WIEGO Blog

In celebration of International Cooperatives Day, we speak with Martha Elena Iglesias, a waste picker and the leader of Planeta Verde, a waste picker cooperative in Rionegro, Colombia. Planeta Verde, with its 86 members, has grown into a leading grassroots organization in the Colombian region of Antioquia. 

This week, we take a step-by-step look at what it takes for informal workers’ to stage a successful collective action. We’ll dive into the necessary preparatory processes and break down key concepts. This article is excerpted from our sixth book in our popular series, Organizing in the Informal Economy: Resource Books for Organizers. This book dives into the nitty gritty of planning, preparing and taking an action, and provides checklists, guides, action examples, and post-action reflections.

By Carlin Carr

Domestic workers — those who cook, clean, sweep, and child-mind in private homes across the globe — face unusually challenging circumstances in their every day working lives. Those challenges have fuelled a movement by the workers themselves, and this week we’ll hear from those women on the frontlines fighting for recognition and change.

English 

El 16 de junio de 2011 fue un día trascendental para las trabajadoras del hogar de todo el mundo.