LEARN membership is mainly on organizational
or institutional basis, particularly through the various working
people’s organizations. But it is also open to individual
trade unionists and worker educators. Member organizations are those
that formally join LEARN and regularly pay dues; thus, are entitled
to all the rights and privileges of being full-fledged LEARN members.
For one, they have representatives and can participate in the General
Conference (GC) – LEARN’s highest decision-making body
– as well as in the Board of Trustees (BOT) and its Administrative
Committee (Adcom). Non-member organizations that avail of any LEARN
services or programs or with existing project cooperation or maintain
some form of coordination with LEARN are considered partner organizations.
At present, LEARN member and partner organizations in the Philippines
include a national labor center of private sector and informal workers;
a national confederation of government employees; labor federations
(general, industry, sectoral); workers’ alliances (according
to a specific area, industry, sector, or conglomerate-based –
such as of unions in a particular TNC/MNC or trans/multinational
corporation); independently registered local unions; women organizations;
community-based groups; mutual aid or self-help associations; cooperatives;
NGOs; a multisectoral ideological bloc; and a political party (party-list).
Aside from this, LEARN continues to maintain, develop and open
new linkages and cooperation with different organizations abroad,
including several global unions or global union federations (GUFs)
of the international labor movement; trade unions and NGOs in other
countries; and several international institutions or organizations
involved in various social advocacies.
Cognizant of the need to expand and revitalize the labor movement,
LEARN continues to maintain, develop and open new ties and cooperation
with various organizations in the country and abroad – primarily
trade unions or labor-related organizations and women groups; but
including also other POs and NGOs involved in different social advocacies.
LEARN facilitates linkages and cooperation between and among its
members and partners as well as other potential cooperating groups.
Part of the efforts to forge contact-building and alliance-building
or any other forms of partnership are meetings, seminars, symposia,
conferences, forums, cultural programs, mobilizations or mass actions
and other activities initiated or co-sponsored by LEARN, which enable
trade unions and other organizations from different sectors or industries
or localities to meet, to share their experiences and aspirations,
and to express their support to one another.
Included here are LEARN’s support in establishing industry
unions and alliances of unions in TNCs; providing secretariat work
in international gatherings of trade unionists and social activists
held in the Philippines; “connecting” local unions with
global union federation (GUFs), international institutions, and
trade unions and NGOs in other countries; and joining solidarity
actions or sending protest letters to back up any struggle for labor,
trade union, democratic and human rights anywhere in the world.
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