International Solidarity

When corporate decisions made half a world away can impact jobs and investments with the speed of keystroke, what choice do working people have but to make alliances across national boundaries? When U.S. politicians are beholden to transnational corporations, what choice do U.S. working people have but to make common cause with workers elsewhere in the world?

As globalization draws the world closer together, workers' rights, wages and working conditions are downsized. Global wages are spiraling downward towards the lowest common denominator — countries where workers make as little as a few dollars a day.

Starting from a longstanding commitment to international solidarity, UE believes that more than ever, unions must act and think globally. A real commitment to international labor solidarity means more than just resolutions and meetings. It requires rank-and-file action.

UE has built relationships with labor organizations in a variety of countries. We've made labor history with our pioneering Strategic Organizing Alliance with the Authentic Labor Front, the Frente Autentico del Trabajo (FAT) in Mexico. And, we continue to build new ways to link workers and their unions across borders. Find out about this important work at our UE International Solidarity Website.

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Labor Calls for Ceasefire in Israel and Palestine Grow

November 21, 2023

In the month since UE and UFCW Local 3000 initiated a labor call for a ceasefire in Israel and Palestine, it has been signed by unions across the country, including the Chicago Teachers Union, UAW Regions 6 and 9A, SEIU-United Service Workers West (USWW), IBEW Local 520, and more. In calling for a ceasefire, U.S. unions are joining unions around the world, many of whom have also issued statements and taken action demanding an end to the violence.

International Guests: “Our solidarity is without borders”

October 8, 2023

On Tuesday afternoon, convention delegates were joined by international guests from Japan, Mexico, and Quebec. Takeshi Takeshita and Keisuke Fuse, both deputy secretaries-general of Japan’s militant labor federation Zenroren, described the “long history of friendship and solidarity” between Zenroren and UE. That history included Zenroren taking action to put pressure on Japanese multinationals such as Kobe Steel and Hishi Plastics when their workers in the U.S. sought to join UE.

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