THE DISTINGUISHED PANEL DISCUSSION WORKERS’ RIGHTS in the United States

Abstract

Two years ago Human Rights Watch launched a major research project that resulted in our recent two-hundred-page report titled “Unfair Advantage: Workers Freedom of Association in the United States under International Human Rights Standards.”We were concerned about consistent, credible reports that American workers face enormous obstacles, and often outright violations, in exercising rights to organize, to bargain collectively, and to strike. We also shared the concern about workers’ rights in the global economy. Globalization has delivered undeniable wealth and opportunity to many people, but there is widespread unease about some of its negative aspects. The current system to regulate global commerce leaves little or no room for human rights and other social values.Workers’ rights to organize and bargain collectively are enshrined in international human rights instruments of the United Nations, the International Labor Organization, and other global and regional covenants. But enforcement systems are lacking. We thought it best to enter this arena with a thorough examination of workers’ freedom of association in the United States, hoping we can promote more effective enforcement of workers’ rights at home to set an example internationally.