Blog: Precarious Work

Modern-Day Servitude in U.S. Port Trucking: A Call to Retail Brands

October 1, 2018

Today, southern California’s port truck drivers and warehouse workers - many of whom are Black and Latinx workers and TPS recipients – begin a three-day strike to send a clear message to their port trucking employers (XPO Logistics and NFI Industries) and the country’s most powerful brands and retailers: put an end to rampant wage theft and the misclassification of port truckers.

Worker Voice Without Worker Agency Fails Seafood Workers

May 4, 2018

“Worker voice” is the current buzzword among corporate social responsibility professionals seeking to end labor exploitation in the seafood industry, yet the original meaning of worker voice – in which workers form associations to collectively bargain for better conditions on an equal footing with employers – is nowhere to be found.

Time to Unleash the Power of the U.S National Contact Point

September 26, 2017

One of the many items in the packed agenda at the UN General Assembly in New York last week was the establishment of more concrete standards for companies seeking to do business sustainably in pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals. More and more top business leaders are seeking guidance on how to ensure good corporate behavior. But the UN standards are not the only resource to CEOs that want to make environmental and social protection part of their business model.

Human Trafficking and Smuggling Course Highlights

February 23, 2016
Human Trafficking and Smuggling 
2015 – Course Highlights
 
It has been 15 years since the adoption of the United Nations Trafficking and Smuggling Protocols and one can argue that improvements have been made on the forefront of combatting modern day slavery, but still much work is left to do. The turbulent times we live in require special measures and a creative way forward to address the issue.
 

TPP Ignores Workers' Needs and Fails to Address Weaknesses from Past Trade Agreements

November 12, 2015

The text of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) finally became accessible to workers and the public last week, though insiders from more than 500 major companies have had access to the negotiation and writing process for years. The result predictably values the rights of corporations over the needs of workers and fails to address the most glaring weakness of past trade deals: the utter failure of the parties to uphold their commitments to respect workers' rights.

U.S. Department of Labor Accepts ILRF Complaint Against Peru

September 22, 2015
"Camino a Puno Golpeando quinoa" by Michael Hermann - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons

On September 21, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) formally accepted a complaint filed by ILRF and Peruvian unions against the government of Peru for violating labor rights provisions of the 2009 U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement.

What is Bangladesh’s Position on Freedom of Association?

June 19, 2015

One of the reasons the Accord on Fire and Building Safety is such an important safety program in Bangladesh is that they understand that dangerous workplaces are not just failures in building engineering or fire and electrical safety, but also of failures of a social system that ignores and excludes workers and denies them their voice.  Workers know the safety problems in their factories better than anyone else.  When they are denied the opportunity to report on those problems and suggest solutions, their workplaces are not safe.  That is why the Accord comes to the defense of workers who are courageous enough to voice their concerns about safety only to be fired or otherwise punished.  So should the Bangladeshi government and the industry association, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacture

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