Berkeley City Council to Hear Fair Trade City Resolution

Dear Fair Trade Friends,

We have exciting news! We just received word that the Berkeley City Council will be hearing our resolution to declare Berkeley a Fair Trade City tomorrow night, Tuesday, April 27th at 8pm.

The resolution is included as a part of the “Actions Calendar” for tomorrow’s city council meeting, which means that representatives of the Fair Trade Berkeley campaign will be given up to two minutes each to present arguments in favor of the resolution and provide material to address any questions asked by the council.

If successful, the item under consideration could result in a vote in support of the resolution, but we will need your help to demonstrate the broad community support for the Fair Trade in Berkeley to ensure that the City Council gets the message.

This is a crucial point in the Berkeley campaign as we move one step closer to declaring Berkeley a Fair Trade Town! Join us in showing your support for Fair Trade by attending the meeting in full Fair Trade attire – wear t-shirts with a Fair Trade message on them and bring colorful banners and signs. Then help us turn out the vote by inviting your friends, family and colleagues to do the same.

In light of this exciting development, TransFair USA will be opening its community café to the general public between 5-7 pm café for a ‘prep’ rally filled with pizza and sign painting before we head down to the council meeting together. The TransFair USA offices are located at 1500 Broadway @ 15th St. in downtown Oakland. If you can join the ranks – great! But if not, then we hope to see you at City Hall.

Fair Trade Berkeley needs your voice, your signs, and your presence! Come one, come all!

What: Berkeley City Council Meeting
When: Tuesday, April 27 at 6:30pm, with Action Calendar discussion to begin around 8pm
Where: 2134 MLK Jr. Way, second floor, downtown Berkeley
Accessible by Downtown Berkeley BART Station

Event RSVP via Facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/event.php?eid=108858662488736&ref=mf

If you or another member of your organization are interested or available to speak on behalf of the resolution, please contact Jamie Guzzi, Grassroots Outreach Coordinator, TransFair USA, 510-663-5260 x. 309, jguzzi@transfaiusa.org.

For more information about the campaign to declare Berkeley a Fair Trade City please visit:
http://fairtradeberkeley.blogspot.com

Best,
Lauren, Dagny, Katrina, Katie, David, Billy, Jamie, Alicia
and the rest of the Fair Trade Berkeley Team.