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Articles by Tula Connell
Fighting for Tomorrow: How Liberian Workers Won a Game-Changing Victory for Their Families
Heading to the schoolhouse where she teaches each morning, Asatu N. Bangalee-Willie travels between two sections of the Firestone Rubber plantation in Harbel, where thousands of Liberians work and live. Asatu, who provides support for her husband and seven children, teaches dozens of third-to-sixth grade children, ages eight to 18.
From App Exploitation to Workplace Power: Inside Morocco’s First Delivery Worker Movement
Good pay. Stable work. The freedom to make your own hours. In Morocco, food delivery companies offered all that, and more. But after Ahmed pulled the clutch on his motorcycle to begin delivering food, he says what he encountered has been “completely different” from that promise. “The reality is low income, job instability, and health illnesses resulting from long hours riding the motorcycle, inhaling pollution, and the fear of account suspension without a clear reason,” he says.
Sudan Tea Sellers, Domestic Workers Form Historic Unions to Achieve Fairness at the Workplace
For years, Yusriya taught in private schools and was a skilled trainer in creating crafts. But in April 2023, war began in Sudan. And like so many women displaced from their jobs and towns, Yusira relocated first to Kosti and later to Al-Hahahihiṣa, where she found work as a tea seller. Now in Algadarif, Yusriya, 37, was among thousands of women who set up a stall by a road, where she roasts coffee beans and prepares spices for tea.
‘Join Us’: Women Cleaners in Albania Use Social Media to Advocate for Safety, Dignity at Work
Wearing bright yellow reflective safety vests, women like Alketa Vrapi sweep discarded waste into shovels on sidewalks, haul large, gray garbage bins through crowds, and push brooms to collect leaves alongside curbs. Crowds go past them, walking, biking, or driving. Alketa is one of around 100 municipal cleaners who are responsible for maintaining public spaces in Elbasan, a city 20 miles southeast of Albania’s capital, Tirana.
Platform Workers No Longer Invisible: Historic New Global Standard Ensures Workplace Rights
Dancing and clapping to music from speakers in the giant conference room, platform workers celebrated the creation of an unprecedented global standard that improves their working conditions and recognizes, for the first time, that they are workers who deserve the same labor rights and protections as all workers.
Belarus Condemned in Global Forum; Independent Union Receives Top Human Rights Award
by | Jun 10, 2026 Aliaksandr Yarashuk, BDKP president, denounced the Belarus government for repressing independent unions and imprisoning worker rights advocates. Credit: Solidarity Center / Tula Connell This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll presume you're OK with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.
World Court Affirms: The International Right to Strike is Protected
In a landmark opinion supporting worker rights, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) affirmed today that the right to strike is protected under international law. The advisory opinion by the highest global court confirms that the right to strike is essential to working people’s ability to form unions, negotiate with their employers, and counter the imbalance of power in the workplace.
Driving to Justice: App-Based Workers Set to Demand Decent Work in Global Treaty
If Agnes Gacheri Mwongera is lucky, after a passenger steps into her e-hailing car, she will safely reach the client’s destination. But sometimes she encounters a passenger like the one who began asking her personal questions. Agnes says that when she asked him to respect her work, he instead “started requesting that maybe he can marry me and maybe keep me comfortable because I’m a woman.
Carbon Offset Projects in Africa Depend on Workers—Yet Exclude Them from Decent Work
Imagine that as part of a mangrove conservation project in Kenya, you spend each day restoring and monitoring the mangrove ecosystem. Your work is crucial to reduce erosion around coastal communities and lessens the effects of climate change. Yet on payday, your pockets are still nearly empty.
Power in Solidarity: Workers Connect Fundamental Rights to Democracy
When Varduhi Brutyan and Miloš Vojnović were invited to take part in the recent Solidarity Center Global Labor Leadership Initiative (GLLI), the two union leaders were not sure what they would experience. But one thing was certain: Neither wanted to be talked at during the multi-phase training program. Instead, both Varduhi and Miloš—and the other 15 participants who completed the GLLI program in Europe—discovered not only that the GLLI was highly participatory but also life-changing.
Workers Win Access to Legal Rights in Thailand with Advocacy, Persistence
As he stood on the first floor of a house under construction in Chiang Mai, Thailand, Sai Nan Ti prepared to guide a steel window frame to its destination. But the steel frame, nearly 10 feet by six feet (three by two meters), fell from the crane and struck Sai’s head. Three days later, on December 22, 2020, Sai passed away in a hospital from his injuries. Sai’s tragedy demonstrates the hazardous and often deadly conditions facing so many workers around the world.
Bangladesh Garment Workers Form First Union Under New Law
Garment workers at the Fashion Pulse factory in Bangladesh have formed the country’s first union under amended laws that make it easier for workers to join together and bargain collectively for decent wages and safe workplaces. The workers received legal recognition for the Fashion Pulse Limited Sramik Union in February after organizing with the Bangladesh Independent Garment Workers Union Federation (BIGUF), with legal and technical support from the Solidarity Center.
From Sri Lanka to Zambia, Solidarity Center Backs Workers in Ending Violence at Work
In January, Sri Lanka made history for working people by ratifying Convention 190, a global treaty to prevent violence and harassment at work. The move sent a clear signal that worker safety and dignity matter and that lasting labor rights gains come when workers join together to push for change. Unions marked the milestone alongside the Solidarity Center and representatives from the government and the International Labour Organization (ILO).
Bangladesh Garment Workers Expand Workplace Rights with Solidarity Center Support
When nearly 400 Bangladesh garment workers successfully negotiated a first contract with their employer at Caesar Apparels (Extension), they secured a nine percent annual wage increase, a clear promotion policy, access to safe drinking water—and expanded their participation in the democratic process to achieve their workplace rights.
Workers at SEGAL in Liberia Seek Fundamental Workplace Rights with Solidarity Center Support
When Alice Cole joined other SEGAL employees in Liberia for a two-day “Building Trade Union Power” workshop in June 2025, she expected to put what she learned to action: the role of workplace representatives (shop stewards), and how trade unions can safeguard democratic practices and workers’ rights.
Solidarity Center Achieves Worker Rights Boost in Bangladesh
Workers in Bangladesh will now see improved rights on the job, with domestic workers and digital ride-sharing workers recognized under the country’s Labour Act, stronger benefits for women, greater opportunities to boost the minimum wage, and significant improvements for all workers to form and register trade unions.
An Historic Week for Workers Rights at the International Court of Justice
In a case with major implications for workers, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) this week presented oral arguments before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the highest global court. Their clear message: The right to strike is essential to the effective exercise of the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining – a right which is necessary to counter the imbalance of power in the workplace.
Solidarity Center - Ending ILAB Funding: Workers Say What They Gained—& Now Lost
As a hairdresser in Kaduna State in northwest Nigeria, Tina Danbaba is among workers in the country’s “informal economy”—street vendors, small-scale manufacturers and salon workers—who comprise 92 percent of the workforce. With few or no job protections, women like Danbana not only experience economic instability and low wages, but sexual and physical harassment and violence.
International Court Considers Workers’ Right to Strike
Because their employer paid them wages so low that they could not cover their basic needs, such as food and housing, some 4,000 garment workers at the Tsang Yih Co. factory in Yangon, Myanmar, recently went on strike. Through collective action, the workers gained leverage at the bargaining table and ultimately succeeded in negotiating a new collective agreement that benefited them and their families.
Two Top Union Leaders Released from Political Imprisonment in Belarus
Two prominent union leaders in Belarus were among 52 prisoners released on September 11. The two political prisoners were arrested in 2022 and 2023 on politically motivated charges for defending workers’ rights. Both Aliaksandr Yarashuk, chairman of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BKDP) and Hennadz Fiadynich, former chairman of the Trade Union of Radio and Electronics Industry Workers’ Union (REP), are now safe in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Sudan Tea Sellers, Domestic Workers Access Decent Work
Each day as Yusriya starts work in her tarabiza in northern Sudan, she sets up the roadside stand with a few pots, a stove, plastic or wooden chairs, and hot beverages such as tea, coffee, ginger, hibiscus and other herbal drinks. “It was hard at first, but when I see my kids eating because of my work, I feel proud,” said Yousriya, who supports a family of 11. Yet after a 12-hour day, her income ranges between 15,000 and 20,000 SDG ($25-$30), which barely covers monthly rent (250,000 SDG / $416).
Democracy Happens when Workers Have a Voice
At the 2025 International Labor Conference (ILC), which took place June 2-14, the Solidarity Center and its partners showcased what happens when workers join together: they speak up and fight for better jobs—and a better world. The ILC, the annual meeting of the International Labor Organization (ILO), brings together worker, employer and government representatives to debate policy, make decisions and negotiate new international labor standards to promote decent work.
Decent Wages, Safe Jobs through Solidarity Center NED Funding
Funding by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) has enabled the Solidarity Center to provide workers around the globe with the tools they need to achieve decent wages and safe working conditions by strengthening their ability to engage in such democratic practices as the ability to freely speak out, form unions and associations and shape the futures for them and their communities.
Digital App-Based Workers Join for a Future of Decent Work
When Enoch Gyaesayor logs into a digital app each day to begin picking up passengers and drive around Accra, Ghana, he hopes to get a few hour-long trips where he can be paid the daily top amount from Mondays to Fridays. After paying the company’s commission and job-related expenses, he says he makes 150 cedis ($14.64).
Thousands of Myanmar Garment Workers Stand Strong, Improve Wages
Thousands of garment workers seeking to boost a base daily pay of $2.47 (5,200 kyats) stood strong throughout a multi-day strike in Yangon, Myanmar, winning an agreement that increases pay and bonuses. Marching along the sidewalk outside the factory chanting “daily wage, annual bonus, raise it, raise it,” and “the daily wage you pay is not enough,” striking garment workers negotiated a new wage they say will make it easier to purchase rice and cooking oil.
Maldives Health Care Workers Win Paid Overtime
Health care workers working in the public sector throughout the Maldives will now receive overtime pay in full for all public holidays, resulting from a robust campaign spurred by the Maldives Health Professionals Union (MHPU). The new amendment, approved at the end of March, covers all 9,000 government health care workers and removes a 10 percent cap on salary for public holidays.
Saving Children, Improving Lives Abroad and in U.S.
In Tela, Honduras, where the only major employment is palm production, Iván is one of thousands of Hondurans who depend on his job to subsist. But until Solidarity Center training strengthened the workers’ ability to form a union and gain the strength to negotiate with their employer for decent work, they endured long hours and little pay to care for themselves and their families.
App-based delivery drivers and drivers paid the minimum wage in Mexico celebrated the holidays with new legislative reform that recognizes them as workers and ensures their access to social security, accident insurance, pensions, maternity leave, company profits and a Christmas (holiday) bonus. The law, introduced by Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum on October 15, passed with full approval by the lower house and the Senate, which voted in December.
16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence
Rallies, activist sessions, labor platforms, global gatherings and more—-during this year’s 16 Days of Violence Against Women, Solidarity Center’s diverse efforts around the world are all centered on the same goal: ratification and implementation of a treaty to end gender-based violence and harassment at work and action to end GBVH in countries that had not yet ratified the treaty.
Colombia Gold Miners Improve Pay, Win Worker Rights
Gold miners in Colombia won their first-ever contract, one that included an annual 3.5 percent wage increase and coverage of all sick leave up to 180 days. The collective bargaining agreement, signed with international corporation Zijin Continental Gold, critically incorporates respect and protection of workers’ rights on the job. “I’m proud to advocate for workers’ rights and benefits at the Zijin Continental Gold Company.
Myanmar Factory Workers Strike for Decent Wages, End to Abuse
Some 500 factory workers are on strike in Yangon, Myanmar, demanding a return to the job for colleagues who joined them in seeking decent wages and working hours and a workplace free from violence and abuse. Since the strike began in November, more than 50 workers have been fired. On November 22, the company brought in a group of 20 agents from the repressive military junta to threaten workers with physical violence to break the strike.
Morocco Textile Workers Achieve Dignity, Worker Rights
Nearly 2,000 workers at textile factories in Casablanca, Morocco, now can receive decent pay, health care protection and a voice on the job after joining the Moroccan Workers’ Union (UMT) and the federation of textile workers. “We joined the union primarily to preserve our dignity, which some managers have trampled on,” said one worker, who voted for the union. (Names are not used to protect workers’ privacy).
Drivers in Philippines Stay Strong with Foodpanda Challenge
Drivers in Cebu, Philippines, are staying strong as Foodpanda challenges a ruling by a government agency that determined they are employees of the corporation and must receive around $128,000 in lost wages. Foodpanda is appealing the decision the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) issued in September that required the company to reinstate a 2018–2020 compensation plan that cut driver’s pay by more than half.
Low Pay, No Support: Sri Lanka Delivery Drivers Seek Worker Rights
Imagine frequently working more than 11 hours a day—or even up to 16 hours a day—to earn a living. Those hours are what nearly all (93 percent) app-based passenger and delivery drivers say they must work to support themselves and their families in Sri Lanka, according to a new Solidarity Center report.
Joining to Achieve Goals Key for Migrant Workers in Central Asia
Central Asian workers who migrate for good paying jobs are navigating a rapidly changing environment due to shifts in economic options and political instability. At the same time, a growing number of women and young migrant workers, who face particular vulnerabilities, are increasingly seeking to migrate.
Report: With Unions, Workers Experience Less Heat Stress
Workers suffering from heat and other environmental stresses are best able to address the effects of climate change when they do so collectively, such as through their unions—especially when they can bargain collectively, according to Laurie Parsons of Royal Holloway, University of London. “People are experts on their experience with heat,” said Parsons.
Latin American Domestic Workers Celebrate, Plan to Expand Success
When a group of domestic worker leaders in Latin America met to discuss how best to improve the union movement, they agreed leadership training would be key to build growing unions. Eight years later, the Leadership for Unity, reNewal and Amplification (LUNA) has involved some 200 of leaders from across the continent who have gone on to develop strategies that improved their organizing, advocacy, leadership and movement-building skills—while gaining tens of thousands of new union members.
Central Asia: ‘We Must Act Together, Combining Our Efforts’
Nearly two dozen participants from three countries joined in a recent leadership seminar in Issyk Kul, Kyrgyzstan, to discuss strategies for labor relations in inspectorates, unions and NGOs to fight labor corruption. “I didn’t know that this was such a relevant topic,” said Eshmurodova Sevara, a participant from Uzbekistan. “Corruption exists in our everyday life.
Brazil Drivers: iFood Must Keep Us Safe, Pay Decent Wages
Delivery drivers at iFood in Brazil say they face exhausting workdays, low pay, lack of adequate company support and poor health conditions. In fact, wages that do not cover the cost of living -–or even do not meet the local minimum wage law—force drivers to work longer hours, leading to unsafe or hazardous working conditions and accidents, say experts and app-based drivers.
Sudan Children’s Future Depends on Peace, Education: Teachers
The future of children—their education, development and eventual livelihoods—is an essential reason for ending the war in Sudan, according to the Teachers’ Campaign to End the War. The Sudanese Teachers Committee, which organized the peace initiative, is part of the Sudanese Civil and Labor Coalition that includes labor and civil society organizations, and is a member of al Taqadum-Sudanese Civil Front movement.
Bangladesh Garment Workers: Hopeful, Cautious
With the unexpected shift in Bangladesh political leadership, garment workers say they are hopeful but cautious about the effect on their wages, working conditions and fundamental civil rights, such as the freedom to form unions. “We hope something positive will happen. However, after the fall of the government, some factories … were prevented from opening in some places,” one factory-level union representative* told the Solidarity Center.
ILAW Network Report Seeks Solutions to Ending Discrimination
Millions of workers still face widespread discrimination in employment and at the workplace—even though 65 years ago, 175 countries adopted an international convention seeking equality of opportunity and treatment. “We still find that employers find very clever ways in which to create vulnerability in the workplace,” said Nomzama Zondo, executive director of the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa, speaking this week at a panel in South Africa.
Joining Together, Building Power, Ending Gender Violence at Work
Sexual harassment and other forms of gender-based violence are rampant in garment factories in Bangladesh and throughout the textile production and retail industry in South Africa, according to two recently published Solidarity Center reports.
Driving Toward a Fair Future @ Work
While the rapid increase in app-based jobs around the world offers millions of workers additional avenues to ear money, it also creates new opportunities for employer exploitation through low wages, lack of health care and an absence of job safety–and that means unions must take action, says Sarah McKenzie, Solidarity Center program coordination director. “If we’re going to make sure that workers’ rights are upheld and that we continue to create decent workplaces, we’ve got to care.
Driving Toward a Fair Future @ Work
Solidarity Center Driving Toward a Fair Future @ Work 00:00 / 00:25:26 Amazon Apple Podcasts RSS Spotify Stitcher Download file | Play in new window | Duration: 00:25:26 | | Download transcript Subscribe: Amazon | Apple Podcasts | RSS | Spotify | Stitcher Delivery drivers and other app-based workers often struggle to improve their difficult, and even dangerous, working conditions.
Philippines Union Leaders Share Strategies to Reach Delivery Drivers
Despite unfair working conditions, many gig workers need to be convinced to join together in unions or associations to more effectively advocate for basic benefits granted to employees in traditional jobs. On the latest episode of the Solidarity Center Podcast series My Boss Is a Robot, union organizers in the Philippines talk about how they reach workers who believe that they should not—or cannot—–stand up for their rights on the job.
Tips to Help Delivery Drivers Form Unions
Solidarity Center Tips to Help Delivery Drivers Form Unions 00:00 / 00:19:46 Amazon Apple Podcasts RSS Spotify Stitcher Download file | Play in new window | Duration: 00:19:46 | | Download transcript Subscribe: Amazon | Apple Podcasts | RSS | Spotify | Stitcher When a worker dies on the job, shouldn’t their families receive some compensation from the company? App-based delivery drivers and other gig workers don’t.
Tech Discrimination: The New Way We Work?
Ride share drivers face many job-based hazards–and for women, the dangers are compounded by sexual harassment and other forms of gender-based violence. Women app-based workers also are disproportionately targeted by what law scholar Veena Dubal has termed “algorithmic discrimination.” “The structure of the wage-setting process, the structure of the algorithms, tends to recreate traditional forms of discrimination.
Tech Discrimination: The New Way We Work?
Solidarity Center Tech Discrimination: The New Way We Work? 00:00 / 00:20:57 Amazon Apple Podcasts RSS Spotify Stitcher Download file | Play in new window | Duration: 00:20:57 | | Download transcript Subscribe: Amazon | Apple Podcasts | RSS | Spotify | Stitcher Drivers delivering your pizza are being paid by an algorithm–and the longer they work, the less they are paid.
Podcast: Gaming the System: App Workers Rarely Win
Food delivery and passenger service drivers and are forced to follow the company apps. But if apps miscalculate and send drivers in the wrong direction, or lower wages for drivers stuck in traffic, it’s the driver who loses wages, or is even booted from the platform. The latest episode of My Boss Is a Robot shows that for app-based companies, these are not bugs–they are built into an algorithmic system designed to move money from workers and into the pockets of the rich corporate bosses.
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