Defend Your Rights: Join the International Struggle for Labor Power. Labor rights are the frontline of a global workers’ movement forged in the fires of class struggle. From the 1935 Wagner Act to today’s militant strikes, our protections are built on the courage of those who organize. We stand in international solidarity to reclaim our collective power, defeat exploitation, and demand a world where every worker is unified, respected, and free.
ESSENTIAL LABOR RIGHTS (BILINGUAL GUIDE) / DERECHOS FUNDAMENTALES / WORKER ADVOCACY RESOURCES
- Core freedoms for all employees. Organizing together with teammates. Right to establish or enter unions. Voting for leaders democratically. Demanding fair bargaining agreements.
- Derechos de libertad en el trabajo. Organización colectiva en la empresa. Derecho a la sindicalización libre. Voto democrático para representantes. Lucha por contratos colectivos dignos.
Empowerment begins with understanding. We provide the resources you need to mobilize your colleagues, interpret complex labor contracts, and stand firm against anti-union pressure from management. Solidarity is our blueprint for victory. El conocimiento es el arma más fuerte contra el abuso. Aprende a organizar tu taller, leer convenios y resistir la intimidación patronal.
Every worker is entitled to a safe environment free from employer retaliation. It is illegal to punish or fire anyone for joining a union or reporting hazards. Tienes el derecho a trabajar sin riesgos y sin miedo a represalias. La ley prohíbe el hostigamiento o despido por defender tus derechos o participar en la vida sindical de tu centro laboral.
"Real dignity is found in our collective voice. Through unshakable solidarity and organized power, workers reclaim their future from the grip of exploitation."
Transporters of CEOs and Sandwiches: A conversation with Luis Fernando Mora Reyes, Political Director of Mexico's National Union of App Based Workers (UNTA) regarding the fight for platform justice
The companies themselves exerted another form of violence against the drivers. It was “my way or the highway.” If you didn’t do what they said, you’d be disconnected: no jobs. The companies set the rates, controlling the algorithms that maximize their profits and set driver conditions. We’re hostage to their dictates and to their computers.
How did you organize?
We started with mutual support through WhatsApp, Facebook and other online sites. We didn’t start with the idea of “union,” because not everyone wanted to be in a union; too much of the public equates unions with gangsters. But we introduced the fact that a union is the only tool we have to fight legally — you can’t fight as an “associate” or as a co-op.
Many app workers, like me, drove as students and earned degrees. Our secretary general is a UNAM economist. But we insist on equality for all transport workers, whether delivering a CEO or a sandwich. No one is superior. One guy in Mexico, and I told this story at Labor Notes, said to me, “I’m an executive-class Uber driver” — these drivers have chauffeur licenses and luxury cars. I responded, “Don’t be an executive asshole!”
In the end, we are all simply transporters. We modeled our structure on the UAW in the US and the Mexican tradition too of one big union! We rejected a company-by-company model and also the craft model, which would separate car drivers from motorcycle and bike drivers. Organization is based on territory. Locals of many different kinds of app workers form and then affiliate with UNTA (National Union of App-Based Workers).
Our structure has three tiers — local, regional, and national. At each level, members elect their own leadership. Not every state allows app-based companies to operate easily; we currently have members in five states. Political education is vital to UNTA; that’s my job! We have a union school called Casa del Obrero Digital, and it includes a political education curriculum not just for members but for any worker.
It’s important that we understand that our fight is not just for economic gains but to increase the power of the working class. In 2022, we issued a manifesto, a platform that outlines the basic rights that app workers must have. The employer must provide us with the tools we use, such as backpacks, gas for our cars and motorcycles and safety equipment. It provides recourse for sexual harassment. Hours worked must be counted from the time you log in, not driving time.
Most importantly, we need protection of our personal data. One of our activist brothers got blacklisted; he logged on but wasn’t sent any jobs. The companies have access to our data; they shouldn’t be able to sell it or use it for any other purpose than sending us work. Historically, this is the first platform that establishes basic gig worker rights. We recently participated in a meeting of the ILO (International Labor Organization). We believe that they incorporated one part of our manifesto into their international labor standards — our platform of basic rights will become the floor for app workers of the world!
How can you be a union when you are not “employees?”
Exactly! Our first priority was to make companies recognize us as employees. To be classified as an employee, you must be “subordinate” to a boss without control of your own work. The first person who helped us was Dra. Claudia Sheinbaum, then mayor of Mexico City. She supported our goal of having the same rights and benefits as other workers through inclusion in the Social Security system: pensions, access to housing funds, profit sharing and more.Because of the nature of app work and our structure, for now, UNTA has focused on passing legislation, not on getting contracts.
That will come later. In 2024, we succeeded in getting a law passed, signed by President Sheinbaum, that established our status as employees, a major victory! But — the law falls short. It uses the wrong method for defining a gig worker as an “employee.” Rather than setting the standard by hours worked as we wanted, it sets the standard by earnings per month, which the companies and the government decided without our input. If you drive a car, the law says you must make 18,000 pesos per month; if a motorcycle, 14,000 pesos, a bike, 9,000 pesos. The law does include a key provision we wanted — flexible hours set by the drivers themselves. But because drivers don’t work the same number of hours per month, it’s easy to fall short of meeting these earning thresholds. According to our calculations, only one out of ten delivery workers would qualify as an employee and, therefore, eligible for the government benefits provided to workers in other sectors. Whoever sets the law sets the trap. We gained something — and also fell into their trap!
What next?
First and foremost, we must grow and grow. Organize, organize, organize!
ILWU Local 6 workers at C&H Sugar in Crockett on strike, demand employer bargain in good faith
On June 15, approximately 100 Local 6 members from the C&H Sugar refinery in Crockett, CA, officially launched a strike. The Union has filed unfair labor practice charges, asserting that C&H Sugar violated federal law through bad-faith bargaining. Employees are striking to defend their overtime pay, seniority rights, and healthcare benefits against corporate rollbacks.
For nearly a century, Local 6 has represented the workforce at this iconic plant, which processes 750,000 tons of raw sugar annually. These workers handle everything from dock unloading and warehousing to final product preparation. Since May, Local 6 has attempted to negotiate a contract that preserves retirement benefits and fair scheduling. However, C&H Sugar has ignored union proposals, instead offering a "Last, Best, and Final" deal that threatens retiree healthcare. Workers overwhelmingly rejected this offer. "We are on strike until management returns to the table in good faith," stated Local 6 Secretary-Treasurer Jose Nunez. "For a company under the ASR Group, which recorded $1.6 billion in revenue last year, our demands for fairness are entirely justified."
ILWU SOLIDARITY
A significant display of labor power is currently unfolding in the San Francisco Bay. A vessel carrying raw sugar from the Philippines remains anchored and unable to offload because Coast Longshore Division workers are standing in solidarity with Local 6, refusing to cross the picket line.
PROTECTING OVERTIME
Workers are fiercely opposing a company proposal to overhaul overtime pay, which could result in a 10% wage reduction. Currently, overtime is paid after an eight-hour shift. While mandatory shifts can reach 12 hours, the company now wants to pay overtime only after 40 hours in a week. Mario Rivas, a crane operator of 10 years, noted that overtime constitutes up to 50% of his take-home pay. "Under this proposal, they can just send you home near 40 hours to avoid paying for your labor," Rivas said. "It is a demotion. They want the same work for less money, which is devastating given the high cost of living in the Bay Area."
BROKEN PROMISES
C&H intends to strip away retiree healthcare benefits from approximately 100 retirees and 20 veteran employees hired before 2008. Kendra Sparks, a 30-year employee, planned to retire at 65 but now faces total uncertainty. "I feel disrespected by this broken promise," Sparks remarked. "Our bodies wear out from decades of physical labor, yet the company offers no reward for that dedication." Her father, Greg Soria, a 40-year veteran of the plant, also stands to lose the benefits he earned through a lifetime of service.
PROTECTING SENIORITY AND FAIR DISPATCH
Management is attempting to dismantle the union’s transparent, seniority-based dispatch system to implement a process where they can handpick individuals for specific jobs. Workers fear this will lead to blatant favoritism. "The company wants the power to advance whoever they like, regardless of experience," Sparks warned. "Our current rotation ensures everyone has an opportunity and that we support one another fairly."
MODEST DEMANDS
Employees emphasize that their goals are simple: maintaining the status quo and securing raises that align with inflation. "The fact that they are proposing these takeaways shows the power they think they have over us," said 11-year employee Emmanuel Loera. Mario Rivas added, "The company does not run without its workers. We just want the respect we have earned for making this business profitable."
UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES
On June 26, Local 6 filed formal charges with the National Labor Relations Board. The charges allege that C&H Sugar engaged in bad-faith tactics, declared a premature impasse, and illegally terminated several striking workers. These allegations of federal law violations are currently under
investigation by NLRB Region 32 in Oakland as the strike continues.
From UE: Labor Board Set to Overturn Pro‑Worker Decisions
On Friday, August 7, the Senate confirmed James Macy as the third Republican member of the National Labor Relations Board. With a 3-1 majority, the Republican members of the board are expected to begin overturning pro-worker decisions made by the NLRB's Democratic majority during the Biden administration.
Pro-worker decisions on the chopping block include Cemex, which allows the NLRB to issue a bargaining order if an employer refuses to recognize a union with majority support and commits an unfair labor practice, and Amazon, which outlaws captive audience meetings.
Employers are also looking to the Republican majority to overturn decisions that protect the rights of established unions. Bloomberg Law reports that, “For already-unionized workplaces, employers are hoping the board prioritizes Valley Hospital Medical Center II,” a decision which requires employers “to honor dues checkoff agreements even after a collective bargaining agreement expires.”
Perhaps most concerning to UE members is the threat to overturn Columbia, a 2016 decision which holds that graduate workers are employees under the National Labor Relations Act. (Universities have argued that graduate workers are merely students, and therefore not entitled to the protections of the Act.) Tens of thousands of graduate workers at private universities who joined UE in recent years, all of whom will be negotiating second contracts in the next two years, will potentially be facing hostile employers without having recourse to the NLRB to enforce their rights. (Graduate workers at public universities are governed by state labor boards, not the NLRB.)
The NLRB consists of five members, all of whom are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. By tradition, three members come from the President’s party and two from the opposition party; also by tradition, the Board will not overrule precedent without a three-member majority. Although Trump broke tradition (and, until the right-wing Supreme Court changed it, the law) by firing Democratic member Gwynne Wilcox in January 2025, the two Republican members of the Board have so far refrained from overturning precedents by a 2-1 vote. (The Board’s sole Democratic member, David Prouty, was also confirmed to another term last weekend; Wilcox’s seat remains empty.)
However, they have been making a list of precedents they want to see overturned. As progressive journalist Matt Bruenig notes in a recent Substack post, “For the seven months since the Board regained its quorum on January 7, 2026, Murphy and Mayer have been attaching footnotes to decisions that name a precedent they would revisit once a third vote existed.” Bruenig has identified 28 decisions covering topics including union elections and representation, remedies against employer wrongdoing, work rules and employee speech, bargaining obligations, and who counts as an employer or employee.
Due to the huge backlog of cases at the NLRB, it is unclear how quickly they will begin overturning precedent, but some cases already are in the pipeline. Now that the NLRB has a full Republican majority, General Counsel Crystal Carey may soon issue a list of cases she will prioritize overturning.
**EDITORS'S NOTE: What capitalism givith, capitalism taketh away. The only way to fix this partisan situation at the NLRB is to ignore the NLRB and strike for recognition of your union. Strike to enforce your contract and grievance procedure. Refuse to perform unsafe work. Our capitalist society has gone from brass knuckles to brief cases. STRIKES ARE YOUR BEST WEAPON AGAINST THESE CORPORATE FATCATS! Get organized and stay strong and forget about the capitalist controlled NLRB. That's our view.
Win the Pay You Earned
Labor Creates ALL value!
Securing a living wage ensures you can pay your rent, buy healthy food, and afford time off with your loved ones. It is not a gift from the boss; it is your right as the person who makes the business run.
Together we can end poverty wages and build a secure future for every single worker.
When workers earn enough to spend in their neighborhoods, everyone wins. Real economic growth starts with a paycheck that covers the cost of living, not with stock buybacks for billionaires who have never set a foot on your shop floor.
Companies are making record profits while most families struggle to get by. It is time to stop the wealth from flowing only to the top and redirect it back to the pockets of the people who actually do the heavy lifting every day.
SHARE YOUR STORY / CUÉNTANOS TU EXPERIENCIA
By speaking out, you contribute to a global archive of worker struggles that helps us target abuses and build a stronger international front.
Tu testimonio es vital para frenar los abusos y unir a la clase trabajadora internacional.
Talk to your coworkers now / ¡Habla ya con tus compañeros de trabajo!
Join the fight for honest pay / ¡Únete a la lucha por un salario justo!
The World Federation of Trade Unions coordinates class-struggle unions across the globe to fight capitalist exploitation and secure justice.
La FSM agrupa a los sindicatos clasistas del mundo para defender la solidaridad y los derechos laborales.
The International Labour Organization establishes the global framework ensuring that your core rights and safety are respected wherever you work.
La OIT dicta las normas mundiales para garantizar empleos seguros.
"We are not Associates, We are Workers"
Start organizing for power
GLOBAL STRUGGLE
Transporters of CEOs and Sandwiches: Platform Justice in Mexico
A deep dive with Luis Fernando Mora Reyes, Political Director of Mexico\'s UNTA, on how algorithmic control and employer violence are being met with international worker solidarity.
LOCAL FRONTLINES
ILWU Local 6 Workers at C&H Sugar Launch Historic Strike
Workers in Crockett, CA, stand firm against corporate rollbacks, demanding bad-faith bargaining end as community solidarity halts refinery operations.
LEGAL BATTLE
Labor Board Update: Pro-Worker Decisions Under Threat
What capitalism giveth, it taketh away. Analyzing the recent NLRB shifts and why the strike remains your most potent weapon against corporate fatcats.