Posts by Gabriela Rosazza, International Labor Rights Forum

Honduran Union Leader Threatened with Imprisonment

A union leader whom we work with in Honduras could be imprisoned for 30 years on bogus charges, pending a decision at a trial next Wednesday. Moises Sanchez is the Secretary General of the STAS union on Fyffes' melon farms in Honduras, where he worked from 1993 until 2016, when he was blacklisted for his union activity. In 2017, Moises was kidnapped, viciously attacked and threatened with death if he did not abandon the union fight.

Now he is facing spurious charges from a landowner – who also leases to Fyffes – after being part of a group of 450 community members who voted to build a road in their community, which the mayor supported and said was on public land.

Modern-Day Servitude in U.S. Port Trucking: A Call to Retail Brands

Today, southern California’s port truck drivers and warehouse workers - many of whom are Black and Latinx workers and TPS recipients – begin a three-day strike to send a clear message to their port trucking employers (XPO Logistics and NFI Industries) and the country’s most powerful brands and retailers: put an end to rampant wage theft and the misclassification of port truckers.

How President Trump is Fueling Honduran Migration North

Today, Juan Orlando Hernandez takes the oath of office as President of Honduras with the full support of President Trump – despite overwhelming evidence of election irregularities and allegations of fraud in last November’s presidential election in Honduras. This past week, Hondurans young and old took to the streets in a nationwide strike to denounce their stolen democracy, determined to liberate their country from what they call a de-facto dictatorship. Hernandez’s National Party came to power in a 2009 military coup d’état and continues its violent reign today, supported and funded by the United States. 

87th Labor Leader Murdered in Guatemala Since 2004

Para una version en español, haga clic aquí.

In Guatemala, defending your rights at work can cost you your life. Workers who speak out against wage theft, exploitation and anti-union discrimination run the risk of facing serious retaliation, including intimidation, threats, physical violence, kidnappings and even murder.

 In Guatemala, violence against worker rights defenders is the norm, not the exception. Since 2004, 87 labor leaders have been murdered, a reality that makes Guatemala one of the most dangerous countries in the world to be a trade unionist.

How Anti-Sweatshop Activists and Unions Made Severance Pay Mandatory

In August last year Iris Montoya came to work at the Rio Garment factory in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, where she had worked as a sewing machine operator for 11 years. At 11 a.m., the factory lights shut off and management escorted the workers outside, locking the doors behind them.

Management announced that the factory was shutting down operations that very day. Panic broke out. Workers were told to go home, barred from retrieving their belongings, and left without their last week’s pay.

Three weeks later, when Montoya went to the hospital for foot surgery, she was denied coverage. Management had been deducting insurance from workers’ paychecks for the past five months but had not been depositing the money into the health care system.

Global Campaign Launches in Support of Melon and Pineapple Workers in Central America

.Para una version en español, haga clic aquí.

On Monday, January 16th, the Irish multinational fruit company Fyffes sold its shares to a Japanese corporation called Sumitomo. The  751 million deal is expected to net CEO David McCann  87.5 million and remaining Fyffes executives  3 million in bonuses.