Solidarity Center
The Solidarity Center was launched by the AFL-CIO in 1997 as the American Center for International Labor Solidarity. According to their website they are a 501(c)(3) "non-profit organization that assists workers around the world who are struggling to build democratic and independent trade unions. We work with unions and community groups worldwide to achieve equitable, sustainable, democratic development and to help men and women everywhere stand up for their rights and improve their living and working standards." [1]
- Kate Doherty - former Executive Director
- Ellie Larson - former Executive Director
- Ben Davis - "head of the Solidarity Center’s operations in the Caribbean and Latin America during the February 2004 coup" in Haiti. [2]
- Erin Radford, Program Officer for the Middle East and North Africa at the Solidarity Center
- Heba F. El-Shazli, regional program director for the Middle East and North Africa
- Shawna Bader-Blau, Executive Director
- Nancy Mills - former acting Executive Director
Funding
"The Solidarity Center receives funding from both public and private non-profit sources. Public sources include the U.S. Agency for International Development, the National Endowment for Democracy, the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Private sources include the AFL-CIO and private foundations that support the Center’s values and principles." [3]
According to their 2005/06 Annual Report: Total support and revenue in 2005 was $ 31,037,081 of which $ 29,116,549 came from Federal Awards. (p.27)
Iran
According to their 2005/06 Annual Report: "In January 2006, Iranian police brutally cracked down on a planned strike and arrested 1,300 bus drivers. The strike was called to protest the arrest of Mansoor Osanloo, President of Sherkat-e Vahed, the Tehran bus drivers’ union. Although a press blackout kept most Iranian citizens unaware of the situation, word spread quickly around the world. On February 15, the Solidarity Center joined thousands of worker and human rights activists in nearly 20 countries in an International Day of Action on Iran to demand Osanloo’s release and respect for Iranian bus drivers’ worker rights. The Solidarity Center organized a rally in Washington, DC, that brought together more than 100 worker and human rights advocates. In response to global pressure and solidarity, Osanloo was finally freed. The Solidarity Center continues to monitor the abuses of worker rights in Iran and worldwide." [4] For more information
Trustees
- John J. Sweeney (Chair) President, AFL-CIO
- William Lucy (Vice-Chair) Secretary-Treasurer, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
- Richard L. Trumka (Secretary-Treasurer) Secretary-Treasurer, AFL-CIO
- Margaret Blackshere - President, Illinois AFL-CIO
- R. Thomas Buffenbarger - President, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
- Linda Chavez-Thompson - Executive Vice President, AFL-CIO
- Larry Cohen - President, Communications Workers of America
- Leo W. Gerard - President, United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial & Service Workers International Union
- Harry G. Kamberis - Senior Adviser, Solidarity Center
- Susan J. Schurman - President, National Labor College
- Barbara Shailor - Director, AFL-CIO International Department
- Joslyn N. Williams - President, Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO
Publications
- "Annual Report 2005-06" (Pdf)
External links
- Kim Scipes. "An Unholy Alliance: The AFL-CIO and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) in Venezuela]", Zmag, 10 July 2005.
- Jeb Sprague, The AFL-CIO's 'Solidarity Center' and Haiti, NarcoSphere, 18 November 2005.
