This is a cross-post from the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center.

During her tour of Southeast Asia, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton urged the greater protection of worker rights, improvement of labor standards and the empowerment of women following a private meeting in Cambodia with union leaders and labor activists. Clinton met privately in Siem Rep, Cambodia, with 12 women union leaders—independent union representatives from every major industry in Cambodia, labor lawyers and activists—as well as the Solidarity Center country program director, David Welsh.

Last year, after the June Textiles garment factory in Cambodia burned down, the 4,000 workers—some of whom had put in 18 years on the job—were offered $20 each in compensation for losing their livelihoods. Period.

That’s when the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center stepped in, working with the factory’s new owner, H&M, and through the country’s legal system, ultimately winning an unprecedented settlement that ensured they could support their families.