2015 ANNUAL REPORT

I N T E R N AT I O N A L L A B O R R I G H T S F O R U M

Dear Friends,

2015 marked ILRF’s completion of three decades fighting for dignity and justice for workers

worldwide. As we prepared for our 30th anniversary in 2016, we took stock of the many ways

that ILRF has been an instrumental force in stimulating solutions to advance workers’ rights

and labor standards around the world.

In the early 1980s, strong voices in human rights, labor, academic, and faith-based

communities formed a coalition to fight for the rights of workers in international trade. In

1984, the coalition succeeded in winning legislation linking the granting of U.S. trade and

investment benefits – through the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) – to a country’s

respect for fundamental labor rights. In 1986, the group founded the International Labor

Rights Forum to monitor enforcement of these laws and to develop other means to protect

workers’ rights globally.

We have continued to propose, negotiate and secure legal reforms and more meaningful

corporate accountability policies and we have tested and critiqued each new reform

to make them more effective for workers. Today, we are pushing for a sea change in

corporate accountability: to move away from the voluntary, confidential “corporate

social responsibility” programs that have repeatedly sidelined workers’ voices, towards

transparent, legally-binding agreements negotiated between corporations and unions. And

we are pursuing multi-layered strategies to advance labor law reforms. In today’s time of

increased migration, debt bondage and human trafficking, we must push back against laws

that make it illegal for migrant workers to organize and bargain collectively.

Please visit the About section of our website – www.laborrights.org – to see some of the

highlights of ILRF’s impact over the years. What stands out throughout the timeline is that

all of our greatest successes have been linked to strong grassroots partners and transnational

movements that generate solidarity and unite advocacy campaigns.

Please join us and support one or all of our campaigns by taking action online, joining a

demonstration, or donating to help us sustain our ability to continue innovating and

advocating for workers’ rights in global supply chains.

In solidarity,

Judy Gearhart

Executive Director

The International Labor Rights Forum is a

human rights organization that advocates for

workers globally. We hold global corporations

accountable for labor rights violations, advance

policies and laws that protect workers, and

strengthen workers’ ability to advocate for their

rights.

1634 I ST NW, SUITE 1001WASHINGTON, DC 20006 USA

T: +1 202 347 4100LABORRIGHTS@ILRF.ORGWWW.LABORRIGHTS.ORG

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

President: Yvette Herrera, Communications Workers of America

Vice President: Lance Compa, Cornell University

Secretary: Carol Rosenblatt, Coalition of Labor Union Women

Treasurer: Katherine Isaac, Consultant

Kim Bobo, Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy

John Cavanagh, Institute for Policy Studies

Eric Dirnbach, LiUNA

Cam Duncan, Northern New Mexico Central Labor Council

Joe Eldridge, American University

Cathy Feingold, AFL-CIO

Sarita Gupta, Jobs with Justice

Mark Harrison, United Methodist General Board of Church and Society

Owen Herrnstadt, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers

Lorretta Johnson, American Federation of Teachers

Yvette Pena-O’Sullivan, LiUNA

Robert J.S. Ross, Clark University

Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky

Daniel Smith, ILRF General Counsel, Amalgamated Transit Union

Ashwini Sukthankar, UNITE HERE!

Christopher Townsend, Amalgamated Transit Union

STAFF

Diana Alonzo Watkins, Senior Development Officer

Aisha Brown, Director of Finance and Administration

Matt Fischer-Daly, Cotton Campaign Coordinator

Liana Foxvog, Director of Organizing and Communications

Judy Gearhart, Executive Director

Eric Gottwald, Legal and Policy Director

Kevin Lin, China Program Officer

Marian Manapsal, Fundraising & Operations Assistant

Abby McGill, Director of Campaigns

Caitrin McKee, USLEAP Stephen Coats Memorial Fellow

Whitney Pierson, Financial & Operations Assistant

Andy Shen, Senior Legal & Policy Analyst

Organizations listed for identification purposes only

JANUARY• Thai government scraps plan to use prison labor at sea

after ILRF leads international opposition campaign

FEBRUARY• ILRF’s Valentine’s Day cards informed about the low

wages that cocoa farmers earn

MARCH• Raised urgent issues of violations of women’s rights

at work during the UN Commission on the Status of

Women meetings

APRIL• Brought a delegation of activists and faith-based

leaders to Bangladesh for the second anniversary of

the Rana Plaza building collapse

• Helped coordinate a global day of action

remembering Rana Plaza workers

• Worked with John Oliver’s team in advance of Last Week Tonight’s fashion story

MAY• Submitted comments to U.S. government on

protecting workers’ rights through procurement

• Co-published Principles for Free and Fair Labor in

Palm Oil Production

JUNE• Campaign victory: Compensation secured for Rana

Plaza victims and families

• Celebrated the 2015 Labor Rights Defenders

• Held briefing on child labor in tobacco fields with the

Child Labor Coalition

• Published Golden Veneer, documenting union-busting

at a farm supplying McDonald’s

JULY• With Peruvian unions, filed complaint against the

government of Peru for dismissing workers for

union activity and employing workers on fraudulent

contracts

• Supported independent monitoring of forced labor in

Uzbek cotton fields, and urged ILO to recognize forced

labor in its own monitoring

AUGUST• Delivered petition with over 20,000 signatures

to Reynolds American calling on the company to

improve conditions for tobacco farmworkers

SEPTEMBER• Amplified EUROBAN’s Make Fruit Fair action on

pineapples in Costa Rica

OCTOBER• Launched campaign against H&M for its failure to

keep its factory safety promise

NOVEMBER• Raised concerns about forced labor at the Roundtable

on Sustainable Palm Oil conference

• Amplified Cambodian garment workers’ demands for

a minimum wage of $177/month

DECEMBER• Released ILRF report Our Voices, Our Safety,

documenting Bangladeshi garment worker voices

• Urged World Bank to stop supporting forced labor in

Uzbekistan with action projecting images onto Bank

headquarters

Photo credits in order of appearance: UFCW; Simon Buxton / Anti-

Slavery International; ILRF; Presbyterian Hunger Program; Stephen

Baranovic/ILRF; CC BY-NC 2.0, Photo by Marco Simola for Center for

International Forestry Research (CIFOR); Reuters; Liz Gorman

2015 YEAR IN REVIEWFIGHTING FOR DIGNITY AND JUSTICE FOR WORKERS WORLDWIDE

INTERNATIONAL LABOR RIGHTS FORUM

THANK YOU TO OUR SUPPORTERS

21st Century ILGWU Heritage Fund

Donor-Advised Fund

Humanity United

Landau Family Foundation

Moriah Fund

Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen

Foundation

National Endowment for Democracy

New Society Fund

Norman Foundation

Open Society Foundation

Presbyterian Hunger Program

United Methodist Church,

General Board of Global Ministries

U.S. Department of State

SPONSORS OF THE 2015 LABOR RIGHTS DEFENDERS AWARDS

AFL-CIO

Amalgamated Bank

Amalgamated Transit Union

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc.

American Federation of Government

Employees

American Federation of Teachers

American Postal Workers Union

Bama Athreya

Anna Burger

Brenna Dougan

Cam and Susan Duncan

Caroline Ramsay Merriam

Cathy Hurwit

Chris Townsend

Communications Workers of America

David and Judy Bonior

Doyle Printing

Eileen Fisher

Elizabeth Colton

Equal Exchange

Eric Dirnbach

Fontheim International

Fruit of the Loom

GlobalWorks Foundation

GoodWeave International

International Association of Machinists

and Aerospace Workers

International Brotherhood of

Boilermakers

International Brotherhood of Electrical

Workers

International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Joe Eldridge and Maria Otero

Judy Gearhart and Rainer Braun

Jules Bernstein

L Brands

Laborers’ International Union of

North America

Levi Strauss & Co.

Markley Roberts

Martin Ma

May Ying Chen

National Consumers League

National Education Association

National Postal Mail Handlers Union

Oxfam America

Peter and Toni Gearhart

PVH Corp.

Solidarity Center

Sorini Samet & Associates, LLC

The Kresge Foundation

Ullico, Inc.

UNITE HERE

United Association of Plumbers and

Pipefitters

United Brotherhood of Carpenters and

Joiners of America

United Mine Workers of America

Washington Office on Latin America

$1000+Anonymous Donor

Bama Athreya

Medea Benjamin

Kim Bobo

David & Judy Bonior

Elizabeth Colton

Lance Compa

Eric Dirnbach

Cam Duncan

Joe Eldridge

Bill Fletcher & Candice Cason

Toni & Peter Gearhart

Trina Hamilton

Alice Jenkins

Susan Lloyd

Gail Lopez-Henriquez

Robert Lyman

William Mascioli*

Kevin Middlebrook

Kathleen Ruff

Andrew Samet

David Suisman

Sheela Vinod

Theodore Von Der Ahe

$500+Judy Ancel

Virginia Baker

Anna Burger

May Ying Chen

Donald Clelland

Brenna Dougan

Cam & Susan Duncan

Louise Rice & Tess Ewing

Ann Stark & Doug Foxvog

Judy Gearhart & Rainer Braun

Cathy Hurwit

Katherine Isaac

Scott Littlehale

Ying Ma

Gerrish Milliken

Joanna Moresky

Monique Morrissey

Mary Naftzger

Nathan & Kate Nicely*

Sheila Payne & Paul Ortiz

Carl Proper*

Markley Roberts

Natalie Rodgers*

Nina Smith

Arthur Wortman

Paul Zarembka

$100+Andrew Abraham

Murray Abramsky

Juan Alvarez

Richard Appelbaum

Michael Arney

Antoine Auchlin

Margaret M. Baillie

Linda Bajkowsky

Peter Bakvis

Rebecca Ballard

Marian Beane

Tim Beaty

Allison Beck

Malcolm and Nancy Bell

Robert Bernstein

Eric Biel

Simon Billenness

David Black

Doron Blake*

Diana Bohn

Heather & Paul Booth

Robin Broad & John Cavanagh

Todd Brogan

Kate Bronfenbrenner*

Ann Brown

E. Wayles Browne

Gerald Burke

Martha W. D. Bushnell

Frances Caplan

Daniel Cardozo*

David Caroll

Barry Castleman

Gabriel Chen

George Cheney

Noam Chomsky

Daniel Clifton

Patricia & Robert Coats

Gordon Schiff & Mardge Cohen

Carol Cohn

Sandra Coliver

Joan Countryman

Michelle Couturier

Martha Cray

Robert Creamer

Leanna Curley*

Bryson Davis*

Kenneth Rolling & Rochelle

Davis

Nira Desai

Jesse Dewitt

Daniel Drake

Susan DuBois

Yu-Lan Duggan

David Dunning

Daniel Ehrenberg

Eddie Eitches

Yasmine Ergas

Waheeda Esmail*

Fred Feinstein

Joan Fletcher

Sarah Fox

Bette Frundt

William Frymoyer

Ziva Galili

Vincent Gallagher

Stefano Giani

Kathryn Giles

Martin & Nina Goldberg

Susan Goldman

Bruce Goldstein

Autumn Gonzalez*

Connie & Ken Graham

Edward C. Gray

Peter Greenberg

Sarita Gupta & Eddie Acosta

Pharis Harvey*

Jane Heald

Zachary Henige

Richard Henighan

Owen Herrnstadt

Richard R. Heuser

Jennifer Hill*

Loren Hintz

Gordon Hislop

Ann Hoffman

Richard Horvitz

Kathy Hughes

Constance Hunter

Jill Jacobs

Todd Jailer

Rebecca Jennings

Jerri Jerreat*

David Johnson

Ayana Johnson

Karen Judd

Henry Kahn

Aryay L. Kalaki

Sheryl Kane

Allison Kiessling

Robert Kingsley

Karl Klare

David Klein

Lois Klingeman

Jan Knight

Joanne Koslofsky

Roberta De Araujo & Ronald

Kreisman

Tjwg Kurstjens

Ira Kurzban

Yochanan Kushnir

Burritt Lacy

Gary Cozette & Joe Lada

Erik & Caitlin Lang

Kaiulani Lee

Robert Leski

Jennifer Levin

René Levy

Theodore Lieverman

Robin Lloyd

Jacqueline Loiselle

Fernando Lopes

Stephanie Luce

Walter & Ruth MacGinitie

Kirby MacLaurin

Karen Mahaffey

Danila Manapsal

Joseph Mannion

Peter and Frances Marcuse

Steve Marquardt

Christine Matthews

John McDiarmid

Rob McGarrah

Kevin McGimpsey

Barbara Bordwell Mcgrew

Heidi Mclean

Devin McMahon*

Craig Merrilees

Ellen Messing

George Miller

Suzanne Miller*

Richard Miller

Enid Eckstein & Richard Monks

Hans Christian Monsen

Edward Munyak

Nora Murad

Rachel Neild

Daniel Nicolai

William K. Nisbet

Katharine Nixon

Robert Nixon

Steven Nutter

M. Ochs

John O’Connor

R. Dennis Olson

Sandra Kathleen Orange

Stephen Oren

Helen Ortmann

Robin Pacific

Barbara Parsons

Alison Pease

Yvette Pena-O’Sullivan

Christine Pendzich

Elizabeth Pernotto

Kurt Petersen

Sharon Phillipps

Oliver Fein & Charlotte Phillips

Dwight Pierson

Anne Posthuma

Lenny Potash

Desta Raines

Vijay Rajan

Caroline Ramsay Merriam

Maureen Raymo

Glenn Rehn*

Rene Richardson

Allen Riddell

Steven Riedhauser

Stephen Rock

Pamela Rogers

Carol Rosenblatt

Yair Rosenthal

Robert J.S. Ross*

Herbert Rothschild

Heinz Rotter

Marcia Rucker

John Ruthrauff

Richard Sanders

Mary Ann & Bob Savard

Erich Franz Schimps

Lori Schlabach

Florence Schreibstein

Gerry Scott*

Judith Scott

Michael Selmi

Walter Sepic

James Sessions

John S. and Rebecca P. Shockley

Bernice Silverman

Sally Silvers

Dan Smith

Russell Smith

Amy Crosson & John Soluri

Carolyn Sonfield

Dale Sorensen

Ann Sprayregen & Stan Sperber

Burton Steck

Marc Steinberg

Douglas Stevick*

James Stolz

Lee and Byron Stookey

Eileen Storey

Linda Stork

Janet Strangeways*

Gary Stroud

Lindsay Sullivan*

Valerie Sutter

Sarah Tappon

David Temple

Hans Theyer

Doug Thompson

Trina Tocco*

Chris Townsend

Merry Tucker

Jill Tucker

Charles & Letitia Ufford

Robert V. Jacobson

Don Wakefield

Vicki Walker

Duane Waln*

Jonathan Weissglass

Thurman Wenzl

Jeffrey Wheeler

Virginia White

John Whitton*

Bryce Wiebe

Cheryl Wilfong

Deborah Willis

James Wilson

Judith & Arnold Wishnia

Nancy Wohlforth

Edward Wong

Katya Woolard

Charles Wright

Clifford Yeary*

Rena Yechieli

Coletta Youngers

Mike Zielinski

Paula Gorlitz & Steven Zuckerman

*Monthly Sustaining Donor

2015 FINANCIAL SUMMARY

$ 1,169,318

$ 381,322

$ 262,288

$ 9,184

$ 1,822,112

Foundations

Government

Individual Donors

Other Income

Total

$ 720,371

$ 603,428

$ 195,584

$ 163,860

$ 69,864

$ 1,753,107

Rights at Work

Ending Child & Forced Labor

Fundraising & Development

Management & General

Other Programs

Total

ExpensesRevenue

64% Foundations 21%

Government

14%Individuals

1%Other Income

41%Rights at Work

34%Ending Child & Forced Labor

9%Management &

General

11%Fundraising & Development

4%Other Programs