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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Mexican Unions Speak to Their Cautious Hopes under AMLO

January 23, 2019
Los Angeles
By Kari Thompson, UE Director of International Strategies

At a mid-December meeting of unions from around North America held in Los Angeles, representatives of independent Mexican unions shared their expectations for working people under the government of the newly elected Mexican President, Andres Manuel Lopes Obrador (known as AMLO). This public event drew many Mexican-American members of the LA community.

Building Solidarity with Italian Metal Workers

January 23, 2019
Riccione, Italy

UE International Representative and GE Conference Board Secretary John Thompson joined more than 700 delegates from across Italy at the 27th Congress of the Italian Federation of Metal Workers (FIOM), held from December 12–15. Delegates from FIOM attended UE’s 2015 and 2017 conventions, and UE’s relationship with FIOM was instrumental in setting up the global GE Trade Union Network.

UE Offers Solidarity to GM Workers

January 11, 2019
Windsor, ON

UE General President Peter Knowlton traveled to Windsor today to express UE’s solidarity with thousands of GM workers facing layoffs.

“When any group of workers is ready to fight to keep their jobs and preserve strong communities, they deserve UE support and solidarity,” says Knowlton. “UE has a long tradition of fighting plant closings and doing whatever is necessary to keep our members’ jobs.”

New “US-Mexico-Canada Agreement” Underscores Necessity of International Solidarity

October 5, 2018
Pittsburgh

Statement of the UE Officers on the "US-Mexico-Canada Agreement"

The text of the proposed new “US-Mexico-Canada Agreement” released late on Sunday night reveals the stranglehold that corporate interests have upon our government, and underscores the absolute necessity of international solidarity among working people from all three countries in order to move forward.

Support Bold Action by Locked-out Workers in Canada

September 26, 2018

This morning, hundreds of members of our Canadian partner union Unifor blockaded D-J Composites in Gander, Newfoundland, where 30 Unifor members have been locked out for 646 days by their Kansas-based employer.

Show your support for these brave workers by calling D-J Composites’ CEO Rezaul Chowdhury at 316-775-1212 and tell him to accept Unifor’s offer to settle the lockout.

You can also keep reading for other ways to show your support.

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