International trade union organizations
Today's economy is quickly becoming a truly global economy, and it
is more important than ever that union solidarity crosses international
borders. Many employers of RWDSU members conduct business in different
countries, and what happens internationally can greatly affect what
happens here. We need to know and support our union brothers and
sisters internationally, and we need their support.
To help coordinate international solidarity, there are several international trade union secretariats. The RWDSU participates in two of them, The IUF and UNI.
IUF — International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Association.
The IUF represents 336 organizations in 119 countries. These organizations represent approximately 10 million workers. IUF workers are employed in agriculture, food preparation, tobacco, hotels, restaurants and catering services. The IUF strongly opposes exploitation and oppression of workers, and is committed to promoting and defending trade union rights and human rights in general.
UNI represents over 15.5 million workers in the private service sector in more than 900 trade unions in 140 countries worldwide. The aim of UNI and its affiliates is to organize employees in the service sector. UNI believes strongly in the importance of international unionization to match the growing global economy, and is dedicated to using new technologies like the Internet to help unions communicate and gather information.