Two Years After Quake, Haitians Have Few Jobs or a Living Wage
Elizabeth Boomer of the AFL-CIO International Affairs Department sends us this report in conjunction with the Solidarity Center.
Two years after a massive earthquake destroyed much of Haiti’s capital and surrounding towns, the Haitian people are still struggling to recover from the disaster and the entrenched poverty that it has exacerbated.
The solution, say Haitian workers, is a Haitian-driven reconstruction effort that focuses on sustainable, equitable development aimed at improving the lives of all citizens—not just a few.
Labor Rights Week Kicks Off with Historic Agreement on Immigrant Workers’ Rights
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The ambassadors of El Salvador, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic joined Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis today to sign a historic partnership to protect the labor rights of migrant workers from these countries who are employed in the United States.
The signing kicks off National Labor Rights Week, Aug. 29-Sept. 5. “Women in the Workplace” is the focus of this year’s Labor Rights Week. Migrant women are at risk of wage theft and safety violations, sexual harassment, workplace violence and gender discrimination.
This week, events are slated in 50 U.S. cities with Mexican and Central American consulates. Consulate officials will work with the Department of Labor, state labor authorities, labor unions, faith leaders and community groups to inform migrant workers about their rights and the resources available if those rights are violated.
Solidarity Center Supports, Extends Workers’ Efforts to Build Unions
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Through its work in more than 60 countries on five continents, the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center is supporting and extending workers’ efforts to gain a better life by helping them to build strong unions. In its 2009 Annual Report, the Solidarity Center highlights its wide range of programs to help workers form unions.
The Solidarity Center is helping African journalists in Rwanda and Burundi create full-fledged democratic unions and joining with national unions in those countries to fight HIV/AIDS.
- In Pakistan, where teachers unions are banned, the Solidarity Center, with support from AFT, brought together 45 teacher associations to form the Teacher Consortium of Pakistan (TCOP). The 150,000 members of TCOP fight for issues important to all teachers in the country.
- The Solidarity Center supports an association of women workers in the Dominican Republic, comprised of both Haitian migrants and Dominican nationals, and conducts advocacy to ensure they know their rights as workers.
- With the support of the Solidarity Center, the Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine launched a campaign for quality health care and education. Members collected more than 50,000 signatures on a petition calling for adequate funding for medical and school supplies and other needs.
You can download the Annual Report here.
