Browse Cases

Showing 101-125 of 360 results

Bangladeshi garment workers protest for a higher minimum wage, 2010

Country
Bangladesh
Time period
January, 2010 to December, 2010
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Total points
6 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Rosanna Kim, 2/12/2012

The garment industry has been a backbone of Bangladesh’s economy. In 2012 Bangladesh had more than 4,000 garment industry factories making clothes for major Western brands such as Walmart and Zara. The garment industry earned the country $12 billion a year – nearly 80% of the country’s total exports. 

Political dissident Young Sam Kim stages hunger strike to solidify the dissidents in pro-democracy movement, 1983

Country
South Korea
United States
Time period
18 May, 1983 to 9 June, 1983
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Soul Han, 02/12/2012

Doo Hwan Chun filled the power void in South Korea through his military coup right after the assassination of the former President Jung Hee Park in 1979. He became the president after amending the Constitutional Law that turned the presidential election into an indirect election—one that he could easily manipulate.

Georgia, USA, inmates strike for prison reform ("Lockdown for Liberty"), 2010

Country
United States
Time period
9 December, 2010 to 15 December, 2010
Classification
Change
Cluster
Human Rights
Total points
3 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Samantha Shain, 25/11/2012

After months of organizing (primarily using contraband cell phones purchased from prison guards), thousands of Georgia prisoners launched a strike on 9 December 2010 when prisoners assigned to the earliest breakfast shift refused to leave their cells.  This was the first major multi-racial prison strike and largest prison strike in American history.

The target was the Georgia State Department of Corrections. 

Students and doctors protest reservation/affirmative-action system in India, 2006-2008

Country
India
Time period
April, 2006 to May, 2008
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Economic Justice
Total points
4 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Christopher Capron, 25/11/2012

India has maintained much of its traditional caste system, which separates communities based on the socioeconomic status of the communities’ forefathers. Early 20th century constitutional reforms prevented the kind of medieval discrimination that used to make some castes literally ‘untouchable’. The untouchables were replaced by what are referred to as ‘scheduled tribes’ (STs), ‘scheduled castes’ (SCs) and ‘other backward castes’ (OBCs) that collectively refer to India’s socioeconomically disadvantaged people. Combined, they represent about 85% of India’s population.

South African miners strike for higher wages, 1946

Country
South Africa
Time period
12 August, 1946 to 16 August, 1946
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Economic Justice
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
4 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Yein Pyo, 22/11/2012

In 1941 the pay disparity between black South African mine workers and white South African workers was R70 to R848, respectively. The African Mine Workers’ Union (AMWU) formed in response to address this issue. By 1946 the 12:1 ratio of pay had not changed, as black workers were paid R87 while white workers were paid R1,106.

Tibetans boycott Chinese vegetable vendors, Qinghai, Tibet/China, 2011

Country
Tibet
China
Time period
February, 2011 to July, 2012
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Total points
8 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Lekey Leidecker, 18/11/2012

Tibetans in Nangchen County, Qinghai province, China/Tibet, bought vegetables from Chinese vendors until early 2011, when the prices began to increase dramatically. In Chinese-owned vegetable shops, the price of 1 kg of apples increased from 2 yuan to 8 yuan, and the prices of other staple foods, such as cabbage, onions, and potatoes, also increased. The price increases put financial strain on Tibetans. 

Bangladeshis bring down Ershad regime, 1987-1990

Country
Bangladesh
Time period
23 June, 1987 to 5 December, 1990
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Rosanna Kim, 18/11/2012

After becoming independent from Pakistan in 1971, Bangladesh had a long history of military rule. Its first two leaders, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Ziaur Rahman were both assassinated in military coups and their regimes were followed by military dictatorships. The two main Bangladeshi political parties, the Awami League (AL) and the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) were formed by these two leaders and later led by their daughter and widow respectively – Hasina Wajed and Khaleda Zia. In 1982, General Hussain Muhammed Ershad seized power in Bangladesh during a bloodless coup.

Durban, South Africa, workers mass strike for a raise in wages, 1973

Country
South Africa
Time period
9 January, 1973 to February, 1973
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
8 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Yein Pyo, 18/11/2012

In Durban, South Africa, black African workers constituted one of the largest groups of industrial workers in South Africa with 165,000 workers. However, the minimum wage for black African workers was set considerably lower than the Poverty Datum Line.

Lagos market women campaign to remove income tax, Nigeria, 1940-1941

Country
Nigeria
Time period
16 December, 1940 to 12 January, 1941
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Lekey Leidecker, 11/11/2012

Women market workers in Lagos, an area in western Nigeria, in the 1920s were organized into a powerful group known as the Lagos Market Women Association (LMWA). In 1932, a rumor emerged that the British colonial government was going to begin taxing Lagosian women, which had never been done before, although taxes for men had been introduced in 1927 (in spite of coordinated resistance by different groups). The market women felt that a tax was unfair and that they were already struggling to make a living.

Mexican guest workers gain Walmart, federal response, Louisiana, USA, 2012

Country
United States
Time period
June, 2012 to June, 2012
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Human Rights
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Christopher Capron, 11/11/2012

The United States has a visa program called the H-2B visa. It allows employers to hire foreigners and let them come temporarily to work in the United States, usually for a one-time or peak load basis. This program has repeatedly been criticized for allowing employers to take advantage of guest workers, and in response, the U.S. Congress passed the Protect Our Workers from Exploitation and Retaliation (POWER) Act in June of 2011.

International migrant workers and activists protest the Sixth Ministerial of the World Trade Organization in Hong Kong, 2005

Country
China
Time period
11 December, 2005 to 18 December, 2005
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Total points
4 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Rosanna Kim, 11/11/2012

The Sixth Ministerial of the World Trade Organization met from 13-18 December 2005. In this Ministerial, the WTO hoped to move forward after the collapse of trade negotiations in the WTO’s Fifth Ministerial in Cancun, Mexico in 2003.

Brazilians organize anti-corruption campaign, 2008-2009

Country
Brazil
Time period
March, 2008 to September, 2009
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Susana Medeiros, 11/11/2012

Corruption is endemic to Brazilian politics, where convicted felons may run for office and elected officials are routinely caught accepting bribes in exchange for political favor. Brazil was ranked 73 out of 182 countries in the 2011 Corruption Perception Index. Although many politicians support anti-corruption measures, they are wary to sponsor an anti-corruption bill, especially after multiple reform bills failed to pass in the National Congress in recent years.

Indian guest workers protest exploitation, United States, 2008

Country
United States
Time period
March, 2007 to June, 2008
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Human Rights
Total points
7 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Christopher Capron, 28/10/2012

The United States has a visa program called the H-2B visa. It allows employers to hire foreigners and let them come temporarily to work in the United States, usually for a one-time or peak load basis. The program was being expanded and supported in 2006, and Signal International, LLC (a subcontractor of the Northrop-Grumman Corporation), which works with oil rigs in Southern Gulf Coast of the US and in Texas, asked to hire around 550 Indian metalworkers to repair damage done after Hurricane Katrina.

South Korean workers campaign against apparel sweatshop conditions in Pyunghwa Market, 1969-1970

Country
South Korea
Time period
June, 1969 to November, 1970
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Human Rights
Total points
8 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Soul Han, 28/10/2012

Since the Jung Hee Park regime seized power in South Korea through a military coup in 1962, the government’s economic policy had grown more pro-market and anti-union. Because of its large economic success (in terms of large economic measures like GDP) the public sentiment toward his economic policy was supportive enough to sustain it. Many people adhered to Park’s political narrative of a “growth-first ideology” at the cost of sacrificing labor rights.

Sudanese bring down dictator Abbud (October Revolution), 1964

Country
Sudan
Time period
21 October, 1964 to 30 October, 1964
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Human Rights
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Yein Pyo, 04/11/2012

By October of 1964, an issue called the “Southern Problem” had formed in Sudan. This Southern Problem was essentially a dispute between the Arabized Muslim North and Christian South of Sudan. The northern “Sudanization” of southern administrative positions and ethnic, cultural, and religious differences began to manifest in discrimination against southern Sudanese, planting the seeds for this problem.

Chi Ha Kim’s Declaration of Conscience Delegitimizes Korean Dictator Park, 1975

Country
South Korea
Time period
14 March, 1975 to 4 August, 1975
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Soul Han, 14/10/2012

Chi Ha Kim was a poet and playwright who gained prominence through his anti-establishment literature. He inspired many dissidents by inculcating them with courage to stand up against the illegitimate regime and exposing the corrupted nature of the current regime. One of his most renowned satires is The Five Bandits, in which he refers to the five bandits as congressman, military official, chairman, the Secretary, and public servant with a high rank, who hold a robbery contest in which the most corrupted wins. 

Ghanaians boycott European goods, 1948

Country
Ghana
Time period
26 January, 1948 to 28 February, 1948
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Total points
5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Yein Pyo, 14/10/2012

In 1948, Ghana was a British colony in West Africa; the people had no say in political or economic life. During World War II, large trading companies increased prices on scarce items to maintain profits. After the war ended, the high prices and shortages continued to persist. 

South Korean NGOs defy corrupt politicians, gain greater democracy, 2000

Country
South Korea
Time period
12 January, 2000 to 13 April, 2000
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Total points
8 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Soul Han, 07/10/2012

South Korea had its 16th general election on 13 April 2000, and its outlook was not bright for many people. Many predicted that the new election would not diverge much from the scenes of the last election in 1996, which was largely problematic. Despite the democratic transformation since 1987, some incumbents and authority figures solidified their power through undemocratic means. Corruption was not hard to find in the election. Some played into and boosted the existing regionalist sentiments that had been largely shaped by the military dictatorship of the past.

Peruvian copper miners win Freeport strike, 2011

Country
Peru
Time period
29 September, 2011 to 14 December, 2011
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Nikki Richards, 07/10/2012

On 29 September 2011 about 1,200 miners at Freeport’s Cerro Verde mining site began a 75-day strike. The participants were scheduled to walk off their jobs at 8:30 am Eastern Time. At midnight on the same day, 8,000 miners at Freeport’s Grasberg mine planned to begin a one month strike. The workers at both of these mines were part of the same miners union, all working towards the same goals. 

The strikes began after wage talk attempts had failed. The union’s general secretary said, “Freeport’s offer was insufficient. There was no chance of reaching an agreement”. 

Haitians strike and overthrow a dictator, 1956

Country
Haiti
Time period
February, 1956 to December, 1956
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Susana Medeiros, 07/10/2012

General Paul Eugène Magloire was elected President of Haiti in 1950 with ninety-nine percent of the vote in an army-monitored election and the official support of the army, church, elite, and American embassy behind him. He implemented a successful economic program and oversaw a period of the best economic growth in Haiti in a century, reforming the banking system, attracting foreign investment, fostering tourism, and instituting a Five Year Plan in 1951 to boost agricultural expenditures.

El Salvador Shoemakers win strike for higher wages, 1921

Country
El Salvador
Time period
February 20, 1921 to February 28, 1921
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Patricia Gutierrez, 30/09/2012

Prior to 1919 in El Salvador, labor unions were virtually nonexistent and even as they formed, they were not recognized by the government until 1923 and 1924. Living and working under the oppressive Meléndez-Quiñónez regime (in power from 1913 to 1931) made organizing particularly challenging. So when labor movements did begin to arise, they came in waves with many different groups working at the same time. Among these groups were the Zapateros (shoemakers).

Peru workers use general strike to gain 8-hour work day, 1919

Country
Peru
Time period
15 December, 1918 to 15 January, 1919
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Total points
6 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Lekey Leidecker, 30/09/2012

Male textile factory workers at El Inca factory in Lima, Peru walked off the job in December of 1918 to protest the effects of a law that enacted an eight-hour workday requirement for women and children.  The law was intended to protect the rights of children and particularly women laborers, but instead dissolved the set-up within the factories, slowing production and preventing the remaining male workers from meeting their quotas.

Shanghai truck drivers strike to lower trucking fees, 2011

Country
China
Time period
20 April, 2011 to 22 April, 2011
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Total points
2 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Nikki Richards, 30/09/2012

In 2011, Chinese Truckers in Shanghai became fed up with the increase in prices and decrease in profits they were making as professional truck drivers. Truckers were frustrated not only with the small fees and high oil prices, but also with the system itself. The incomes of the Chinese truck drivers were unable to keep up with the rising energy, food, and housing prices in the Chinese economy. China’s consumer price index (the main gauge of inflation) rose 5.4 percent in March, which was it’s highest rise in 32 months.

Beninese people protest against alleged election fraud, 2011

Country
Benin
Time period
February, 2011 to April, 2011
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Total points
5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Nikki Richards, 23/09/2012

In 2011, the Independent Electoral Commission of Benin organized a new electronic voting system for the upcoming presidential election, which would require voters to be pre-registered in order to fill out their ballots. The Commission registered people by going door to door in 77 different Beninese counties. This method didn’t prove to be effective enough however, as around 1.3 million Beninese citizens were still not registered to vote. Many questioned the credibility of the voters role when such a large number of voters were unregistered by the end of February (close to election time).

Bolivians successfully oust military regime, 1982

Country
Bolivia
Time period
1 September, 1982 to 17 September, 1982
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Rosanna Kim, 23/09/2012

Bolivia’s transition to a democratic government began in 1978 when then military dictator Hugo Banzer Suarez stepped down after international and internal pressure for Bolivia to hold democratic elections. While the Democratic Popular Union (Unidad Democratica y Popular, UDP), led by Hernan Siles Zuazo, won the 1978 elections, Juan Pereda Asbum, Banzer’s chosen successor, launched a military coup and declared the elections invalid.