In The News: Cohen: Workers' Rights Must Be Global Priority

Speaking at a December conference of global unions and world financial institutions in Washington, D.C., CWA President Larry Cohen called for "fierce determination" to pursue the rights of workers to form unions and bargain contracts.

"Given that there are 168 million of us (represented by the International Trade Union Confederation), if we work together there isn't much we can't do," Cohen said. "With this global economy, if we don't work together, we have no chance."

Cohen, who is president of UNI Telecom, a division of Union Network International, said the best hope for advancing workers' rights globally is coming from the newest democracies such as Brazil and South Africa. In contrast, the United States is at it lowest point in generations in terms of workers rights and union membership. "We're back to less than 8 percent, and that's what it was before there were any labor laws at all," he said.

In South Africa, for instance, he noted that 1,000 workers at Vodafone have organized and are well on their way to union recognition. Meanwhile, Verizon Wireless workers in the United States have been harassed, intimidated and fired to keep the union out, Cohen said.