Blog: Right to Organize & Bargain

Honduras: Fyffes escalates against melon workers with retaliatory firings triggering government investigation

Blatantly disregarding national laws and international labor standards safeguarding workers’ right to organize, Japanese-owned billion-dollar multinational fruit company Fyffes has terminated all permanent worker-members of the independent farmworker union and IUF affiliate,

Migrant Fishers in Taiwan Take Wi-Fi Now For Fishers’ Rights Campaign International

March 12, 2023

Migrants from across Asia work in Taiwan’s fishing fleet, catching seafood we eat every day. Working under harsh conditions and often facing danger, violence and abuse on the job, thousands of fishers have come together in a new campaign to demand fundamental labor rights.

On March 12, 2023, they took their campaign internationally, gathering with local and international NGO and labor allies in front of the Seafood Expo North America at the Boston Convention Center to demand that responsible sourcing of seafood that respects fundamental labor rights as set forth in ILO conventions and wi-fi access for all fishers on distant-water vessels be at the heart of the conversation about the global seafood industry.

Fight the Heist: Asian Unions Join Forces with GLJ-ILRF & Asia Floor Wage Alliance in Campaign to Stop Nike, Levi’s & VF Corp. from Funneling Stolen Pandemic Wages toward Buybacks

Garment supply chain workers, a majority of them women, faced massive wage theft and income loss during the COVID-19 pandemic when Big Fashion brands’ like Nike canceled or drastically reduced orders en masse (as detailed in Asia Floor Wage Alliance’s (AFWA) Money Heist report).

Meanwhile, Wall Street investors and owners made record profits and paid themselves millions of dollars through stock buybacks.

Honduran Melon Pickers Decry Fruit Giant Fyffes Refusal to Sign Agreement and Demand No Retaliation in Hiring

Choluteca, October 26, 2022 – Honduran farmworkers on marched on the melon fields in Choluteca demanding that multinational fruit giant Fyffes engage with them in good faith after the company walked away from negotiations with their union and stopped hiring union members, making it impossible for them to feed their families. 

The workers, members of El Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Agroindustria y Similares (STAS), called out Fyffes for turning their back on workers and negotiations, demanded an end to discrimination in hiring and called for intervention from the Honduran government to enforce the law and protect their rights. 

A World Cup for Workers: Fighting for Labor and Human Rights

In a month FIFA will be making its final city selection for the North American 2026 World Cup which will take place with games in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. FIFA and the World Cup’s dismal record on human rights, from Qatar to Brazil to South Africa and prioritization of corporate sponsors over communities and workers impacted has tarnished the internationally-beloved game of football. 

As Castro takes office, Hondurans continue to fight for democracy, workers’ rights

This week international attention is on Honduras as U.S. Vice President Harris visits the country for the inauguration of Xiomara Castro, Honduras’ first woman President, elected on a platform of tackling the enormous inequalities that have historically plagued the country. Much of the attention will be focused on Honduras’ relationship with the United States, and the Biden administration's desire to address root causes of migration. Castro’s presidency offers tremendous hope for Hondurans on many levels but key to the question of migration is in their fight to expand labor rights and raise their standard of living in a country where nearly half the population lives below the poverty line.

Fyffes’ Claims of Farm Safety in Honduras Should Not be Taken as Accurate

In the ongoing controversy about violations of labor rights and worker health and safety at its suppliers in Honduras, the multinational Fyffes fruit company has told The Progressive magazine “our farms have passed SMETA audits for safety, health, and worker wellbeing.”

This claim by Fyffes should not, and cannot, be taken as good coin, true and accurate. 

Sedex, the London-based consulting company that runs the SMETA program, states very clearly in the “FAQs” on its website the following:

U.S. TIP Report 2019: A missed opportunity for Freedom of Association in Thailand?

The 2019 U.S. Department of State Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report was released last week. Rightly so, Thailand remained at its previous ranking of Tier 2. This ranking is reserved for countries that do not meet the minimum standards to address human trafficking but are making efforts to do so. Maintaining the Tier 2 status is consistent with the Thai Seafood Working Group’s recommendation, yet the U.S. government missed an opportunity to focus Thai authorities and businesses on the structural changes needed to prevent labor trafficking in the country.

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.

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