair Trade for Working Families agenda backed by Citizens Trade Campaign, the AFL-CIO, Sierra Club, National Family Farm Coalition and others, which presents a new blueprint for that benefits working families and communities.

Endorsers of the Peace Arch Park event included AFSCME Council 28, Coalition of Labor Union Women, International Immigrants Alliance, Indivisible Auburn, Indivisible Bellingham, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, MLK Labor, Northwest Washington Central Labor Council, Olympia Indivisible, People’s Health Movement, Pierce County Central Labor Council, Public Citizen, PROTEC17, Sierra Club, Sunrise Movement, South Seattle Climate Action Network, Teamsters 117, Thurston-Lewis-Mason Central Labor Council, UFCW 367, UFCW 3000, Washington State Alliance for Retired Americans, Washington People’s Privacy and many more.

Additional actions are planned throughout North America through June 2026.