AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler issued the following statement in response to the release of the International Trade Union Confederation's (ITUC’s) 2026 Global Rights Index, the annual report documenting worker rights around the world, which placed the United States on its “Watchlist” for the first time:
For the first time since the ITUC began this report, the United States is less safe and less free for working people, and it’s a stark warning about the state of democracy in our country. We’ve seen the reality firsthand: the stripping of 1 million federal workers’ collective bargaining rights, the gutting of workplace health and safety agencies and protections, the eviscerating of the National Labor Relations Board, the crackdown on immigrant workers’ rights, the rollback of freedom of speech, and more. These attacks on our rights and fundamental freedoms don’t just stay on the jobsite—when workers are denied a voice and the freedom to organize, and are unable to hold the rich and powerful accountable, democracy itself is weakened.
But workers are fighting back. Across the country, workers are organizing and standing together to protect their rights and build a better future. The labor movement will continue to defend the freedom to organize, the freedom to collectively bargain, and the right of every worker to be treated with dignity and respect on the job. America's workers deserve better, and we're not backing down.
Contact: Mia Jacobs, 202-637-5018