Members of the USW and supporters protested the Mexican government’s repression of workers’ rights during a May 2010 visit to the nation’s capitol by Mexico’s president.

A legacy of political instability, armed conflicts and flagrant human rights violations has impoverished workers in many Latin American and Caribbean countries. In Colombia, where year after year, the murder rate of trade unionists is the worst in the world, workers literally risk their lives to seek workplace fairness through trade unions. Trade unionists also are under attack in Central America and Mexico.