More than 40,000 garment workers in Honduras are now covered by collective bargaining agreements following long-time Solidarity Center support for organizing. Credit: Solidarity Center/Molly McCoy
Unions promote a higher level of economic equality in societies and are a fundamental element of a free and democratic society. Freedom of association—workers’ right to form and join unions and pursue a voice on the job and in their communities—is the foundation for worker rights.
The Solidarity Center trains union organizers and provides support for unions around the world. We support organizing campaigns, educate workers about their legal right to form a union and promote strong labor laws.
The Solidarity Center works directly on the ground with workers to form unions and win collective bargaining agreements. For instance, in Cambodia, 8,000 hotel and casino workers at Nagaworld casino won large wage increases and reinstatement of their dismissed union president following Solidarity Center union organizing support and legal assistance. And in Honduras, long-time Solidarity Center support for organizing has resulted in more than 40,000 garment workers, mostly women, now covered by collective bargaining agreements.
Read the “Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association” report presented in 2016 to the United Nations.
Democracy is under siege around the world with the subversion of democratic processes and outright coups—and attacks worker rights are a big part of authoritarian efforts to cut off civil liberties. On this week’s Solidarity Center Podcast, two worker advocates from...
Teachers in Jordan are “insisting on their legal rights to have an association” and will not give up after the government dissolved their union in July and imprisoned union activists, says Kefah Abu Farhan, a board member with the Jordan Teacher Association (JTA)....
Workers in Morocco are denouncing efforts by a Peugeot Citroen factory to force union leaders to resign from the Moroccan Labor Union (UMT) or lose their jobs. Already, one union leader has been fired, according to the union. Last week, factory management forced 11...
In little more than 30 years, the shrimp industry has been revolutionized through an unprecedented increase in efficient production, resulting in tremendous profitability for producers. But the “shrimp boom” is sustained through a staggering, largely hidden, cost to...
Guatemala’s laws include unreasonable restrictions and requirements on union membership and the right to strike. Women workers are usually paid less than their male counterparts for work of equal value. Indigenous workers and rural workers, with few legal rights, are...
"Justice for All" examines the effects of global economic integration in the late 20th century on worker rights, including the growth of the informal economy and migration and human labor trafficking, and looks at how government, corporations and unions can help...
Trafficking in Persons from a Labor Perspective: The Kenyan Experience provides readers with a general overview of human trafficking in persons from a labor perspective, with a focus on universal and global themes as illustrated by the experiences in Kenya. The...
This 70-page handbook incorporates staff insights and experiences into checklists and tools needed to develop programs that redress gender inequity in the workplace, promote leadership roles for women, and move closer to achieving full worker rights. Download here....
Swazi workers face many challenges, especially women workers, who have a low status in Swazi society and make up a large percentage of the workforce, yet endure discrimination and workplace sexual harassment and violence. Improvements at the workplace cannot be...