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.

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]