WHY WE’RE DIFFERENT
We are the largest U.S.-based international worker rights organization partnering directly with workers and their unions, and supporting their struggle for respect, fair wages, better workplaces and a voice in the global economy.
We value the dignity of work and workers. We know how all the work everyone depends on gets done–who picks the food for your table, cleans your home so you can go to the office, makes your clothes, keeps your streets clean. And at our core is every worker’s right to solve issues through collective action and to form unions.
What’s New
![An in-person workshop in Kuwait surveying Gulf region domestic worker associations found that although care workers, most of whom in the Gulf are migrant workers, benefit from some legal provisions—such as in Bahrain and Kuwait, from fixed contracts, paid leave and health insurance—the kafala system interferes to drag back any formal economic conditions. Credit: Integrated Community Center (ICC)](https://www.solidaritycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Kuwait.-Care-Domestic-worker-survey-of-Gulf-region-domestic-worker-associations-affiliated-with-Solidarity-Center-partner-Integrated-Community-Center-ICC.ICC_.03.2024-400x250.jpg)
Domestic Workers ‘Level Up Their Dignity’: Advancing Rights for Care Workers
![Workers surprised by sudden termination rally outside the Sofitel hotel with worker rights protest signs](https://www.solidaritycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Philippines.SENTRO-Sofitel-hotel-workers-rally-against-surprise-mass-job-loss-400x250.jpg)
‘We Will Fight,’ Say Terminated Philippines Hotel Workers, Demanding Transparency
![In the heart of Kantamanto Market, one of the city's largest markets, head porter Hawa Latif carries goods on her head with a co-worker.](https://www.solidaritycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Ghana.Accra-market-porters-informal-economy.Jonathan-TorgovnikGetty-ImagesImages-of-Empowerment.https___www.imagesofempowerment.org_wp-content_uploads_WIEGO_ACCRA_8086_FULLY_RELEASED-scaled--400x250.jpg)
West Africa: Union Health Care Campaign Expands Reach
![homepage podcast picture](https://www.solidaritycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/homepage-podcast-picture.jpg)
The Solidarity Center Podcast
BILLIONS OF US, ONE JUST FUTURE
CONVERSATIONS WITH WORKERS (& OTHER SMART PEOPLE) WORLDWIDE SHAPING THE WORKPLACE FOR THE BETTER
Hosted by Solidarity Center Executive Director Shawna Bader-Blau
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Our work
Programs in
Countries
Reach:
MILLION
Partners with
88 PERCENT OF WHOM ARE GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATIONS
![2302-mapwork2023 A map of the global areas that Solidarity Center works in](https://www.solidaritycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2302-mapwork2023.jpg)
Reaching 70 Million+ People Worldwide
Solidarity Center in the News
[The Diplomat] Can Malaysia Solve Its Big Migrant Worker Challenge?
Dave Welsh, country director for labor rights group Solidarity Center, said that historically, migrant workers in Malaysia were initially operating outside “the purview of what were very bad labor laws” which were harshly enforced. Malaysia’s laws, he added, were “very transparent and completely, deliberately almost proudly out of whack with any international labor law norms, and applied vigorously.”
[The Article] From the Gallows to Labor Laws, Malaysia Is Rewriting the Rule Book
In the works is a radical overhaul of labor laws, which will redefine the lives of more than six million impoverished migrant workers. “The conditions [in Malaysia] are appalling,” said the Solidarity Center’s Dave Welsh. “If even a modicum of what trade unions put forward is enacted into law, this is a huge game changer.”
[Reuters] Thai Electronics Firm Compensates Exploited Workers in Rare Award
“Companies also need to do more to ensure workers never pay [recruitment] fees in the first place,” said Neha Misra from the Solidarity Center regarding a rare award reimbursing at least 10,000 Burmese migrants for the excessive and illegal fees they were charged to secure jobs at an electronics manufacturer in Thailand.