Excluded Workers Speak Out

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

Last week, a diverse group of workers from across the country gathered in New York City for the 2011 annual Excluded Worker Congress, where people who have traditionally been denied labor rights and benefits – by law or practice – met to collaborate on expanding and enforcing workers’ rights in America and around the world. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka (center) - who spoke about the struggles of organizing as a young mine worker - signed partnership agreements on behalf of the AFL-CIO with the National Domestic Workers Alliance and the National Guest Workers Alliance, signaling a new opportunity to include such workers in the official “house of labor”. The agreement says the AFL-CIO will educate its rank and file and build mutually beneficial partnerships. The AFL-CIO also extended legal, media, and technical support to the partner organizations of the Excluded Workers Congress. Participants attended workshops on “reclaiming the ILO,” raising minimum wages, strengthening and realizing labor rights, and developing solidarity campaigns across borders, among others. On the last day of the conference the participants took part in the National Day of Action against Corrections Corporation of America, where they protested the continuing investments in private prisons.  Before the conference concluded, participants planned next steps for moving forward and reported feeling hopeful and looking forward to more opportunities to organize. – report by Lillian Shelton (DC Jobs with Justice), includes reporting/photo by Eduardo Soriano-Castillo on LaborNotes