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MISSION STATEMENT
ILRF is an advocacy organization dedicated to achieving just and humane treatment for workers worldwide.
ABOUT ILRF
Millions of workers around the world toil under inhumane working conditions. In a globalized economy, corporations from developed countries produce consumer goods ranging from coffee to cellphones in poor developing countries, where they can take advantage of cheap labor and lack of environmental or community protections. Workers, including child workers, must toil extremely long hours for wages that are barely subsistence wages, and often under unsanitary and unsafe conditions. In many countries there is little or no labor law enforcement, and many workers are prevented from joining organizations to advance their interests.
Alarmingly, an estimated 211 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 are compelled to work around the world. These children produce rubber, cotton, coffee and work in mines to produce goods that are traded to the United States and other developed countries. Unable to go to school, these children face little hope of escaping poverty in their future.
Advocacy for these workers is essential to ensuring their protection, strengthening their voice, and ending abuses that violate their rights and dignity. ILRF is an advocacy organization dedicated to achieving just and humane treatment for workers worldwide. ILRF serves a unique role among human rights organizations as advocates for and with working poor around the world. We believe that all workers have the right to a safe working environment where they are treated with dignity and respect, and where they can organize freely to defend and promote their rights and interests. We are committed to ending the problems of child labor, forced labor, and other abusive practices. We promote enforcement of labor rights internationally through public education and mobilization, research, litigation, legislation, and collaboration with labor, government and business groups.
ILRF PROJECTS
Stop Child Labor
ILRF engages in corporate campaigns to fight for an end to child labor globally. We are currently focusing on the cocoa industry (especially Nestle) for their use of child labor in West Africa and Bridgestone Firestone for child labor on their rubber plantation in Liberia. ILRF also has been heavily engaged in the issue of child labor in cotton and cottonseed fields.
Rights for Working Women
This campaign seeks to alleviate sexual harassment in the workplace and address other issues of concern to women workers through campaigns, worker education, reform of local laws, judicial advocacy, and workplace monitoring.
Creating a Sweatfree World
Through this campaign, the ILRF seeks to challenge sweatshop conditions globally, promote ethical alternatives and advocate for labor rights in US trade policy. The ILRF also has a campaign targeting Wal-Mart for abuse of workers’ rights in their suppliers’ factories. ILRFs newest focus is on sweatshops in the fields as the food and agricultural supply chains become increasingly consolidated and riddled with unimaginable labor rights violations. The Fairness in Flowers campaign raises awareness in the US about labor rights violations and health and safety problems in the cut flower industry.
End Violence Against Trade Unions
Throughout the world, labor activists are targets of repression for their organizing efforts. ILRF, in collaboration with unions and activist groups, campaigns to fight violence against trade union leaders globally. We participate in urgent actions to support unions, especially in the Philippines and Colombia which are two of the most dangerous countries for trade unionists.
ILRF SUCCESSES
Wal-Mart "Nailed" Campaign — completed 6 Wal-Mart worker speaking tours throughout the US from 2005-2007 featuring workers from China, Colombia, Philippines, Nicaragua, US and Swaziland, helping to educate US consumers about the exploitative conditions in Wal-Mart production facilities around the world.
Stop Firestone Campaign — nominated Bridgestone Firestone for the Public Eye Award for the worst global corporation, leading to Bridgestone-Firestone winning the grand prize in January 2007.
End child labor in cocoa industry — collected 500 postcards demanding that Nestlé stop using child labor in their cocoa production, which were later hand-delivered to Nestlé headquarters in California by a member of Global Exchange
End Violence Against Trade Unions - filed GSP petition concerning continued labor rights violations in the Philippines in June 2007 and this petition was accepted for review by the US government
Global March Against Child Labor - a worldwide campaign that mobilized millions of people in over 100 countries to promote the passage of ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labor.
Workers in the Global Economy - produced groundbreaking analysis of the effects of trade rules on workers (“Developing Effective Mechanisms for Implementing Labor Rights in the Global Economy”).
World Bank - Worked with trade unions and NGOs in Brazil and Central America to bring about the first successful efforts to demand public accountability on labor rights violations in World Bank Projects.
FOULBALL Campaign - raised public awareness of the pervasive use of child labor in the production of soccer balls, and convinced major soccer ball producers to stop the use of child labor.
RUGMARK - established RUGMARK in the U.S., an innovative program which moves child laborers in the carpet industry from work to school, and helped create a system of international governance for RUGMARK. To date, the program has certified over two million child labor-free carpets.
Trade Policies - Created the first ever social clause in U.S. trade legislation (Generalized System of Preferences), and used this example
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About the Photo
Kenyan women harvesting coffee beans.
Credit: Unknown Photographer