Yale Junior Advocates for Workers’ Rights at Global Labor Justice

Jordan Cozby ’20 YC is a junior in the undergraduate Human Rights Program. Jordan spent the summer as a Kirby Simon fellow at Global Labor Justice (GLJ) in Washington, D.C. GLJ is a strategy hub supporting transnational collaboration among worker and migrant organizations to expand labor rights and new forms of bargaining on global value chains and international labor migration corridors. GLJ seeks to develop innovative labor organizing strategies, build actionable solidarity between workers’ and migrants’ movements globally, and hold U.S. based multinationals accountable. JJ Rosenbaum, the U.S. Director of GLJ, was a Robina Visiting Human Rights Fellow at the Schell Center in the 2016–2017 school year. In a conversation with the Schell Center, Jordan discussed his internship and what he learned about GLJ’s innovative strategies. 

As a researcher with Global Labor Justice, I analyzed ways we could pressure large corporations to improve labor conditions along their global supply chains. I wrote memos for GLJ staff and labor partners abroad and did background research on individual corporations’ status and development and corporate power mapping. A significant portion of the research was at the intersection of labor rights and human rights, oriented around identifying ways that international human rights law and intergovernmental organizations could be utilized to advance workers’ rights.

My work involved researching related news articles, legal precedents, workers’ stories, and recent advancements of international legal frameworks. This research contributed to global advocacy campaigns to encourage major U.S. brands to take greater responsibility for worker wellbeing and improve their labor standards. Many of these projects are ongoing or soon to be launched, and I’m hoping to stay engaged with these efforts over the coming months.

I also had the opportunity to participate in and learn from discussions related to the future of work and the labor movement’s intersectional role in other human rights struggles. These conversations were held in forums that included leaders from labor unions, the International Labor Organization (ILO), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and other stakeholders. These experiences helped me understand how economic change and technological innovation create new challenges and opportunities for promoting labor organizing and enforcing labor standards. Additionally, during these meetings, I was able to get to know several union leaders who have contributed decades of their lives to organizing. Their experience and determination reinforced my own dedication to contribute to progressive social and economic change.

Outside of my work, it was a tremendously interesting time to be in the nation’s capital. I attended rallies against the Trump Administration’s family separation policy at the border, protests at the Supreme Court over the Kavanaugh nomination, and demonstrations countering the “Unite the Right” white supremacist rally. Apart from the national political climate, I loved getting to attend musical and cultural events in the city. I learned so much from visiting the Smithsonian’s new National Museum for African American History and Culture and other museums.

Discussions of structural inequality, privilege, and power imbalances often come up on Yale’s campus. My experience with GLJ helped me feel empowered to go beyond talking about these systemic problems and learn how to confront them directly. I have gained a much greater understanding of how corporate power manifests and how to counter it with grassroots organizing and legal remedies, and by building solidarity. Going forward, I am increasingly interested in studying law, working in union organizing, and contributing to the development of 21st century economic policy solutions.

For more information, you can follow GLJ on twitter @GLJhub or sign up for updates at www.globallaborjustice.org