Sitting at a sidewalk coffee shop a block from the White House, Andy Stern, former president of the Service Employees International Union, is reflecting on a series of visits he's made since 2002 to China, where he has discussed organizing and collective bargaining with leaders of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU). China's economic transformation is a profound challenge to the United States, and to American workers in particular, Stern says. "We have to recognize that China is the first real economic competitor that has ever threatened America's standing as the global economic superpower."

One sixth of migrant workers in Hainan earn less than 500 yuan a month, far below the legal minimum wage in the province, according to a survey by the province’s trade union federation. The majority (55 percent) of the 350 workers surveyed by the union earned between 500 yuan and 1,000 yuan a month. Only five percent could earn more than 2,000 yuan a month. Not surprisingly, 90 percent of the respondents said they were not satisfied with their current level of income.

Following a string of suicides at its Chinese factories, Foxconn Technology Group raised workers' wages and installed safety nets on buildings to catch would-be jumpers. Now the often secretive manufacturer of the iPhone and other electronics is holding rallies for its workers to raise morale at the heavily regimented factories.

The week-long strike at Honda supplier Atsumitec ended Thursday after workers and management agreed to a 45 percent increase in the basic wage from 980 yuan a month to 1,420 yuan. And the Guangdong provincial government is currently drafting Regulations on the Democratic Management of Enterprises (广东省企业民主管理条例), which if implemented would establish a legally binding wage negotiation system.

Workers at Japanese electronics maker Omron's southern China factory have gone on strike, the latest disruption in the manufacturing hub over demands for better wages and working conditions.

Three students go “undercover” as migrant workers in Dongguan. Their report details the pay and conditions and the attitude of migrant workers towards employer abuses and their awareness of the law.Photo by Travel Geographer.

Young migrant workers in Shenzhen, just like their parents, have to work long hours in hazardous conditions for low pay. The key difference between the generations, a new survey shows, is that the expectations of younger workers are much higher than their parents, seeking to establish a life for themselves in the city rather than return to the countryside.

A strike has broken out at a south China factory supplying parts for Japan's Honda Motor, the latest in a string of stoppages by Chinese workers demanding a bigger piece of the country's economic wealth. The strike, at Atsumitec Co. in the city of Foshan, began on Monday, with about 90 of the plant's 200 workers stopping work to demand a nearly 60 percent pay increase, said a worker who declined to be identified.

As Foxconn plans to move more production inland, workers at its flagship facility in Shenzhen face an uncertain future. Photograph of Shenzhen by Nako