What's the purpose of Human Rights for Workers?

    Human Rights for Workers focuses on how globalization affects working men and women and on how it creates the need to incorporate the human rights of workers into global rules and practices at the national, regional, and international levels through governmental, quasi-governmental, private business, labor union, and other non-governmental channels. HRFW is replete with Web links to groups that address this agenda.

    Does HRFW oppose globalization?

    No. In its present form, however, globalization is greatly in need of improvement.

    Who's behind HRFW?

    On the editorial side, HRFW is a one-man show, operated completely out of my own pocket. Thus, HRFW is on its own, with no formal connection to any organization, but, thanks to many informal ties, I reach near and far in search of information, insights, and inspiration. I also draw on my own experience in various careers:

    • as a journalist in the Chicago area and as a staff member of the Catholic Council on Working Life in Chicago,
    • as an editor of the Council's monthly, Work (now defunct),
    • as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer (mostly as a Labor Attaché) on four continents,
    • as a program director of the AFL-CIO Asian-American Free Labor Institute.
    • as a civil rights and human rights advocate in each of those incarnations.
    • as author of a book, Primer on Interracial Justice (Helicon Press, 1962), and
    • as a free-lance writer of articles in the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Foreign Affairs, New Republic, Commonweal, America, Time, and more than a dozen other publications, mostly on issues facing working men and women..

    I began Human Rights for Workers in February 1996 after retiring from the Asian labor institute that is now part of the AFL-CIO's Solidarity Center. I still am a member (retired) of the American Foreign Service Assn. and of the Newspaper Guild/Communications Workers of America.

    Because of the encouragement of the School Sisters of Notre Dame who taught me at St. Constance Grammar School and the Cardinal Stritch High School in Chicago, I was able to publish articles in national publications even while in high school.  I received my undergraduate degree from Loyola University in Chicago, and did graduate work at Loyola and the University of Chicago.

    On the technical side, I am much indebted to two of my sons, Tony and Thuy.  Thuy nudged me into trying my hand at publishing my own Website, and designed some graphics for use in these pages.  He even bought me my first book on HTML.  Tony designed the logo that adorns this page.  

    How often is HRFW updated?

    Currently I post a new Bulletin once a month, usually during the first half of the month. Not often enough, but that's all I can handle right now.

    Do you respond to requests about legal rights on job problems?

    Sorry. I am not a lawyer or a para-legal. Requests for such advice are numerous enough that I have a form letter response.

    Human Rights for Workers

    http://www.senser.com
    Robert A. Senser, editor
    Copyright 2003

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