On Wednesday, July 21st, 2021 GLJ-ILRF’s Executive Director, JJ Rosenbaum testified at the Subcommittee on Trade of the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means’s hearing to discuss innovative approaches to combat forced labor in global supply chains and how the U.S. government can strengthen enforcement & protect workers.

Other expert witnesses included Neha Misra, Global Lead of Migration and Human Trafficking at the Solidarity Center, Charity Ryerson, Executive Director of the Corporate Accountability Lab, Genevieve LeBaron, Professor of Politics at the University of Sheffield, and Brian Lowry, Senior Vice President of Innovation, Regulation, and Trade at the United States Council for International Business.

Global Labor Justice - International Labor Rights Forum (GLJ-ILRF) hosted its 12th annual Labor Rights Defenders Awards Ceremony on October 1, its first event since the merging of the two organizations. With over 700 views globally so far, the online event celebrated labor rights leaders and activists from across the globe who have committed their lives to defender worker rights and build power across a range of sectors and communities.

You can watch the recording of the awards ceremony here. 

Today, I am excited to announce the merger of two allied organizations — the International Labor Rights Forum and Global Labor Justice.  Developed over many months with the strong support of our allies, board, and staff, our new partnership is coming together at a critical time.  As quite literally every person in the world faces a common threat in the form of a global pandemic, workers are simultaneously more isolated and connected than ever before.  At a time when state and corporate responses leave workers around the world in crisis — locked into dangerous working conditions or locked out of jobs with essential wages and benefits — it is clear we must work together to build durable transnational alliances that advance a new strategic vision with labor and human rights in the foreground. Progressive economy efforts can no longer be seen as a parochial, national issue. Transnational movements and strategic campaigns are fundamental to a future that includes decent work, development, and democracy in the U.S. and around the world.  Together we will strengthen the force behind these efforts by providing greater strategic capacity, support, and momentum.