Browse Cases

Showing 301-325 of 807 results

Senegalese transporters strike for lower costs, 2012

Country
Senegal
Time period
2 January, 2012 to 27 January, 2012
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Total points
4 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Christopher Capron, 08/12/2012

The Republic of Senegal is a key exporter of petroleum products to the rest of the world but gasoline can be very expensive within the country. Most Senegalese people do not own their own motor vehicles and instead rely on public transportation like buses and taxis to travel, especially in high traffic cities like Dakar, the capital. Bus drivers and taxi operators are often obliged to rent their vehicles from companies that require them to pay for repairs and maintenance on their cars in addition to rental fees. As a result, these jobs are often hard and expensive to maintain.

University of Vermont students campaign for a higher living wage, 2006-2008

Country
United States
Time period
3 April, 2006 to 17 May, 2008
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Human Rights
Total points
3 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
John Pontillo, 31/01/2013

Beginning in late 2005, students at the University of Vermont (UVM) were involved in a movement to increase the wages of school employees such that workers could be given a "living wage." Primarily focused on food-service employees contracted by Sodexho, the nonviolent campaign sought out and acquired support from local officials, faculty, and even state legislators. The students believed they needed in intervene in order to secure a wage that was equal to the state standard of a living wage as established by the state legislature. 

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. 

Germans reclaim Heligoland from the United Kingdom, 1951

Country
Germany
Time period
December, 1950 to January, 1951
Classification
Change
Cluster
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Christopher Capron, 18/11/2012

Heligoland (also spelled Helgoland) is an archipelago 46 kilometers off the German coastline in the North Sea. The two small islands are less than 2 square kilometers in total, but the British, Danish and Germans have hotly contested the land over the centuries. In the Second World War, the British Air Force frequently bombed the islands, most notably in air to sea battles in 1939 and in 1945, when the residents of the island were forced to abandon their rock shelters and evacuate due to an enormous Allied air raid. 

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.

German students campaign for democracy, 1966-68

Country
Germany
Time period
June, 1966 to May, 1968
Classification
Change
Defense
Cluster
Democracy
Total points
5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Susana Medeiros, 16/11/2012

In 1966, faced with an economic recession, the two major West German political parties--Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Christian Democrats (CDU)--came together to form what came to be known as the Grand Coalition. Their decision to allow Kurt Georg Kiesinger of the CDU serve as chancellor proved controversial, as Kiesinger played an active role in the foreign ministry under the Third Reich.

Bulgarians force further democratic reforms, 1997

Country
Bulgaria
Time period
21 December, 1996 to 4 February, 1997
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Nikki Richards, 15/11/2012

In 1989, Bulgaria was part of the "wave" of nonviolent revolts against domination by the Soviet Union and its Communist-led governments in Eastern Europe (see Bulgarians campaign for democratic reforms and multi-party rule, 1989-90).

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.

University of Virginia students raise minimum wage for campus workers, 2006

Country
United States
Time period
March, 2006 to April, 2006
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Total points
8 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Aileen Eisenberg, 03/02/2013

In 2006, University of Virginia students launched an intensive campaign to raise minimum wages at their institution. Discontented with the minimum $9.37 an hour, these students urged the school’s administration to provide fairer wages, wages that they determined to start at $10.27 an hour. 

Notre Dame University students fight for campus workers' rights, 2005-2008

Country
United States
Time period
September, 2005 to February, 2008
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Human Rights
Total points
2 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Alexis Dziedziech, 04/02/2013

Students at University of Notre Dame started a living wage campaign at their school in September 2005 after learning about similar campaigns happening at Harvard University and Georgetown University. A living wage was defined as a family of four being able to live above the poverty line on the working parent’s salary. The Notre Dame students campaigned to raise the minimum pay wage from $8.25 up to $12.10 per hour. The group felt that it was the responsibility of the institution as social Catholics to understand the importance of achieving a living wage for workers. 

Swarthmore students campaign for card check neutrality in workers' unionizing, 2006

Country
United States
Time period
March, 2006 to May, 2006
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Total points
1 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Andrés Cordero, 03/02/2013

Swarthmore College is a small liberal arts college close to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  During the spring semester of 2006 campus workers at Swarthmore began to organize a union. For the union to be established a significant number of the workers had to vote in favor. However, some workers felt that the election method at the college, the standard National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) method, did not support a safe environment for the workers to freely express themselves.

White Rose Resistance to Hitler's Regime, 1942-1943

Country
Germany
Time period
June 27, 1942 to February 22, 1943
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Human Rights
Total points
3 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Aly Passanante, 27/02/2011

Amidst the omnipresence of violence during World War II, nonviolent protest is often overlooked or unheard of.  However, there were several resistance campaigns that took place in Germany, led by its own citizens.  One such campaign in the period of 1942-1943 was the resistance initiated by the White Rose society.  Although they were ultimately unsuccessful, the members of the White Rose became an influential example of student resistance against repressive regimes.

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.

Colombian women use sex strike to demand gangster disarmament (Huelga de Piernas Cruzadas), 2006

Country
Colombia
Time period
September, 2006 to September, 2006
Classification
Change
Cluster
Peace
Total points
5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Samantha Shain, 28/10/2012

In early September 2006, a group of Colombian women, the partners of local gangsters, declared a sex strike.  Their demand was that gang members turn in their weapons to the municipal government and agree to begin a vocational training program.  The strike began during a meeting in which twenty-five women from different neighborhoods came together to oppose the violence of their partners or spouses.  Said Julio Cesar Gomez, the security official in the city of Pereira's local government, “this is about changing the cultural parameters: Some women thought that men wearing fati

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.

Peruvian students campaign against government for university reform, 1919

Country
Peru
Time period
27 May, 1919 to October, 1919
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Economic Justice
Human Rights
Total points
7 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Susana Medeiros, 13/11/2012

At the turn of the 20th century the university was a locus for social and political protest in Peru. Professors and student activists called for university reform, education of the masses, agrarian reform, and the rights of the worker and indigenous populations. A significant protest was mounted in Lima by University of San Marcos students in 1909 to protest the dictatorship of Augusto Leguía (1908-1912; 1919-1930). In 1916, the student organization formed the Peruvian Student Federation (FEP) incorporating students from all of Peru’s universities to direct future student protests.