Community Spotlight Series: Washington Fair Trade Coalition

Hillary Haden and Dr. Stan Sorscher (center) meet with “Labor Reform: Key Challenges and Next Steps” IVLP visitors from South Korea, September 2018.

As we commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), we are grateful for our community partners that make these global connections a reality. Annually we welcome 500 - 700 international visitors to Seattle through State Department professional exchange programs like IVLP, and we connect these global leaders with local leaders in and around Seattle. The Washington Fair Trade Coalition regularly meets with groups interested in regional trade and labor policy issues, international business and trade experts, and labor rights activists. We are excited to recognize them as this week’s Community Spotlight!

The Washington Fair Trade Coalition (WFTC) is a coalition of over 60 Washington labor, faith, environmental, farmer, and social justice groups that are committed to creating a fair, balanced, and sustainable global trading system. In addition to ongoing trade education and outreach work, WFTC is involved in several advocacy campaigns focused on sustainable trade policies that serve the interests of workers, communities, and the environment. Stan Sorscher (pictured left) has been meeting with IVLP groups since 2015. A longtime union activist, he is on the Board of the WFTC and recently retired as Labor Representative at the Society for Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA). Hillary Haden (pictured right) joined the WFTC as Executive Director in 2017 and is dedicated to building WFTC’s relationships with politician’s offices, coalition partners, and other non-profits. Hillary recently completed her Masters in International Development, and her thesis on worker co-operatives in developing contexts has provided insight into her work as well as meetings with IVLP visitors.

Over the years, Hillary and Stan have met with international visitors interested in trade and labor policies and they value the questions that the international visitors ask about their work. Trade is often centered solely on business, but Hillary and Stan look at the consequences of narrowly focused policies. “When we share this with trade-focused IVLP groups, we have given them permission to step outside of their constraints and think of the ways that trade isn’t aligned with corporate interest,” says Hillary. “This encourages dialogue as it challenges what’s fundamental to the success of trade policy.”

“As advocates, we’re interested in hearing how other people see the topics that we are passionate about,” says Stan. “We appreciate hearing global perspectives since we often spend a lot of time talking with others who think similarly to us.” Stan shared a specific example of a visitor from Angola who placed value on globalization as a means of preventing conflict. To Stan, this conversation has stood out over the years. “We had not considered this view before. When you challenge the way I’m thinking, it’s a gift you’re giving to me - this was such a worthwhile conversation.” Stan summed up their experience hosting IVLP leaders: “Here are 25 people with fabulous life experiences, their questions and response to our work help us see what we’re doing with more clarity.”

For the past few months, the WFTC team has been focusing on PPE supply chain issues and how trade negotiations are affected. In May 2020, they hosted a Virtual Town Hall on COVID-19, Trade, and Resilience which brought together trade and labor voices across the region to discuss health, economic, and climate impacts of the pandemic. Recently, Hillary’s article on unhealthy wages and trade agreements was featured in Cascadia Weekly.

The World Affairs Council’s partnership with WFTC encourages global dialogue around fair trade that inspires new perspectives both abroad and here in Seattle. The WFTC team has consistently supported our community events, including being long-standing individual members of the Council. Thank you Stan and Hillary for sharing your expertise and for your continued support of our programs! It’s such an honor to work together to build the foundation for addressing global issues through professional exchanges, and we look forward to future crucial dialogue.

By Camille Adkins-Rieck, Program Officer