Across Asia, multinational corporations are pushing an agenda of outsourcing, subcontracting, and short-term contracts to minimize their responsibility for labor rights violations and to keep out independent, democratic unions. Throughout the region, millions of migrant workers have few legal protections and face precarious employment and unsafe positions. Migrant fishers and domestic workers frequently face not only institutional discrimination, but also sometimes physical abuse and sexual harassment at the hands of their employers.

A Briefing from California’s Port Drivers
Featuring California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara

This symposium will explore the context, causes, and consequences of the Jasic conflict, perhaps China’s most politically consequential labor movement of the decade. A variety of speakers will draw out how the incident has implicated so many social actors - students, feminists, leftists, NGOs, and lawyers - and to think about what this case reveals about shifting politics in the Xi era. Given the intensity and breadth of the crackdown, we will also reflect on possibilities for advancing labor rights in this newly repressive environment.

Preliminary Schedule

Workers in Bangladesh face violence when voicing legitimate complaints about how little they take home after a day’s work. And soon they might be facing unsafe factories again, if the Bangladesh Accord would have to stop operations in the country. Show your solidarity with garment workers by joining us for a demonstration at the Consulate General of Bangladesh!