April 8 2026

Recap: FORGE in Brazil

The FORGE team had a transformative week in Brazil in late March, including a convening of the Brazilian labor movement in São Paulo and site visits with Democracy at Work Fund partners in Brasília.

On March 25 & 26, FORGE and Labora Fundo Brasil convened leaders across various sectors in the Brazilian labor movement in São Paulo under a learning grant provided by Laudes Foundation. We were joined by representatives from the agricultural, care, fisheries, platform work, and street vendor sectors.

Groups including the International Domestic Workers Federation, WIEGO, Solidarity Center, Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, La Via Campesina, Landless Workers Movement (MST), Repórter Brasil, and more came together to explore the potential and barriers for transnational worker campaigns as a mechanism to secure rights across sectors and borders. Representatives from FORGE, Labora, Fundación Avina, Laudes Foundation, and Tide Setubal shared updates on the state of labor philanthropy and advised participants on strategies for seeking funding.

We look forward to sharing our learnings in the coming months!

After the convening, the FORGE team traveled to Brasília to conduct site visits and kickoff our relationships with Democracy at Work Fund grantee partners. On March 30, we met with Federação Nacional das Trabalhadoras Domésticas (FENATRAD), our new partners under DAWF. FENATRAD shared the struggles that domestic workers face in Brazil, including exploitation, gender-based violence and harassment, lack of formal work, and modern slavery conditions. We also discussed their plans to strengthen domestic worker organizing under the DAWF grant. 

The project aims to organize new bases of workers in select states and the creation of three new unions, increasing the formalization rate, combatting racial and gender discrimination, and increasing the recognition of care work.

While in Brasília, we also met with Confederação Nacional dos Trabalhadores Assalariados e Assalariadas Rurais (CONTAR), who have received grants under both the inaugural and 2026 rounds of the Democracy at Work Fund. We learned more about the issues facing rural agricultural workers in Brazil, particularly the impacts of climate change. 

The DAWF project aims to study the impacts of climate change on rural wage earners, in order to seek measures for prevention, mitigation, and redress for these workers. This research will support efforts for collective bargaining agreements, public policy advocacy, and health and safety regulations  to include provisions to protect rural wage earners, promoting decent work and climate justice. We are excited to continue our funding relationship with CONTAR in this new phase.

Thank you to our members for your continued support that makes this work possible!