It seems that for the past several months now we've heard frequent announcements that local companies are laying off workers. In some instances, like the Electrolux plant in Greenville, these jobs are heading to Mexico. So it was with great anticipation that my coworker at GRIID, Tom Schwallie, and I looked forward to the WZZM 13 news series called "From Michigan to Mexico," that aired in early March. This was a 4 - part story done by reporter Chris Tye as he spent several days in the city of Juarez, Mexico.

So here is my analysis of channel 13's series.it was a complete joke, with little information on why jobs are leaving Michigan and relocating in Mexico. Everyone we have shown the 4 - part series to has shaken their head in disgust. The series is heavy on emotionalism, personalizing the realities of NAFTA, but without ever explaining the real impact of NAFTA. Viewers who caught the series were treated to comments from "experts" that claim the job flight is due to the "need for companies to stay competitive, " and "consumer" demand low prices.

The news series missed a huge opportunity to help West Michigan residents understand that NAFTA was not a trade agreement, rather an investor's rights agreement. The Institute for Policy Studies has been tracking the impact of NAFTA for ten years, check out their website. What WZZM 13 attempted to do was to pit workers against workers. Even asking the question to workers in Mexico how they felt about taking jobs from folks in Greenville is a misleading question. Workers in both the US and Mexico have had no say in trade policies such as NAFTA, asking workers south of the border implies they have some control over such trade policies. In the end channel 13's "From Michigan to Mexico" series justifies the so-called trade policies like NAFTA, thus keeping corporations safe from further public scrutiny.

This is sad on many levels. First, local broadcast news outlets are not using the public airwaves to inform citizens. Instead they are misinforming us and distracting us with banal programming that keeps us in the dark. Secondly, it blames the public for economic policies, instead of corporations and the capitalist system, which is inherently anti-worker and anti-democratic. Lastly, the news coverage tends to report on the effects of these trade policies as an afterthought, rather than providing information to the community so we could take a more active role in forming public policy. This is particularly important now, since the US Congress is getting ready to vote on another trade policy that will extend NAFTA to all of Central America.

So what is CAFTA (Central America Free Trade Agreement) you say? Unless you are tied into the alternative press, it?s not likely that you will have heard about it. Here is a summary of what will happen if CAFTA goes through. CAFTA will privatize more public services, increase corporate power, erode democracy, destroy agriculture and small farmers, and weaken laws that would protect workers and the environment. Go to www.stopcafta.org for more information and efforts throughout North and Central America.

Locally in Grand Rapids, some of us are working on this issue, since Congress will be voting sometime in late April or early May. The local campaign hopes to educate people about the impacts of NAFTA/CAFTA, engage in some direct action to challenge the corporate pillage of these trade policies, and to build solidarity amongst workers and families who have been affected. Go to the CAFTA campaign at the Media Mouse website for more details locally.

As a side note, some of you may have seen the GR Press article on March 1 entitled "Elite Company." It was an article about a new book by Pat Williams, the VP of operations for the Orlando Magic basketball team. Rich DeVos owns the Magic and is the subject of the book by Williams. The book basically says that DeVos, like Jesus, is a great communicator. That's right Rich is now being compared to Jesus. In fact, the GR Press story ran 3 photos, one of Jesus, Michael Jordan and DeVos. The DeVos photo was 4 times as big as the one of Jesus and Jordan.

Well, we heard that DeVos and Williams were going to be at Schuler Books a few days after the article appeared. Not wanting to pass up the opportunity to visit with the man who is on a par with JESUS, we paid him a visit.

Rich and company were signing books in the back, so a friend of mine and I got in line to have books signed. The wait in line itself was sort of surreal, especially since we could hear the people in front of us falling at Rich?s feet. My partner in this little intervention grabbed a copy of Robbing Us Blind: The return of the Bush gang and the corporate mugging of America. Rich signed away, but afterwards noticed the title and asked "so what is this book about?" The response was how corporations are hurting American families. Rich was a bit perplexed at this point. Then I stepped up and handed him a bible. He said, "you want me to sign your bible?" I said why not and as he was signing it I asked how he felt about the Press article, being compared to Jesus and having a bigger photo than the son of god. He said he wasn't sure and at about that time his very large bodyguard grabbed my arm and said "that's enough!"

Jeff Smith works with a media watchdog called GRIID. If you want to see the autographed bible from Rich DeVos, I put it back on the shelf.