 The American Rights at Work Education Fund celebrates the legacy of Eleanor Roosevelt as a
champion of workers’ rights as human rights by awarding the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award at our annual awards celebration.
"Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small
places, close to home… the factory, farm, or office… unless these rights
have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted
citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress
in the larger world"
- Eleanor Roosevelt, 1953
Eleanor Roosevelt was an effective advocate and ally of many movements for
justice, including workers’ rights. A long-time union member, Roosevelt
was instrumental in the passage of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, which states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly
and association and the right to form and join trade unions.”
Our award pays tribute to Eleanor Roosevelt and those she inspired with her
courageous conviction. Roosevelt’s
actions remind us that workers should not carry the torch of workplace
democracy alone. Her example calls us to honor American values by taking
individual and collective action in support of justice for all.
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