Why NAFTA, why labor? Although this book is about the labor movement in North America, its central themes – how it is possible to build social movements across borders and the effects of global governance institutions on that process – resonate in an era in which most people understand the world through the prism of globalization. Whether the poorest villagers fighting the construction of a dam or the wealthiest bureaucrats demanding banking regulation, all recognize that the ubiquitous movement of capital, goods and services, and people across the globe creates a web of both transparent and hidden connections. The lessons learned from analyzing the case of NAFTA and labor transnationalism are therefore highly generalizable across issue areas; they speak to international movements historically and currently, from those opposing nuclear proliferation to those emerging to combat climate change. Even as I write, the Greek economic collapse and an errant volcano threaten the European Union, stirring debates about regulation and governance while simultaneously highlighting our global interconnectedness.

NAFTA arrived at a moment in human history when many had begun to contemplate their global connections. The end of the Cold War, which had polarized the planet for decades, and the emergence of nascent democracies around the world provided new opportunities to examine the links among nations and activists. And there were many and varied links that were reflected in the processes we now called globalization: the transfer of new technologies, the explosion in communications, and the diffusion of global political and cultural products (from national constitutions to Sesame Street).