Fair Trade Endorsement Bid Is a Misuse of City of La Mesa Resolutions!

It is not uncommon for resolutions to be made by the city of La Mesa. However, using a resolution in support of specific political movements or commercial enterprises is not advisable when the government act favors a narrow class of persons over others.

The Fair Trade movement is both a political movement and a commercial enterprise/labor movement. A review of their web pages, supporting documents an opinion statements show they themselves include in their purposes to have a social justice, to provide higher incomes to various persons along the chain of production and supply of goods and services and raise awareness of the benefits of Fair Trade certified products. In as much as the Fair Trade organization is an enterprise (http://www.fairtradetownsusa.org/) promoting and enlisting proponents to their commercial and political cause they are actually no different than a labor union or trade association.

As such, if the city council passes their self-promoting resolution the city is then endorsing a specific commercial marketing/labor union type of organization with a political agenda.

Generally, local governments may make public statements of an informational nature, provided they are factual and impartial. Statements that are not factual, or that are not impartial, are prohibited both by our state and federal Constitutions. The proposed resolution fails on both counts and should be rejected.