Under this component, the Solidarity Center (SC) will implement a pilot project in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala that will focus on the issues of LGBTQ labor rights not adequately addressed by governments, employers, or unions. It will leverage initial work done by unions in Nicaragua and El Salvador, to press the broader labor movement to focus on LGBTQ labor rights, equal opportunity and combatting discrimination, and build unions’ capacity to engage and advocate with other stakeholders, including governments and employers.

Component 2 - Mexico

For this component the SC proposes a project that will leverage the opportunities of recent labor reforms in Mexico by 1) supporting new forms of organizing young workers in strategic economic sectors and 2) positioning worker and independent union voices in transnational advocacy for improved labor rights enforcement. The SC will support the consolidation of a new youth labor collective, with older members developing their organizing and leadership skills and newer members added and develop an initial bi- or tri-national advocacy and monitoring network related to the USMCA new labor control mechanisms.

Component 3 ILAW

This component will support the founding conference of the Solidarity Center’s International Lawyers Assisting Workers (ILAW) Network. This Conference is being organized to: 1) facilitate learning across countries on the changing legal landscape; 2) highlight in particular successful strategies to empower workers and unions; 3) identify legal problems to address through network collaboration over the coming year; 4) explore potential areas of cooperation with the human rights legal community; and 5) deepen and expand the ILAW Network.