non-profit organization
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
aligned with the
AFL–CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million ac ...
labor federation. It is one of the core grantees of the
National Endowment for Democracy
The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is an organization in the United States that was founded in 1983 for promoting democracy in other countries by promoting political and economic institutions such as political groups, trade unions, ...
.
Its stated mission is to help build a global labor movement by strengthening the economic and political power of workers around the world through effective, independent, and democratic unions.
History
The AFL-CIO established the Solidarity Center in 1997. The Solidarity Center was created through the consolidation of four labor institutes: the American Institute for Free Labor Development, the Asian-American Free Labor Institute, the African-American Labor Institute, and the Free Trade Union Institute. The pre-existing institutes were merged by John Sweeney shortly after he became president of the AFL–CIO.
The AFL-CIO had worked internationally for many decades. With some funding from the Office of Strategic Services and the
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
, it had worked to stop Communist movements in Western Europe after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. With the 1997 launch of the Solidarity Center, those ties ended.
Today, the Solidarity Center works with unions, worker associations and community groups to provide a wide range of education, training, research, legal support and other resources to help build strong and effective trade unions and more just and equitable societies. Its programs—in more than 60 countries—focus on human and worker rights awareness, union skills, occupational safety and health, economic literacy, human trafficking, women's empowerment and bolstering workers in an increasingly informal economy. Solidarity Center programs support and contribute to the global movement for labor rights.
In 2002, the Solidarity Center, the international arm of the AFL-CIO, received $154,377 from the United States National Endowment for Democracy to assist the CTV in Venezuela. Shortly after, the leader of the CTV, Carlos Ortega, worked closely with
Pedro Carmona Estanga
Pedro Francisco Carmona Estanga (born 6 July 1941) is a former Venezuelan business leader who was briefly installed as acting president of Venezuela in place of Hugo Chávez, following the attempted military coup in April 2002.Venezuelan coup of 2002.
Programs
The Solidarity Center assisted in Haiti's FTZ (
Free Trade Zone
A free-trade zone (FTZ) is a class of special economic zone. It is a geographic area where goods may be imported, stored, handled, manufactured, or reconfigured and re-exported under specific customs regulation and generally not subject to cu ...
). When textile manufacturer Grupo M, the
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...
’s largest employer, applied to the
International Finance Corporation
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is an international financial institution that offers investment, advisory, and asset-management services to encourage private-sector development in less developed countries. The IFC is a member of ...
(the
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...
’s private sector lending arm) for a $20 million loan to open a factory on the Haiti-Dominican border, the Solidarity Center, the
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions
The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) was an international trade union. It came into being on 7 December 1949 following a split within the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), and was dissolved on 31 October 2006 when ...
(ICFTU) and the Dominican Federation of Free Trade Zone Workers (FEDOTRAZONAS) worked together to condition the loan on respect for worker rights.
Funding
More than 96 percent of its funding comes from the United States federal government, mostly through U.S. Aid for International Development (
USAID
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 bi ...
) and the
National Endowment for Democracy
The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is an organization in the United States that was founded in 1983 for promoting democracy in other countries by promoting political and economic institutions such as political groups, trade unions, ...
.
The NED distributes grants to four institutes, two associated with economic interests and two with political interests. The Solidary Center is associated with labor.
The Solidarity Center receives funding from private foundations as well.
Field offices
The Solidarity Center's main offices are in Washington, D.C. The organization has field offices in roughly 28 countries and programs in approximately 60 countries.Solidarity Center, Who We Are" /ref>