News

Christy Hoffman is the newly elected General Secretary of the UNI Global Union, a federation of 20 million service workers from more than 150 countries. Through her successes as an organiser, strategist, and negotiator in the international trade union movement, she has acquired the experience and vision necessary to guide UNI Global Union into the future.   

Her leadership is rooted in the belief that worker empowerment and collective bargaining are the answers to a rigged global economy that prioritises corporations over people and planet. 

“We must address our biggest challenges as a united front. No solitary worker, no single union, and no individual country can turn the tide in a world with multinational corporations setting the rules of the game in an economic model which works for the few, not the many,” she said.

“We see some of the richest, most powerful companies in the world with business models built on the lowest pay and conditions they can get away with. That often means using intimidation, manipulation, and other scare tactics to weaken and break unions. But my experience has taught me that when workers unite—and they are supported by unions and agreements which protect their rights  —they win, and these victories reverberate throughout the world.”

From local to global, winning for workers

Hoffman’s lifetime commitment to the labour movement began in Connecticut on the shop floor of a jet engine factory, where she was elected chief steward of the 2,000-person facility in 1978. She went on to join her union’s staff as an organiser and rose through the ranks of the International Association of Machinists, a rare feat for a woman in that time.

In 1997, as an attorney for the International Brotherhood of the Teamsters, she helped spearhead a national campaign to create full-time jobs from part-time work at UPS—something that seemed impossible at the time. Hoffman’s team developed a coordinated strategy with more than 200 local unions for negotiations, and when bargaining broke down, she helped plan a historic national strike in the United States, which led to an agreement with the company creating 10,000 new full-time jobs. 

Hoffman’s work as a union attorney also included serving as counsel during a seven-month national miners’ strike in 1993 and reaching an organizing agreement between SEIU and one of the largest health-care employers in the United States.

In 2004, she began her first position at UNI as Head of Property Services and negotiated global agreements—pacts allowing workers to have a fair process to organise—with the sector’s largest employers: ISS, G4S, and Securitas.

After returning to SEIU to lead their international organising department and federal initiatives program, Hoffman came back to UNI to assume the role of Deputy General Secretary in 2010.

In this capacity, she has focused on strengthening workers’ power within multinational corporations; growing unions globally; and improving legal and institutional frameworks, such as OECD Guidelines.

Holding multinationals accountable

As Deputy General Secretary, Hoffman frequently drove negotiations for UNI’s global agreements—including Telenor and Geoposte, as well as the DHL protocol—and in her new position, growing and improving these agreements to ensure that workers can freely form a union will be a key focus.

Hoffman was also an architect of the ground-breaking Bangladesh Accord for Building and Fire Safety. In 2013—weeks after 1,137 Bangladeshi’s lost their lives in the worst industrial catastrophe in modern times—Hoffman, along with leaders at IndustriALL and NGOs, developed the first legally-binding agreement for supply-chain justice. Five years later, more than 2 million workers work in factories which are covered by the Accord and tens-of-thousands of serious safety hazards have been abated. When the brands did not comply with the Accord, she triggered the Accord’s arbitration provision, resulting in settlements totalling nearly $3 million.  A second Accord went into effect in June 2018. 

The Accord is widely seen as an innovative model that should be replicated in other industries and countries.

Hoffman got an early start when it comes to using international pressure to win social justice. In the 1980s, she founded and chaired the Connecticut Anti-Apartheid Committee, which won the first state-wide legislation in the United States requiring divestment by the state from companies doing business in South Africa. 

Organising for stronger unions

Beyond global agreements, Hoffman has worked closely with UNI SCORE, the union’s organising department, and as General Secretary, she will prioritise UNI’s program to support union growth. 

“While sectors, regions, and countries have their differences, our common desire to win for workers creates a foundation for UNI to support unions through sharing best practices and learning from one another,” she said.  “These exchanges will continue along with our more direct support for organising in specific campaigns. Our organising centres, currently in Central Europe and Colombia, reflect our recognition that we can’t build capacity on a ‘one-campaign-at-a-time basis’—we need to think bigger and bolder.”  

Improving international rules to support workers

Over the past several years, she has elevated UNI’s leadership in using OECD Guidelines to defend the rights of workers and hold multinationals accountable. For example, UNI’s 2006 case against G4S established the U.K. government’s now longstanding precedent of using professional mediators for OECD disputes.

“Disregard for fundamental rights is all too common and growing across the globe. In addition to sharpening the tools we have, we must develop new tools and advocate for stronger, legally-binding mechanisms, such as the UN Binding Treaty on Business and Human Rights.”     

Christy Hoffman has a law degree with honours from New York University and a BA in Economics from Smith College. She is married with two children.

Christy Hoffman is the newly elected General Secretary of the UNI Global Union, a federation of 20 million service workers from more than 150 countries. Through her successes as an organiser, strategist, and negotiator in the international trade union movement, she has acquired the experience and vision necessary to guide UNI Global Union into the future.   

Her leadership is rooted in the belief that worker empowerment and collective bargaining are the answers to a rigged global economy that prioritises corporations over people and planet. 

“We must address our biggest challenges as a united front. No solitary worker, no single union, and no individual country can turn the tide in a world with multinational corporations setting the rules of the game in an economic model which works for the few, not the many,” she said.

“We see some of the richest, most powerful companies in the world with business models built on the lowest pay and conditions they can get away with. That often means using intimidation, manipulation, and other scare tactics to weaken and break unions. But my experience has taught me that when workers unite—and they are supported by unions and agreements which protect their rights  —they win, and these victories reverberate throughout the world.”

From local to global, winning for workers

Hoffman’s lifetime commitment to the labour movement began in Connecticut on the shop floor of a jet engine factory, where she was elected chief steward of the 2,000-person facility in 1978. She went on to join her union’s staff as an organiser and rose through the ranks of the International Association of Machinists, a rare feat for a woman in that time.

In 1997, as an attorney for the International Brotherhood of the Teamsters, she helped spearhead a national campaign to create full-time jobs from part-time work at UPS—something that seemed impossible at the time. Hoffman’s team developed a coordinated strategy with more than 200 local unions for negotiations, and when bargaining broke down, she helped plan a historic national strike in the United States, which led to an agreement with the company creating 10,000 new full-time jobs. 

Hoffman’s work as a union attorney also included serving as counsel during a seven-month national miners’ strike in 1993 and reaching an organizing agreement between SEIU and one of the largest health-care employers in the United States.

In 2004, she began her first position at UNI as Head of Property Services and negotiated global agreements—pacts allowing workers to have a fair process to organise—with the sector’s largest employers: ISS, G4S, and Securitas.

After returning to SEIU to lead their international organising department and federal initiatives program, Hoffman came back to UNI to assume the role of Deputy General Secretary in 2010.

In this capacity, she has focused on strengthening workers’ power within multinational corporations; growing unions globally; and improving legal and institutional frameworks, such as OECD Guidelines.

Holding multinationals accountable

As Deputy General Secretary, Hoffman frequently drove negotiations for UNI’s global agreements—including Telenor and Geoposte, as well as the DHL protocol—and in her new position, growing and improving these agreements to ensure that workers can freely form a union will be a key focus.

Hoffman was also an architect of the ground-breaking Bangladesh Accord for Building and Fire Safety. In 2013—weeks after 1,137 Bangladeshi’s lost their lives in the worst industrial catastrophe in modern times—Hoffman, along with leaders at IndustriALL and NGOs, developed the first legally-binding agreement for supply-chain justice. Five years later, more than 2 million workers work in factories which are covered by the Accord and tens-of-thousands of serious safety hazards have been abated. When the brands did not comply with the Accord, she triggered the Accord’s arbitration provision, resulting in settlements totalling nearly $3 million.  A second Accord went into effect in June 2018. 

The Accord is widely seen as an innovative model that should be replicated in other industries and countries.

Hoffman got an early start when it comes to using international pressure to win social justice. In the 1980s, she founded and chaired the Connecticut Anti-Apartheid Committee, which won the first state-wide legislation in the United States requiring divestment by the state from companies doing business in South Africa. 

Organising for stronger unions

Beyond global agreements, Hoffman has worked closely with UNI SCORE, the union’s organising department, and as General Secretary, she will prioritise UNI’s program to support union growth. 

“While sectors, regions, and countries have their differences, our common desire to win for workers creates a foundation for UNI to support unions through sharing best practices and learning from one another,” she said.  “These exchanges will continue along with our more direct support for organising in specific campaigns. Our organising centres, currently in Central Europe and Colombia, reflect our recognition that we can’t build capacity on a ‘one-campaign-at-a-time basis’—we need to think bigger and bolder.”  

Improving international rules to support workers

Over the past several years, she has elevated UNI’s leadership in using OECD Guidelines to defend the rights of workers and hold multinationals accountable. For example, UNI’s 2006 case against G4S established the U.K. government’s now longstanding precedent of using professional mediators for OECD disputes.

“Disregard for fundamental rights is all too common and growing across the globe. In addition to sharpening the tools we have, we must develop new tools and advocate for stronger, legally-binding mechanisms, such as the UN Binding Treaty on Business and Human Rights.”     

Christy Hoffman has a law degree with honours from New York University and a BA in Economics from Smith College. She is married with two children.