9th Annual Center for Global Workers’ Rights Symposium

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9th Annual Center for Global Workers’ Rights Symposium

“Latin American Labor at a Crossroads: Obstacles and Opportunities in Times of Change”

April 13-14, 2023

April 13:

8:30 AM: Registration of speakers and participants

9:00 AM: Opening of the symposium- welcome addresses by Mark Anner of the Penn State University School of Labor and Employment Relations

9:15 AM: Keynote address: Marcio Pochmann (UNICAMP, Brasil) – Labor rights and economic development in Latin America: Current perspectives

Prof. Pochmann will discuss the challenges to promoting sustainable development and decent work in contemporary Latin America, with a particular focus on Brazil.

Chair: Jana Silverman

10:15 AM: Roundtable: Changes and continuities in labor relations under the Pink Tide governments

In this roundtable, academic and practitioner experts on labor relations in Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, and Honduras will discuss the possibilities for creating and strengthening pro-worker labor relations systems and promoting social dialogue in these countries currently governed by “New Pink Tide” administrations.

  • Cecilia Senen Gonzalez (Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina)
  • Laura Moisa (Universidad Nacional de Colombia sede Medellin, Colombia)
  • Mark Anner (CGWR)
  • Jocelio Drummond (Public Services International, Brasil)
  • Chair: Cathy Feingold (AFL-CIO, ITUC)

12:15 PM: Lunch

1:30 PM: Roundtable: Political polarization in the Americas and the role of labor in defending democracy

This panel will focus on the role of labor in strengthening democratic institutions both in the workplace and beyond, in countries such as the US and Brazil that are marked by significant social, economic and political inequalities.

  • Cathy Feingold (AFL-CIO, ITUC)
  • Marcio Pochmann (UNICAMP, Brasil)
  • Rebecca Tarlau (CGWR)
  • Chair: Luis Mendoza (CGWR)

3:30 PM: Roundtable: Building labor solidarity across borders

In this panel, labor leaders and advisors representing workers in the industrial, retail, commercial and public sectors in the US and in Latin America will discuss the role of transnational solidarity campaigns in strengthening labor democracy and labor rights compliance for both their members and for other workers in these sectors across the Americas.

  • Jocelio Drummond (Public Services International, Brazil)
  • Ben Davis (United Steelworkers)
  • Stanley Gacek (United Food and Commercial Workers)
  • Chair: Dan DiMaggio (CGWR/Labor Notes)

April 14:

8:30 AM: Roundtable: A return to developmentalism?: Development policy, sustainability and decent work in the new Pink Tide countries

In this roundtable, researchers and activists will discuss the labor impacts of developmentalist policies in previous Pink Tide governments as well as look ahead to see how current progressive governments in countries such as Brazil, Mexico and Colombia are combining new strategies for industrial upgrading and economic development with just transition policies.

  • Lala Penaranda (Trade Unions for Energy Democracy)
  • Matthew Fischer-Daly (CGWR)
  • Manuel Rosaldo (CGWR)
  • Chair: Jana Silverman (CGWR)

10:30 AM: Roundtable: Who cares for the caregivers in Latin America?

This panel will address the impacts of the global care crisis on Latin America and specifically on Latin American women. Researchers and activists working in Colombia, Mexico, Brazil and Peru will talk about the role of women’s’ paid and unpaid reproductive labor in promoting economic and social development, and highlight policies being formulated and implemented in Latin America to construct better public policies to value care work and dignify care workers.

  • Laura Moisa (Universidad Nacional de Colombia sede Medellin, Colombia)
  • Katherine Maich (CGWR)
  • Mary Goldsmith (UNAM, Mexico)
  • Jana Silverman (CGWR)
  • Chair: Elaine Hui (CGWR)

12:30 PM: Closing address: How can researchers contribute to strengthening the labor movement across the Americas in times of multiple crises and opportunities?

These closing remarks will highlight important research agendas for the Latin American labor studies field in the current political and economic context, and discuss how to better bridge the gap between practitioners and researchers.

  • Mark Anner (CGWR)
  • Cecilia Senen Gonzalez (UBA, Argentina)
  • Chair: Katherine Maich (CGWR)

1:30 PM: End of Symposium, Closing Lunch

Contact Us
Luis Mendoza
Assistant Teaching Professor
(814) 865-0506
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