Solidarity Center

Disability Rights Consultant
Equality and Inclusion

Based in Washington, DC
(remote)

 

Location: Remote
Approximate Duration and Level of Effort: 3 months

Summary
The consultant will develop a toolkit for Solidarity Center staff and trade unions to guide them in developing programs that aim to organize workers with disabilities into unions and mobilize to defend their rights and advocate for improved access to decent work. Unions are committed to working toward decent work for all, though there are often barriers to the full inclusion and representation of members of historically marginalized groups. Most countries have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and many have passed legislation to guarantee rights for people with disabilities, including quotas for employment and accessibility in public spaces. However, implementation and enforcement of this legislation is often limited. Solidarity Center staff will use the guide to engage unions and civil society allies on the importance of including workers with disabilities in unions and representing their interests.

The guide will also help Solidarity Center staff support unions to design programs aimed at organizing workers with disabilities and ensuring their full participation in the union, as well as ensuring their needs are addressed in union campaigns, social dialogue, and collective bargaining.

The consultant will work closely with the Solidarity Center’s Equality and Inclusion Department as well as the staff who are members of the Solidarity Center’s disability rights community of practice.

Assignment(s)
The consultant will be expected to produce a union-specific toolkit to serve as a guide for developing programs to organize and defend the rights of workers with disabilities. The toolkit will be user-friendly and utilize labor and rights-centric language that is easily accessible for Solidarity Center staff and union partners.

The toolkit will include:

• Case studies from unions around the world that have successfully organized workers with disabilities and secured improvements to working conditions.
• Talking points on the importance of including workers with disabilities in unions and representing their needs, specifically how inclusion and representation strengthen unions and build worker power in general.
• Tips and tools for organizing workers with disabilities and bargaining collectively to secure rights and improve working conditions, including ensuring respectful, empowering, rights-centric language in CBAs.
• Model language for collective bargaining agreements and draft legislation, with suggestions for a process for developing such language.
• Training modules on relevant ILO conventions and other international instruments
• Checklists for ensuring union programs and activities are fully accessible.
• Models of union structures that facilitate inclusion and active participation of all types of workers, including in decision making.
• Information on the intersection of disability and other identities, including gender and migration, as well as recognizing that globally workers with disabilities are disproportionately employed in the informal economy.

The consultant will be expected to consult with Solidarity Center staff in the disability rights community of practice to understand the work of the Solidarity Center and the needs for developing and expanding programming in this area and design the toolkit in accordance with these identified needs. The consultant may also work with EID staff to socialize the toolkit within the organization, including presenting it during internal learning sessions.

Items in addition to the list above may be deemed necessary based on suggestions from the consultant and Solidarity Center staff through these consultations.

Requirements
The consultant should possess:

• Broad and extensive experience with unions and labor rights
• Knowledge of disability rights, especially in the world of work, as well as legal protections regarding disability rights, including global mechanisms such as ILO conventions and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
• Experience working internationally, especially with labor rights-oriented organizations
• Experience designing and facilitating training for union audiences, in particular using participatory education methodology
• Strong understanding of intersectionality and equity and inclusion principles with experience in improving inclusion and representation in unions and civil society

It is highly desirable for the consultant to also possess:

1. Experience working with disability rights NGOs
2. Experience designing and facilitating programs for unions related to equality and inclusion, especially in relation to workers with disabilities.

Instructions for Application
Please submit a cover letter, résumé, and writing sample, ideally related to a training or guide you have designed, or other material related directly to the subject matter. In your cover letter please include:

• Timeline and cost proposal for completing the work, including fees and anticipated types of expenses not covered in rate(s).
• Names and contacts (telephone and e-mail addresses) of three professional references familiar with your qualifications and work experience, ideally clients or supervisors for whom you have consulted or worked.

Apply HERE!

Background
The Solidarity Center is the largest U.S.-based international worker rights organization. Its programs are based on the principle that, by exercising their right to freedom of association and forming trade unions and democratic worker rights organizations, working people can collectively improve their workplaces, call on governments to uphold laws and protect human rights, and be a force for democracy, social justice and inclusive economic development. Its programs in more than 60 countries focus on human and worker rights awareness, union skills, occupational safety and health, gender equality, migration and human trafficking and pro-legal strategies, as well as bolster workers in an increasingly informal economy.

The organization’s primary sources of funding are from the National Endowment for Democracy and U.S. government agencies, such as the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Department of State’s Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) and the Department of Labor (DOL), in the form of cooperative agreements or grants.

The Solidarity Center cultivates the values of diversity, equality, and inclusion among its staff and partners. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, marital status, disability, veteran status, or any other status protected under applicable law. Candidates from traditionally underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply. If you have a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to apply for this position, please contact us at: information@solidaritycenter.org.