Singaporean Labor Leaders Visit the Worker Institute
On Monday, June 29, the Worker Institute hosted a delegation of Singaporean labor leaders representing the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC). The NTUC represents 1.4 million members across 58 unions and 6 affiliated associations, while also operating several impact businesses, including supermarkets, eldercare, and insurance.
The delegation included Patrick Tay, NTUC Assistant Secretary-General and member of Singaporean Parliament, and Shawn Seah, NTUC Deputy Director of Strategy. The NTUC delegation presented on several of their labor innovations, including their progressive wage model, Company Training Committees, and the Platform Workers Act of 2023.
As part of the visit, the Worker Institute also invited Brendan Griffith, President of the New York City Central Labor Council, as well as Joe Canovas and Kevin Eitzmann, Special Counsel and Political Director, respectively, for the New York State AFL-CIO, for a luncheon with the NTUC to discuss a variety of labor issues, including artificial intelligence and platform work.
Representatives from the Worker Institute, the Climate Jobs Institute, and the Global Labor Institute also presented on their various research, training, and coalition-building initiatives.
“Our economy is global. Our learning must also be global. Singapore has always been an example of technological innovation and worker focused economic expansion. As their economy has grown and trade rules have changed, workers are experiencing similar challenges as in the US in collective bargaining contraction and changes in the social contract for workers. Therefore, this exchange between NTUC, NYS labor union leaders, and researchers at the Worker Institute, was an excellent opportunity to learn from each other on ways to build collective bargaining power for workers in our global economy,” stated Patricia Campos-Medina Executive Director of the Worker Institute at ILR Cornell.
“Innovation in labor organizing and power comes from collaboration with labor leaders across the world and we are delighted to facilitate learning missions like this one,” concluded Campos-Medina.
