Solidarity Center

Driving Toward a Fair Future @ Work

Solidarity Center — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 21:50:59 +0000

Delivery drivers and other app-based workers often struggle to improve their difficult, and even dangerous, working conditions. In the final episode of My Boss Is a Robot, two veteran union organizers offer insights and strategies that gig workers can use to win their rights on the job–from the nuts and bolts of nurturing leaders and tapping into social media to connect with each other, to taking their campaign to the public and media. Says one organizer: “It’s the most amazing thing you’ve ever seen when people take their power back, and collectively.” Episode summary

Tips to Help Delivery Drivers Form Unions

Solidarity Center — Tue, 24 Oct 2023 14:29:03 +0000

When a worker dies on the job, shouldn’t their families receive some compensation from the company? App-based delivery drivers and other gig workers don’t. Despite unfair working conditions, many gig workers need to be convinced to join together to get the basic benefits granted to employees in traditional jobs. On this episode of My Boss Is a Robot, union organizers in the Philippines talk about how they reach workers who believe that they should not–or cannot–stand up for their rights on the job. Find Out More Episode summary Grab Riders in Metro Manila Strike Against Unjust Fare Decrease Illegally […]

Tech Discrimination: The New Way We Work?

Solidarity Center — Tue, 10 Oct 2023 18:41:57 +0000

Drivers delivering your pizza are being paid by an algorithm–and the longer they work, the less they are paid. On this episode of My Boss Is a Robot, experts discuss whether we are heading toward a potential future where job autonomy and fair compensation become obsolete. Episode summary

Gaming the System: App Workers Rarely Win

Solidarity Center — Tue, 26 Sep 2023 19:29:45 +0000

Way back when factories were the new thing, there were no rules to stop the big industrialists from paying starvation wages and putting workers’ lives in danger in fire-prone buildings. Today, those out-of-control bosses have been replaced by apps. If apps miscalculate and send drivers in the wrong direction, or lower wages for drivers stuck in traffic, it’s the driver who loses wages, or is even booted from the platform. The latest episode of My Boss Is a Robot shows that for app-based companies, these are not bugs–they are built into an algorithmic system designed to move money from workers […]

App Workers Seek Level Playing Field

Solidarity Center — Tue, 12 Sep 2023 20:01:17 +0000

. For app-based workers like delivery drivers, the “free” in freelancer comes at a high cost. The second episode of the Solidarity Center Podcast series, My Boss Is a Robot, explores their battle for fair treatment as they seek to be recognized by companies like Uber and Deliveroo as the employees they really are. Episode summary

21st Century Workplace: Exploitation by App

Solidarity Center — Tue, 29 Aug 2023 18:52:59 +0000

. If you work seven days a week, 12 hours a day and don’t make enough money to pay the bills, you can talk to your boss, right? Not if your boss is an app. Find out the global impact of app-controlled working conditions on “My Boss Is a Robot,” the new Solidarity Center Podcast series that launches with a deep dive into the realities of being a food delivery driver in Colombia. Episode Summary

M-POWER SUMMIT: Program to End Violence, Harassment Changing the Dynamic in Lesotho

Solidarity Center — Thu, 03 Aug 2023 19:22:33 +0000

An unprecedented, binding, worker-centered program designed to comprehensively address rampant gender-based violence and harassment in several garment factories in Lesotho is succeeding in creating a safe and dignified workplace in Lesotho, attendees of a high-level summit in the southern African country were told last week. The July 27 summit, “Eradicating Gender-Based Violence and Harassment at Work in Southern Africa,” brought together government, labor and business leaders in Maseru, Lesotho’s capital, to highlight advances in ensuring worker rights and civil-society participation—including the program that arose from groundbreaking, anti-GVBH agreements negotiated collaboratively by local unions and women’s rights groups, multinational brands […]

Solidarity Center Condemns Murders of Union Leaders in Bangladesh, Honduras

Solidarity Center — Wed, 28 Jun 2023 13:58:09 +0000

A garment union leader in Bangladesh and four garment union leaders in Honduras were killed over the weekend, murders the Solidarity Center and global union and human rights organizations are strongly condemning, and which they say highlight the need for employers and governments in every country to ensure workers can safely exercise their basic rights to form and join unions. “The perpetrators of these horrific murders must be brought to justice,” says Solidarity Center Executive Director Shawna Bader-Blau. “Assaults on workers and union leaders for trying to form unions and exercise their fundamental rights are increasing worldwide. These heinous […]

Nigerian Activists Mobilize to End Gender-Based Violence at Work

Solidarity Center — Mon, 26 Jun 2023 12:10:16 +0000

After a coalition of unions and human rights organizations successfully campaigned for Nigeria’s government to ratify a global treaty on violence and harassment in the world of work, including gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH), they knew that was just a first step toward ensuring violence-free workplaces in the country. Now, the hard work begins to implement the protections in International Labor Organization Convention 190, (C190), speakers said during a panel sponsored by the International Lawyers Assisting Workers (ILAW) Network. “The campaign does not stop at ratification. It must grow at the grassroots level, at the [factory] floor level, at […]

ORGANIZING SCHOOL BUILDS COLLECTIVE POWER IN KYRGYZSTAN

Solidarity Center — Tue, 20 Jun 2023 19:19:28 +0000

Recognizing that increased numbers help unions better advocate for worker rights and negotiate wages and working conditions with Kyrgyzstan’s employers and government, 28 union activists joined the Solidarity Center’s Organizing School, a four-part program that began in March. The school drew participants from construction, informal trading, public service, taxi and textile sectors, many of […]

The Solidarity Center Celebrates 25 Years of Supporting Mexican Workers

Solidarity Center — Thu, 15 Jun 2023 15:15:36 +0000

A quarter century since joining the fight for worker rights in Mexico, the Solidarity Center celebrated the progress made amid reflections on the historic moment workers and their allies face in the country. “The most important and promising independent union organizing in the world is happening right here, right now in Mexico,” Shawna Bader-Blau, […]

RIGHTS DEFENDERS, CENTRAL ASIA GOVERNMENTS UNITE AGAINST FORCED LABOR

Solidarity Center — Fri, 26 May 2023 18:59:08 +0000

A milestone convening in Tashkent last week brought together stakeholders from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan government ministries and agencies, non-governmental and civil society sectors, and international organizations as a first step in developing a joint action plan to combat forced labor and advance worker rights in the region. Worldwide, 28 million people were reportedly […]

‘Health Care Is a Human Right’ Say Nigeria’s Unions In West Africa Campaign

Solidarity Center — Thu, 11 May 2023 14:30:21 +0000

The Nigerian working group of a campaign led by the Organization of Trade Unions of West Africa (OTUWA) is collaborating on a regional campaign demanding more investment by governments in the health of their citizens. OTUWA represents trade union national centers in the 15 West African countries comprising the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Addressing journalists at a public event in Abuja, Nigeria working group coordinator Dr. Ayegba Ojonugwa, last month warned that governments must increase health workers’ wages and improve their working conditions—including safety—to staunch the outflux of health workers from the beleaguered sector. “We are […]

MONTENEGRO TELECOM WORKERS WIN END TO 14-YEAR WAGE FREEZE

Solidarity Center — Tue, 02 May 2023 15:55:19 +0000

Following a 136-day strike, Montenegro’s telecom workers are celebrating a collective agreement that reverses a 14-year wage freeze and interrupts more than a decade of alleged union-busting tactics by Crnogorski Telekom (CT), majority owned by Deutsche Telecom since 2005. The agreement won by the Trade Union of Telecom of Montenegro (STCG) immediately increases workers’ wages […]

Rana Plaza Collapse at 10 Years: Brands, Bangladesh Government Must Do More

Solidarity Center — Thu, 20 Apr 2023 17:13:32 +0000

Ten years after the multi-story Rana Plaza building collapsed in Bangladesh, killing 1,138 workers and injuring thousands more, garment workers and their unions say that although safety has improved in some instances, much more needs to be done. And fundamental to achieving safe working conditions is ensuring workers have the freedom to form unions. […]

Bangladesh: Survey Details Impact of Climate Crisis, Pollution on Tannery Workers

Solidarity Center — Wed, 19 Apr 2023 14:37:56 +0000

A survey of tannery workers living in Hemayetpur, Bangladesh, is illustrating how the impact of industrial pollution, harsh working conditions and low wages is leaving workers, their families and their communities increasingly vulnerable to ever-increasing climate-related shocks in the country. “When combined with the health consequences of environmental degradation and the climate crisis, the compounding impacts on workers, their families and their communities are devastating,” says Sonia Mistry, Solidarity Center climate and labor justice global lead. More than 200 tannery workers were surveyed for a study conducted with Solidarity Center support by Jagannath University Associate Professor Mostafiz Ahmed. Survey findings […]

Pro-Democracy Tunisian Unions Protest Escalating Crackdown

Solidarity Center — Thu, 06 Apr 2023 19:05:47 +0000

For the second time this year a leader of the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT) was arrested, this time for suspicion of insulting a public official at a protest outside the country’s Ministry of Culture building. The arrest of the UGTT’s secretary for culture, Abdel Nasser Ben Amara last month—who has since been acquitted […]

African Union Leaders Join Forces in Historic Democracy Summit

Solidarity Center — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 13:51:57 +0000

Dozens of union leaders from across Africa took part in the first-ever Summit for Democracy event on the continent March 30, where they discussed the essential role of unions in strengthening democracy and shared strategies on how unions can step up efforts to advance democracy through one of its most essential components—worker rights. Co-hosted by the Multilateral Partnership for Organizing, Worker Empowerment and Rights (M-POWER) and the Zambian Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), the day-long conference included interactive sessions focused on strengthening democracy and opening rapidly closing civic space in Africa. “Amplifying the Voices of Workers to Safeguard Democracy […]

Haiti: Unions Play Important Role in Restoring $1 Million to Garment Workers

Solidarity Center — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 14:02:40 +0000

Union activism was integral in getting $1 million in back wages and benefits restored to garment workers in Haiti after they were left jobless when their factory suddenly closed in December. More than 1,000 workers were impacted by the sudden closure, during vacation, of the U.S.-owned Vald’or factory. They did not receive severance pay, […]

Summit for Democracy: No Democracy Without Unions

Solidarity Center — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 20:15:43 +0000

On the eve of the Summit for Democracy, high-level U.S. government officials and domestic and international labor activists highlighted the fundamental role of trade unions to reinforce, expand and protect democracy around the world at an official summit side event. The event Tuesday, March 28, “No Democracy Without Unions: Labor Movements as Defenders of […]

Workers Speak Out: Unions Are Essential to Democracy

Solidarity Center — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 06:00:30 +0000

Workers from around the world, including those exiled from Belarus, Eswatini and Myanmar for forming unions, striking and trying to speak freely, describe why democracy is important—and why unions are key to democracy.

UPDATE: Kill a River, Kill Our Livelihoods: A Brazilian Community's Fight for Survival

Solidarity Center — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 18:57:24 +0000

As a result of strong union activism, in partnership with Indigenous communities, the Brazilian government has recently halted a massive development project in the Brazilian wetlands that threatened workers and indigenous communities that are dependent on the river. Given this significant victory, we’re revisiting a podcast from 2022 when we first talked to activist and union leader Carmen Foro, who became a part of the newly elected Brazilian government not long after our interview. A community that makes its livelihood from the Amazon is standing up to the Brazilian government that, without consulting with the people most affected, is […]

Nigeria: Decent Work Inaccessible to Most Workers with Disabilities

Solidarity Center — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 19:23:57 +0000

A survey of more than 600 workers with disabilities in Nigeria’s formal and informal sectors, conducted by the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) Women Commission and the Solidarity Center in collaboration with Nigerian unions and disability rights organizations, finds that most workers with disabilities cannot access decent work as defined by the UN International Labor Organization (ILO). “It provides evidence for what we have been saying for so long [and is] a powerful tool for advocacy,” says Nigeria disability advocate and FAECARE Foundation Executive Director Ndifreke (Freky) Andrew-Essien.” “Securing Equal Access to Decent Work in Nigeria: A Report […]

Brazil: Communities & Unions Win Victory for Livelihoods, Democracy

Solidarity Center — Thu, 23 Mar 2023 18:17:34 +0000

Brazilian communities along a river near the Amazon are celebrating the government’s decision to halt a blasting and dredging project that could destroy their livelihoods and severely damage the environment. Earlier this month, the Public Prosecutor’s Office recommended that the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) suspend its preliminary license for the Araguaia-Tocantins waterway project in the state of Pará. In suspending the license, the government cited the absence of prior consultation with residents who would be impacted, especially Indigenous communities and quilombolas, and the lack of information on the effects of the project on […]

Exiled Union Leader: Workers ‘Demanding Democracy’ in Eswatini

Solidarity Center — Thu, 16 Mar 2023 06:00:05 +0000

In Eswatini, where union workers are routinely harassed, attacked and even killed for going on strike or holding rallies, union leader Sticks Nkambule was recently targeted by the government for leading a strike to improve working conditions. Forced to flee the country, Nkambule describes the interconnected struggle for worker rights, human rights and democracy. “We […]

With Unions, Women App-Based Drivers Steer Toward a Fair Future

Solidarity Center — Wed, 08 Mar 2023 20:13:45 +0000

App-based drivers worldwide work long hours for often minimum wages while facing safety risks every day—and these issues are compounded for women platform workers, according to speakers at a Commission on the Status of Women (#CSW67) side event, Women Workers Organizing: Transforming the Gig Economy through Collective Action. “Not just in Colombia, but worldwide, women are always the ones that are the most vulnerable and paid the worst,” said Luz Myriam Fique Cardenas, president of Unión de Trabajadores de Plataformas (UNIDAPP) in Colombia. “We suffer harassment. We don’t have security in the streets because we’re women.” Cardenas joined three […]

Brazil: Improving Labor Rights and Conditions for Migrant Workers

Solidarity Center — Mon, 06 Mar 2023 16:07:13 +0000

The Brazilian Ministry of Labor and Employment (MTE) rescued 39 workers, including children, in February from modern slavery in the state of Santa Catarina. Over half of them were Venezuelan migrants who had moved to the state via the government’s Operation Welcome program. A construction company enticed the workers through social media posts in Venezuela, offering jobs building warehouses and promising good pay, safe work conditions, free housing and meals for the workers and their families. When workers arrived, however, they discovered that their “housing” lacked beds or bathrooms, and they were forced to build their own accommodations, which […]

Fol, mos shkruaj me shkumës! Mësuesit e Kosovës bëjnë thirrje për dialog me Qeverinë

Solidarity Center — Mon, 06 Mar 2023 07:00:06 +0000

Mësuesit në Kosovë luftojnë për të mbështetur familjet e tyre me pagat e tyre dhe kanë burime të kufizuara në klasë – por thonë se qeveria ua ka kthyer shpinën kërkesave të tyre për bashkëpunim për të përmirësuar arsimin. “Ne po mundohemi të krijojmë një rrjet bashkëpunimi të ndërsjellë -thotë Rrahman Jasharaj, kryetar i Sindikatës […]

Talk, Not Chalk! Kosovo Teachers Urge Dialog with Government

Solidarity Center — Thu, 02 Mar 2023 07:00:41 +0000

Teachers in Kosovo struggle to support their families on their wages and have limited classroom resources–but say the government has turned its back on their requests to partner together to improve education. “We’re trying to establish a mutual cooperation network,” says Rrahman Jasharaj, chair of the teacher’s union, SBASHK. “My colleagues in all Kosovo schools […]

Black Women Workers Connecting Globally to Advance Racial, Gender Justice

Solidarity Center — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 12:07:55 +0000

Discrimination, marginalization and powerful political forces like authoritarianism do not stop at a country’s border—and that is why it is so important for black women worldwide connect through their unions and allied organizations, panelists said Thursday at a Solidarity Center-sponsored event. “We need to strengthen this kind of international unity as a way to […]

Solidarity Center Statement on One Year of War in Ukraine

Solidarity Center — Fri, 24 Feb 2023 14:23:54 +0000

One year ago, military forces of the Russian Federation invaded Ukraine, launching an unprovoked and unnecessary war. This war has cost thousands of lives and damaged Ukraine’s social and economic infrastructure, which will take years to rebuild. Russia’s attack on Ukraine is the direct cause of major food shortages and agricultural supply chain disruptions felt most painfully in lower-income countries. Yet, the citizens of Ukraine remain united in their resolve to defend their country, endure constant attacks on their civilian infrastructure, and struggle to keep supplies of grain and necessary goods flowing despite Russian restrictions. Ukrainian workers and trade […]

Expulsion Signals Anti-Union Crackdown in Tunisia

Solidarity Center — Wed, 22 Feb 2023 14:48:27 +0000

The expulsion of European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) General Secretary Esther Lynch is the latest sign of an anti-union, anti-democratic crackdown in Tunisia. Lynch was forced out of the country after speaking at a rally to show solidarity with the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT), whose members the government has subjected to a campaign […]

Illegally Terminated and Suspended Grab Delivery Drivers Continue to Organize in the Philippines

Solidarity Center — Fri, 17 Feb 2023 17:50:10 +0000

“Recognize our union; negotiate with us!” Pampanga Delivery drivers cried last January 25 during the launch of the Pampanga chapter of the National Union of Delivery Riders (RIDERS). Intending to cover all platform-based delivery drivers from apps like Grab, FoodPanda and Maxim, RIDERS fights for health insurance and income security, among other basic protections. The Solidarity Center spoke to RIDERS organizers Mark Larson and Mary Rose, who were illegally terminated and suspended last December following a labor rally they both attended. They then filed a case with the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) and currently await the labor arbiter’s […]

Myrtle Witbooi: A Clear Vision of Justice for Domestic Workers

Solidarity Center — Mon, 13 Feb 2023 15:59:20 +0000

Myrtle Witbooi, a fierce advocate of domestic worker rights who recently passed away, is remembered in this Solidarity Center Podcast episode by Solidarity Center Domestic Worker Global Lead Alexis De Simone. We also hear from Myrtle herself, as she accepted the AFL-CIO’s Human Rights award on behalf of the International Domestic Worker Federation, which she helped form and led. “Her deep conviction that when women, when the working poor, when women of color, when workers in the Global South, when union sisters and brothers decide to join forces, decide that they are in it together, there is no […]

Global Community Denounces Tunisian Union Leader's Arrest

Solidarity Center — Fri, 10 Feb 2023 18:12:16 +0000

Global labor unions and the international human rights community are denouncing the arrest in Tunisia of a top leader in the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT). Anis Kaabi, general secretary of the highway workers’ union, was arrested January 31 after leading a strike by toll booth workers. A coalition of 66 human rights groups […]

Nigeria Drivers Form Country’s First App-Based Union

Solidarity Center — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 13:17:02 +0000

Drivers in Nigeria won the country’s first union covering platform-based workers, a victory that shows it is possible for “unions to organize workers in the gig economy,” says Ayoade Ibrahim, secretary general of the Amalgamated Union of App-Based Transport Workers of Nigeria (AUATWN). The Ministry of Labor’s recognition of AUATWN empowers it to have […]

Tunisian Call Center Workers Win Big Wage Boost

Solidarity Center — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 13:09:39 +0000

Tunisian workers at the call center giant Teleperformance Foundation won big pay and benefit gains in a new contract negotiated by the Informational Technology and Services union. The union is part of the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT), which took part in negotiations. Effective in March, the agreement includes wage increases between 9.5 percent […]

Fighting for the Rights of People with Disabilities in Kyrgyzstan

Solidarity Center — Fri, 03 Feb 2023 20:55:50 +0000

A new video shows the strategies unions and civil society allies in Kyrgyzstan, with Solidarity Center support, are using to advance and protect the rights of people with disabilities. Strategies include coalition-building and joint advocacy projects with national and local disability rights organizations, pro-bono legal support, data collection, legislative reform and trainings-of-trainers with disabilities. In […]

Pro-democracy Eswatini Transport Union Leader Trapped in Exile

Solidarity Center — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 18:51:06 +0000

Fearing for his life and liberty, pro-democracy activist and Swaziland Transport, Communication and Allied Workers Union (SWATCAWU) General Secretary Sticks Nkambule remains trapped in exile while his union campaigns to bring him home safely. The murder last month of human and worker rights lawyer and pro-democracy activist Thulani Maseko—whom Nkambule describes as “friend, colleague, […]

‘TELEWORK IS NOT A SEPARATE FORM OF EMPLOYMENT,’ SAY UNIONS

Solidarity Center — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 21:25:56 +0000

Only a worker rights-based approach can ensure that Europe’s growing numbers of teleworkers can fully exercise their fundamental labor rights—including to decent work, which includes safe working conditions—said International Lawyers Assisting Workers Network (ILAW) members Mihail Cebotari, Inna Kudinska, George Sandul and ILAW Europe and Central Asia Regional Coordinator Tamar Gabisonia during the launch […]

Fierce and Beloved Labor Leader Myrtle Witbooi Passes Away

Solidarity Center — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 18:18:14 +0000

The global labor movement lost a bright light and a pioneering leader on January 16 when Myrtle Witbooi, general secretary of the South African Domestic Service and Allied Workers Union (SADSAWU), and president of the International Domestic Workers Federation (IDWF), passed away after a long and valiant battle with cancer. Myrtle began her career […]

Report: Platform Workers Winning Rights in Courts, Parliaments

Solidarity Center — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 19:18:04 +0000

Workers on digital platforms who are pursuing their rights at work through courts and legislation are making significant gains, especially in Europe and Latin America, according to a new report by the International Lawyers Assisting Workers Network (ILAW Network). A key finding of Taken for a Ride 2: Accelerating Towards Justice shows that major companies like Uber, Deliveroo, Glovo and others often are losing in their efforts to intentionally misclassify workers, with Australia as an exception. When gig workers like platform-based drivers are misclassified as independent contractors, they are not covered by labor laws that mandate a minimum wage, safety […]

GLOBAL PLASTICS TREATY MUST NOT LEAVE WORKERS BEHIND

Solidarity Center — Fri, 16 Dec 2022 16:47:49 +0000

Workers in the informal waste and recovery sector (IWRS)—such as collectors, traders and waste pickers—help recycle almost 60 percent of the world’s plastic waste and, in some countries, provide the only form of municipal solid waste collection. This service financially supports millions of workers who are already facing social marginalization, poverty, appalling working conditions […]

UKRAINE: ESSENTIAL INFRASTRUCTURE WORKERS ENDANGERED

Solidarity Center — Fri, 16 Dec 2022 16:46:53 +0000

Flagging a high number of work-related deaths and life-altering injuries in the country during the first ten months of this year, Solidarity Center partners Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine (KVPU) and Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine (FPU) are educating their members and leadership on how to better protect themselves at work […]

High-Level, Global Initiative: Worker Rights Fundamental to Democracy

Solidarity Center — Fri, 09 Dec 2022 13:40:06 +0000

In a powerful demonstration of support for strengthening worker rights to ensure thriving democracies and prosperous economies, representatives from governments, unions and philanthropic organizations met in Washington, D.C., yesterday to renew their commitment to the global initiative, M-POWER (Multilateral Partnership for Organizing, Worker Empowerment and Rights). “Labor rights are fundamental to democracy,” said U.S. Labor Secretary Martin Walsh, opening the event before a packed room. “The collective voice of workers is fundamental to democracy. And strong labor movements are fundamental to democracy,” he said, remarks echoed by participants throughout the event. Launched in December 2021, M-POWER is part of […]

Lesotho Garment Workers Stand Up to Gender Violence at Work, Communities

Solidarity Center — Mon, 05 Dec 2022 19:37:51 +0000

Thousands of mostly women garment workers in Lesotho who produce jeans and knitwear for the global market are standing up to gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH) at their factories, homes and communities after participating in education and awareness training, part of a pathbreaking, worker-centered program negotiated in part by the Solidarity Center. And, as a […]

NEW WAVE OF HARSH SENTENCES SLAMS BELARUS UNIONS

Solidarity Center — Mon, 05 Dec 2022 16:59:29 +0000

In the wake of a new wave of prison sentences against union leaders and other activists arrested earlier this year, new Belarus worker rights organization Salidarnast is tracking and disseminating updates on union political prisoners’ legal cases, and providing other worker rights news. Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BKDP) President Aliaksandr Yarashuk, […]

16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence STARTS NOW!

Solidarity Center — Wed, 30 Nov 2022 18:15:24 +0000

As the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign gets underway, women trade unionists worldwide are building on their momentum to end sexual harassment and gender violence at the workplace. In Georgia, for instance, the Georgian Trade Union Confederation (GTUC) “pays huge attention to awareness-raising activities on gender-based violence and harassment in the […]

Delivery Drivers Launch Union in the Philippines

Solidarity Center — Tue, 29 Nov 2022 19:24:23 +0000

More than a hundred Grab food delivery riders launched the Iloilo Grab Riders Union (IGRU) in Iloilo City, Philippines, on November 24, then staged a unity ride around the city, located on Panay Island. Some 200 drivers joined in the ride, with more riders taking part from the streets, organizers said. The newly formed […]

#GivingTuesday: Donate $100 and Receive Free Book!

Solidarity Center — Tue, 29 Nov 2022 05:10:56 +0000

During this year’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign and in honor of #GivingTuesday, you can support our work in ending GBVH and get a free copy of the book, “Stopping Gender-Based Violence and Harassment at Work,” by donating $100 to the Solidarity Center. Show your solidarity and make a donation now! […]

Giving Tuesday: Donate $100 and Receive Free Book!

Solidarity Center — Fri, 18 Nov 2022 14:44:28 +0000

When women agricultural workers in Morocco joined to form their first union and negotiate a contract that established gender equality and prohibited sexual harassment and other forms of gender-based violence on the job, their collective action followed years of Solidarity Center training and support. This GivingTuesday offers a chance to support violence-free workplaces—and all […]

Union Women Key to Ending Gender-Based Violence at Work

Solidarity Center — Wed, 16 Nov 2022 02:21:09 +0000

Union women who work at factories, on farms, in restaurants, taxis and offices successfully campaigned for an international treaty to end gender-based violence at work. Authors of a new book, “Stopping Gender-Based Violence and Harassment at Work: The Campaign for an ILO Convention,” share these womens’ stories and describe the powerful movement they created with […]

WEST AFRICA UNIONS FIGHT FOR WORKER RIGHTS IN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT

Solidarity Center — Thu, 27 Oct 2022 22:11:24 +0000

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was sold with the promise to “promote and attain sustainable and inclusive socioeconomic development, equality and structural transformation.” However, many governments’ failure to engage civil society partners, including the labor movement, as they begin to develop national strategies and plans for implementation of the agreement means that the rights of working people are not being effectively represented or protected, and their access to decent work is therefore imperiled. “Unions in my country are not fully aware of the AfCFTA,” says Sierra Leone Labor Congress (SLLC) Secretary General Max Conteh. Similarly, trade unions […]

Unions Across the Globe Develop, Defend Democracy

Solidarity Center — Sun, 09 Oct 2022 10:39:14 +0000

As the world witnesses some of the greatest challenges to democratic governments since the 1930s, unions offer a strong and essential counter to the trend, according to Cornell University Professor Angela Cornell. “Many studies show that organized labor has played critical role in developing and defending democracy. The organized working class was the primary carrier of democracy,” Cornell said today at the International Lawyers Assisting Workers Network (ILAW) Conference opening plenary. Cornell, co-editor of The Cambridge Handbook of Labor and Democracy, along with several book contributors, opened the Conference’s third and final day with a discussion of the handbook, […]

Making Trade Work for Workers

Solidarity Center — Sat, 08 Oct 2022 15:33:55 +0000

Participants in the afternoon plenary at the International Lawyers Assisting Workers Network (ILAW) Global Conference heard updates on how trade agreements are advancing worker rights and learned strategies for incorporating forced labor bans and protecting workers’ freedom to form unions. With a focus on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), Eric Gottwald and Pablo Franco […]

Workers, Unions Must Be Part of Sustainable Transitions

Solidarity Center — Sat, 08 Oct 2022 11:04:15 +0000

As governments and employers move to address the effects of the climate crisis and toward a sustainable future, workers and their unions must be part of the discussions to ensure the creation of decent jobs and respect for workers’ fundamental rights, panelists said today in the opening plenary of the International Lawyers Assisting Workers […]

ILAW Network Members Suggest Areas for Resources, Support

Solidarity Center — Fri, 07 Oct 2022 19:37:05 +0000

Databases of legislation, compilations of laws and successful practices that advance worker rights, trainings, and coordination with allied organizations are some of the suggestions members of the International Lawyers Assisting Workers Network (ILAW) recommended the organization pursue. Meeting in breakout groups on the first day of the ILAW Network Global Conference, worker rights lawyers shared their work on, and requested support in, areas involving the global supply chain, informal economy work, employment discrimination, migrant worker rights, workplace safety and health and violence and harassment in the world of work. “There is a need for more cooperation and sharing of […]

Worker Rights Lawyers Open Conference with Discussion on Labor and Tech

Solidarity Center — Fri, 07 Oct 2022 13:57:36 +0000

Opening the ILAW Network Global Conference 2022, Solidarity Center Rule of Law Director and International Lawyers Assisting Workers Network (ILAW) Chair Jeffrey Vogt cited the many challenges facing workers—and reviewed the significant achievements ILAW Network members have accomplished to ensure workers achieve their basic rights on the job. “We’re seeing that every effort is being […]

Haiti Garment Workers Need Four Times Their Wages to Get By

Solidarity Center — Wed, 07 Sep 2022 12:30:14 +0000

Haiti garment workers should be paid four times their current salaries just to keep pace with the cost of living, a new Solidarity Center study finds. The High Cost of Low Wages in Haiti: A Living Wage Estimate for Garment Workers in Port-au-Prince, determined that based on the current minimum wage ($781 per month), workers […]

У розпал війни український Парламент урізає трудові права

Solidarity Center — Tue, 16 Aug 2022 07:00:19 +0000

Український юрист з трудового права Георгій Сандул розповідає про те, як український Парламент використовує воєнний стан та катастрофу, що принесла війна з росією, аби проштовхнути репресивне трудове законодавство, що значним чином уріже права профспілок та доступ працівників до гідної праці. Сандул заявляє: “Нові закони підривають саме існування трудових прав в Україні”. Більше по цій темі: […]

Haiti Garment Workers Win Key Benefits

Solidarity Center — Tue, 09 Aug 2022 17:03:36 +0000

Haitian garment workers scored a huge victory as a coalition of unions negotiated an agreement with the government to provide garment workers in Port-Au-Prince with transportation and food stipends. “In our struggle for a better working environment and fair wages we have always emphasized that the government should provide social support to workers, especially […]

In Midst of War, Ukrainian Parliament Attacks Worker Rights

Solidarity Center — Mon, 08 Aug 2022 05:00:47 +0000

Ukrainian labor lawyer George Sandul describes how the Ukrainian Parliament is using martial law, and the chaos and disaster of the ongoing war with Russia, to push through harsh legislation aimed at gutting unions and limiting workers’ rights to decent jobs. Despite the gains of labor in Ukraine over the last several years, employers are now reducing wages, re-introducing zero hour contracts, and looking to new government exemptions to the more recent, worker-focused labor laws. Says Sandul: The new laws "will undermine the very existence of employees' rights in Ukraine.".

Report: Trafficking Persists in Agriculture

Solidarity Center — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 18:06:20 +0000

The trafficking of agriculture workers, including children, is widespread globally, and “practices of exceptionalism” limit workers’ rights to freedom of association, organizing and collective bargaining, according to a new report on trafficking in persons in agriculture from United Nations Special Rapporteur Siobhán Mullally. “Characterized by high levels of informality, lack of oversight and protection, trafficking in persons remains a serious concern within the agricultural sector, affecting both adults and children,” she writes. The report notes that while the COVID-19 pandemic saw agricultural workers designated as “essential,” worker protections did not follow. Indeed, temporary, seasonal and migrant workers are provided limited […]

Hundreds of Thousands of Tunisian Workers Strike to Save Their Livelihoods

Solidarity Center — Thu, 16 Jun 2022 15:36:21 +0000

Hundreds of thousands of public employees across Tunisia waged a one-day strike today after talks with the government failed to address the rising cost of living and sinking wages, even as it increases taxes and cuts social programs. “The strike on June 16, 2022, is an opportunity for workers to affirm their unity, hold […]

Report: Collective Bargaining Transforms Workers' Lives

Solidarity Center — Wed, 01 Jun 2022 18:08:18 +0000

A powerful new report shows that collective bargaining changes work and workers’ lives for the better. According to the report, workers in Honduras with collective bargaining agreements are less likely to feel compelled to migrate or to face verbal abuse, and they earn more than workers without collective bargaining agreements. The Solidarity Center-supported report, “Bargaining for Decent Work and Beyond: Transforming Work and Lives Through Collective Bargaining Agreements in the Honduran Maquila Sector,” was published by the Center for Global Workers’ Rights. “Collective bargaining ultimately is about transforming lives,” said Solidarity Center Executive Director Shawna Bader-Blau, who moderated a […]

Thai Workers Win Historic $8.3 Million in Back Pay, Financed by Victoria’s Secret

Solidarity Center — Wed, 25 May 2022 14:38:56 +0000

Agreement, the Largest Wage-Theft Settlement at a Garment Factory, Follows Year-Long Advocacy by International Labor Rights Advocates The Solidarity Center and the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) announced today that more than 1,250 Thai workers who sewed bras for Victoria’s Secret, Lane Bryant, and Torrid—and who were fired in 2021 without their legally mandated severance—have […]

Now Imprisoned, Belarus Union Leader Spoke of Hopes for Democracy

Solidarity Center — Wed, 04 May 2022 05:54:39 +0000

In April, at least 18 union leaders were recently arrested in Belarus, where an autocracy has run the country since the fall of the Soviet Union. Among those arrested was Sergey Antusevich, vice president of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions, who was a guest on The Solidarity Center Podcast in 2021. On the […]

Mate um rio, mate nosso sustento: a luta de uma comunidade brasileira por sobrevivência

Solidarity Center — Thu, 21 Apr 2022 07:58:02 +0000

Comunidades que vivem na Amazônia estão enfrentando o Governo Brasileiro que, sem consultar os mais afetados pela situação, está prestes a implementar um projeto de explosão e dragagem ao longo de um rio que ocasionará a destruição das formas de subsistência de muitas comunidades. Carmen Foro, uma ativista rural e líder sindical brasileira que está à […]

Kill a River, Kill Our Livelihoods: A Brazilian Community's Fight for Survival

Solidarity Center — Thu, 21 Apr 2022 07:54:43 +0000

A community that makes its livelihood from the Amazon is standing up to the Brazilian government that, without consulting with the people most affected, is on the verge of undertaking a blasting and dredging project along a river waterway that would destroy their livelihoods. Carmen Foro, a rural activist and a Brazilian union leader on […]

استمع هنا باللغة العربية

Solidarity Center — Wed, 20 Apr 2022 21:27:43 +0000

Minimum Wage Boost in Palestine Big First Step for Workers

Solidarity Center — Mon, 11 Apr 2022 09:39:17 +0000

Union activist and leader Mohammad Badri describes the successful campaign by the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU) to raise the minimum wage, and the ongoing efforts to ensure employers pay workers what they are owed. . Find Out More! Episode Summary PGFTU Photo Story: Palestinian Workers Find Strength in Their Union Photo Story: […]

Los trabajadores automotrices mexicanos ganan victoria histórica

Solidarity Center — Fri, 11 Mar 2022 15:04:26 +0000

Miles de trabajadores mexicanos formaron recientemente un sindicato independiente en la planta automotriz de GM en Silao (el centro del país), derrotando en las elecciones a otro sindicato que no luchaba por sus intereses. María Alejandra Morales Reynoso, secretaria general de SINTTIA (el sindicato que ahora representa a los trabajadores de esa planta), nos cuenta […]

Mexican Auto Workers Win Landmark Victory

Solidarity Center — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 07:10:55 +0000

Thousands of workers in Mexico recently formed an independent union at a GM auto plant in Silao, in central Mexico, voting out a union that did not operate in their interest. Maria Alejandra Morales Reynoso, general secretary of SINTTIA, the union that now represents the workers, discusses why this victory is a milestone for many […]

Justice for Wage Theft: Campaign Champions Migrant Workers

Solidarity Center — Wed, 15 Dec 2021 10:33:42 +0000

The co-founder and director of the Plantation Rural Education and Development Organization in Sri Lanka describes the work of the Justice for Wage Theft Campaign, a global network of unions and migrant rights organizations, including the Solidarity Center, that formed during the pandemic to push for governmental and employer reforms to ensure migrant workers have […]

‘I Feel Strong When I See Other Women with Us’

Solidarity Center — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 12:36:59 +0000

Union women in Nigeria are not waiting for their governments to ratify Convention 190, the international treaty that addresses violence and harassment in the world of work—they are taking action now to ensure workers benefit from the incredibly powerful rights it provides. This week’s Solidarity Center Podcast looks at how Nigerian unions are reaching workplaces as diverse as garment factory floors and sprawling informal markets, connecting with workers to create the best strategies for ending GBVH at work. Find out More Episode summary Nigerian Labor Congress Video: Rita Goyit on the First Anniversary of C190

Thai Fast Food Workers Fight for a Fair Share

Solidarity Center — Wed, 10 Nov 2021 13:20:48 +0000

In Thailand, Apantree Charoensak, a former union leader who led a campaign to organize fast food workers at KFC, describes on this week’s Solidarity Center Podcast how workers overcame the company’s opposition to successfully form a union and win better wages and working conditions. “They said they would get me out of the company, if […]

'No' to State Violence: Reimagining Policing

Solidarity Center — Wed, 03 Nov 2021 07:00:34 +0000

The latest episode of The Solidarity Center Podcast looks at how workers in Colombia and Nigeria who have been targeted by police brutality as they wage peaceful protests to address inequality are joining—and leading—large movements to demand new levels of accountability and reform for the agencies charged with protecting and serving their communities. Find Out […]

Jordan Agricultural Workers Win Rights@Work!

Solidarity Center — Wed, 20 Oct 2021 06:02:17 +0000

Worldwide, agricultural workers have few rights on the job. The latest Solidarity Center Podcast shows how agricultural workers in Jordan recently joined together to collectively campaign for—and win—a landmark law that will bring them safer jobs, overtime pay and even guaranteed 10 weeks paid maternity leave. More than half of agricultural workers in Jordan are […]

Young Workers Struggle to Find Good Jobs

Solidarity Center — Wed, 13 Oct 2021 10:23:17 +0000

Around the world, young people with few job options are forced to take whatever work they can find, no matter how low the pay or insecure the work. Many sign on with platform-based jobs to get by. Others leave their country with the hope of finding decent, secure work elsewhere, looking for a chance to […]

Nigerian Informal Workers Demand Decent Work!

Solidarity Center — Wed, 06 Oct 2021 10:47:10 +0000

Informal economy workers in Nigeria are using their collective power, building coalitions with allied organizations and making key gains by joining together through the Federation of Informal Workers’ Organizations of Nigeria (FIWON), a nationwide association with hundreds of branches across the country. “Poor working people must have access to basic social security, but it doesn’t start […]

Colombia Workers Risk Lives for Better Future

Solidarity Center — Wed, 15 Sep 2021 10:17:35 +0000

Defying violent state repression, a diverse coalition of Colombian workers and their unions, Black and Indigenous communities, environmentalists, young people and rural workers made big gains in defeating proposed laws that benefiting the rich at the expense of working people. Francisco Maltés, president of the Unitary Workers Center (CUT), describes how they did it—and where […]

Myanmar Workers Stand Up for Democracy!

Solidarity Center — Wed, 14 Jul 2021 07:34:51 +0000

Speaking from a safe house in military-controlled Myanmar, Phyo Sandar Soe, assistant general secretary of the Confederation of Trade Unions-Myanmar, describes how workers have been on the frontlines for democracy since the February 1 coup and says the international community can best help workers fighting for their rights by staying out of the country. […]

How Unions Meet COVID-19 Challenges - and Beyond

Solidarity Center — Wed, 21 Apr 2021 06:59:20 +0000

International Trade Union Confederation President Ayuba Wabba shares how the collective power of the Nigerian labor movement forced the government to enact policies to help workers during COVID-19 and discusses how the global union movement must work for a new social contract in the post-pandemic world. A New Contract for Recovery and Resilience, speech by […]

Domestic Workers: Leading, Growing, THRIVING

Solidarity Center — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 06:00:20 +0000

Adriana Paz Ramírez shares how in the midst of incredible hardship, domestic workers in Latin America have come together through their unions and associations to take care of each other and to use their collective strength to push for the legal rights they deserve as workers. Paz is Latin America Regional Coordinator of the International […]

LGBTQ+ Domestic Workers Win Rights, Respect Through Their Union

Solidarity Center — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 06:00:15 +0000

From Nicaragua, Francia Blanco, a trans rights union activist and domestic worker, shares with Solidarity Center Executive Director Shawna Bader-Blau how she and other trans domestic workers are joining in their union to win rights on the job and respect in their communities. Domestic Workers: Healing, Growing, Taking Action FETRADOMOV LGBT Rights in Nicaragua

Making the Gig Economy Work for Workers

Solidarity Center — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 06:00:01 +0000

George Sandul, a worker rights attorney in Ukraine, joins Solidarity Center Executive Director Shawna Bader-Blau in a discussion about how unions in Ukraine are engaged in creative campaigns to reach gig economy workers who have few rights as workers under the law. Taken for a Ride: Litigating the Digital Platform Model Around the World, Platform Food […]

Winning Rights for Migrant Workers in COVID-19

Solidarity Center — Wed, 24 Mar 2021 04:15:05 +0000

The COVID-19 pandemic created economic hardship for many workers worldwide, and migrant workers were especially hard hit. Preeda, a migrant rights lawyer in Thailand, discusses how laws that exclude migrant workers from basic support systems like unemployment insurance leave have left millions with no income, and often no way to return home. Episode Summary. A […]

Defending Democracy: Workers on the Front Lines

Solidarity Center — Wed, 17 Mar 2021 11:59:15 +0000

Host Shawna Bader-Blau, Solidarity Center executive director, talks with worker rights advocates in Belarus and Brazil who share inspiring stories of workers defending democracy.

How We End Gender-Based Violence at Work

Solidarity Center — Tue, 09 Mar 2021 22:31:52 +0000

As we mark International Women's Day, South African union activist Brenda Modise shares how union women around the world successfully pushed the International Labor Organization for adoption of Convention 190 to end gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH) at work, and talks about how unions in South Africa are part of a broad feminist network campaigning to end GBVH there.

VIDEO: What is Gender-Based Violence at Work?
South Africa’s C190Can Campaign
VIDEO: Brenda Modise and union activists campaign to end GBVH at work
Fact Sheet: C190 Explained
More information on the global campaign to ratify C190

Episode 0 - Solidarity Center Podcast

Solidarity Center — Thu, 25 Feb 2021 17:31:00 +0000

Solidarity Center is the largest international worker rights organization in the United States. We empower workers in over 60 countries to raise their voice for dignity on the job.