Seattle union organizer Paul Bigman told attendees earlier in the day that activists of all stripes need to "build coalitions," especially with the country's working class. Bigman took part in the 1999 civil resistance at the WTO meetings in Seattle. A screening of a feature movie based on that event, "Battle in Seattle," was also part of the weekend conference. While the movie was an adrenaline rush, real-life activism is "hard, hard work, and it goes on for a long, long time," Hirschi told conferencegoers.

A morning session on Saturday, "Activism in the Mormon Community" drew BYU and U. students. "It's a headache to be a progressive at BYU," said Shannon Clawson, "but there is such a strong community of people who are really passionate" about social justice.

Although the conference attendees didn't reach a consensus on specific actions for the near future, they did call attention to upcoming events: a four-hour civil resistance training led by Hirschi on Saturday, Feb. 21, from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Quaker Meeting House, 171 E. 4800 South; a climate change discussion with DeChristopher, author Terry Tempest Williams and Salt Lake City Council member Soren Simonsen at 7 p.m. the same day at the Salt Lake City downtown library; an environmental mass action in Washington, D.C., on March 2; and a multi-issue national action on April 4.

Upcoming events will be listed on the Web site of Utah Jobs with Justice, www.utahjwj.org.

E-mail: jarvik@desnews.com