Less than a week away! On November 8th from 12:00-1:00 PM EST, we will be celebrating labor rights defenders with a roundtable discussion: Women Leading Change: From Forced Labor to Freedom of Association. Our panelists are five extraordinary women who are working to create innovative models to defend labor rights and build worker power in food processing, manufacturing, and agriculture:

• Allison Lee (Lee Li Hua) Secretary-General, Yilan Migrant Fishermen Union (YMFU), Taiwan. Allison is the co-founder of Taiwan’s first labor union composed of and led by foreign workers and is a leading voice in demanding stronger protections for fishing crew members and accountability for human traffickers.
• Iris Munguia, Secretaria de la Mujer (Secretary of Women) Federación Sindical Agrícola (Federation of Industrial Agriculture Unions) (FESTAGRO), Honduras. In addition to her work with FESTAGRO, Iris is the former Coordinator of COLSIBA – the Coordinating Body of Latin American Banana and Agro-Industrial Unions, a coalition of unions representing 55,000 workers across eight countries, the largest transnational federation of private-sector unions in the Americas.
• Julie Su, United States Deputy Secretary of Labor, United States Department of Labor. As a staff attorney at Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Los Angeles (formerly the Asian Pacific American Legal Center), Julie Su led a team that sued the captors and the manufacturers and retailers at the top of the supply chain who benefited from the forced labor in El Monte. She has written how this experience shaped her own direction and efforts to build worker rights, voice, and agency.

• Mrs. Ma Moe Sandar Myint, Chairwoman of the Federation of Garment Workers Myanmar (FGWM), Myanmar. Mrs. Ma Moe Sandar Myint is a union organizer and former garment worker who has led more than 20 pro-democracy protests since the military takeover of Myanmar on February 1, 2021, including during the February 22 general strike.

• Roza Agaydarova Founder of Adolat Sari Olg’a (Onward Toward Justice), Uzbekistan. Roza Agaydarova, from Syrdarya region, Uzbekistan, is an organizer who was fired from her job at a cotton plantation and spinning mill after reporting concerns about financial irregularities and possible corruption. In January 2021, she successfully sued for reinstatement, and in March 2021, Roza led the formation of the first democratic union election in Uzbekistan’s history, organizing more than 200 workers at Indorama.

Together, these five women provide crucial perspectives on the struggles of workers in their prospective sectors and offer an important gendered lens on the future of organizing. Through deep conversations with these inspiring women, we hope to learn and share more about the importance of freedom of association to support workers globally. 

Hurry now and register for the event! We can’t wait for you to join us in celebrating these incredible leaders and organizations. Please note, registration for the event closes on Sunday, November 7th at 11:59 PM EST.  If you are interested in donating to support our work, you can do so here. 

In Solidarity, 

GLJ-ILRF