Day 8. From Fields to Freedom – Global Histories of Labor Struggles.
From the sugar cane fields of the Caribbean to the textile factories of Bangladesh, workers have always fought for their dignity. This Labor History Month, we center global voices – those who resisted exploitation and built movements for safety, wages, and respect. Our modern rights were born of collective sacrifice.
From sweat-streaked fields to dimly lit workshops, the fight for labor rights is as old as labor itself. Workers across time and geography have resisted brutal conditions, colonial economies, and corporate exploitation – often at tremendous risk.
We honor not only what they endured, but what they built: unions, strikes, cooperatives, and legal protections that changed the course of history.
Story: Haitian Sugarcane Workers and the Birth of Revolution
The Hmen, many of them teens, continue organizing within the world’s second-largest garment industry, demanding protections from the very brands we wear every day.
“We don’t want charity. We want dignity and a wage we can live on.” – Kalpona Akter, labor organizer and former child garment worker
Story: South African Mineworkers and the Anti-Apartheid Struggle
The 1946 African Mine Workers’ Strike in South Africa, involving over 70,000 Black miners, became a pivotal moment in the larger fight against apartheid. Their demand: better pay and humane working conditions. The brutal government crackdown showed how racial and labor justice are intertwined.
Labor as Resistance
These stories share common themes:
- Colonial and corporate exploitation
- Courageous organizing under threat of violence
- The role of women and youth in labor movements
- The use of labor as a path to liberation, not just survival
Whether building railroads in the U.S., harvesting cocoa in Ghana, or sewing in crowded factories in Vietnam, workers globally have resisted invisibility – and in doing so, shaped economies, laws, and moral awakenings.
Learn More
- BOOK: Silencing the Past by Michel-Rolph Trouillot – Offers deep insight into how colonial powers erased labor resistance from official history.
- FILM: Made in Bangladesh (2019) – A powerful dramatization of a young garment worker leading a union movement.
- PODCAST and Multi-Media Campaign: On the Line by the International Labor Rights Forum
- ORG: Clean Clothes Campaign – Advocates for fair labor conditions in the global garment industry.
- RESOURCE: Zinn Education Project – Labor Movement Teaching Tools
Reflect & Act
- Whose labor do you rely on each day that remains invisible?
- What can you do to ensure the clothes, food, and technology you use are ethically sourced?
- How does your faith call you to stand with workers – here and across the globe?
Modern labor protections – from weekends to safety regulations – were not gifts. They were won through blood, sweat, strategy, and solidarity. May we remember, and may we carry the torch forward.
“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.” – Frederick Douglass, Abolitionist, Social Reformer, Orator, Writer, and Statesman
Revolution (1791–1804) wasn’t just a fight against slavery – it was a fight for labor liberation. Enslaved Africans on sugar plantations rose up not only to abolish slavery, but to reclaim their humanity and economic agency. It remains the only successful slave revolt that led to the founding of a free Black republic.
“Liberty is our birthright – and we will have it.” – Toussaint Louverture, Leader of the Haitian Revolution
Story: Garment Workers in Bangladesh
In 2013, over 1,100 workers died when the Rana Plaza garment factory collapsed in Dhaka. The tragedy sparked global outrage and galvanized movements for safer conditions and fair wages. Today, Bangladeshi workers, many of them teens, continue organizing within the world’s second-largest garment industry, demanding protections from the very brands we wear every day.
“We don’t want charity. We want dignity and a wage we can live on.” – Kalpona Akter, labor organizer and former child garment worker
View All of This Month’s Daily Posts
More 2025/26 Celebrating Diversity
For more information and access to other events, sign our Guestbook!