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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May Day 2020: Working People Must Unite Across Borders

April 30, 2020
Pittsburgh

This year, we celebrate International Workers Day as the novel coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic has made clear the central importance of workers to our society. It is the labor of frontline workers — healthcare workers, grocery and food workers, sanitation workers and others — that is keeping people alive right now, not the wealth accumulated by capitalists.

International Solidarity and Collaboration in Erie

February 13, 2020
Erie, PA

In November, UE Local 506 hosted a tri-national labor solidarity gathering at their hall in Erie, PA. The event, entitled “Overcoming Fear: Creating a Trinational Workers Toolkit,” was organized by UE’s Director of International Strategies Kari Thompson, the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, and the Canadian Steelworkers. Participants gathered from across Mexico, Canada, and the US, including UE allies from the FAT and the CSN. Members of the Local 506 Executive Board participated in the two-day event, as did Young Activist Sarah Vukelich, Local 150. 

Solidarity with Refinery Coop Workers Fighting for Democracy and Power for All Workers

February 7, 2020
Pittsburgh

As the shameful lockout of Coop Refinery workers in Regina, Saskatchewan enters its tenth week, UE reaffirms our full solidarity with Unifor Local 594. The very right of workers to have an organized voice and a say in their workplaces is at stake in this dispute. We are encouraged by the solidarity shown to Local 594 by their national union and the rest of the Canadian labor movement, and we encourage all US unions to close ranks with our brothers and sisters in Canada to defeat this attack on our rights.

Colombian Workers Fight Anti-Worker Economic Policies, Despite Repression

January 27, 2020
By John Ocampo, UE Field Organizer

From November 24th to December 4th, 2019, United States Labor Against the War (USLAW) and the Alliance for Global Justice (AfGJ) led a joint labor delegation to Colombia. Participants included union members and staff from UE, National Nurses United, UNITE HERE, the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, the United Steelworkers, and the National Writers Union. The delegation also included a member of About Face: Veterans Against the War and Latin America solidarity activists.

UE Allies Demand Justice for Mexican Unionists Murdered During NAFTA Renegotiations

November 21, 2019
Washington, DC

Retired UE Director of Organization Bob Kingsley joined labor rights activists at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, November 20 to demand justice for recently murdered Mexican unionists, and that labor-rights provisions in the renegotiated NAFTA 2.0 be strengthened before it is sent to Congress.

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