Combating
Labor Trafficking
Enhancing awareness to root out modern-day slavery.
There are many ways TAT’s partners in the U.S. and Canada can fight human trafficking — or modern-day slavery — as part of their everyday jobs. Survivors of labor trafficking report interacting with the transportation industry throughout their victimization, including by taking public transit, visiting truck stops or gas stations, riding the school bus, hitchhiking, getting their driver’s license, etc. While companies have legal and ethical obligations to eliminate modern-day slavery from their operations, professional drivers may encounter this crime at transportation hubs, on the road and in homes and businesses. They can help identify victims inside warehouses, restaurants and other locations, where few people see the “back of the house,” and are uniquely positioned to help companies ensure they do not have modern-day slavery occuring in their supply chains.
$236 BILLION
in illicit profits annually
- 27% through labor trafficking ($64 billion)
- 73% through sex trafficking ($172 billion)
Source: International Labor Organization
50 MILLION
victims of modern-day slavery globally
- 27.6 million victims of human trafficking*
- 63% labor trafficking
- 23% in sex trafficking
- 14% in state-imposed forced labor
- 22.4 million in forced marriage
Source: International Labor Organization
* Note: ILO terminology differs from U.S. and Canadian law. Terms based on the most equivalent ILO definition are used here.
Understanding Labor Trafficking: Know the Signs
To effectively prevent and disrupt labor trafficking, understanding the experiences of survivors and the methods employed by perpetrators is critical. Everyone should have basic knowledge about the exploitation spectrum and the similarities and differences between labor exploitation and labor trafficking. It’s also important to be aware of the many ways sex trafficking and labor trafficking overlap, including the vulnerabilities traffickers prey upon.
Labor Exploitation
Labor exploitation is a broad term used to explain a variety of unfair forms of work, where an employer benefits from unethical or illegal treatment of their employees.
versus
Labor Trafficking
Labor trafficking is an extreme form of exploitation that involves the use of force, fraud and/or coercion.
Labor exploitation can escalate into labor trafficking.
The key difference is that human trafficking involves force, fraud and/or coercion, while victims of labor exploitation are not threatened or physically harmed by their employer.
Examples of Labor Exploitation
- Working extremely long hours (over 12 hours a day, 7 days a week for many victims)
- Lack of access to necessary rest, breaks, healthcare
- Unable to take time off when sick, unsafe road conditions, etc.
- Unsafe and/or unsanitary working conditions
- Working without proper permits or certifications
- Withholding or delaying paychecks, statements, tax returns
- Businesses or services provided that aren’t “on the books” (and therefore aren’t recognized or monitored)
- Not having access to necessities (e.g., food, toiletries) that were promised as part of the job housing/lodging
Components of Labor Trafficking (Force, Fraud, Coercion)
- Physical and sexual assault
- Confinement, isolation and/or control of movement
- Lying about conditions of work or laws, customs, norms, etc.
- Falsely expressing romantic interest or friendship
- Debt bondage
- Threats (arrest, deportation, physical, psychological, financial)
- Instilling fear about bystanders, the public or law enforcement
- Deprivation of food, water, sleep
Red Flags of Labor Trafficking
- Signs of physical or emotional exhaustion or deterioration
- The same employee working consistently extended hours and days
- Employers berating workers or physically holding them in a way that is forceful
- Employer accompanying and speaking on behalf of the employee
- No mandatory break and/or lunch in a workplace
- Workers getting dropped off in a single mode of transportation to a work site
- Unsafe or unsanitary working conditions
- Employers possessing workers’ documents
Vulnerabilities
Sex and Labor Trafficking
Migration Status
Racial discrimination
Poverty
Single Parent Household
Disabilities
Substance dependent
Court-involved
Runaways
Homeless
LGBTQ2IA+
Communication barriers
History of abuse
TAT partners with the transportation and energy industries, as well as law enforcement and government agencies, to ensure their workforces understand the crime of human trafficking and know how to report or investigate it effectively.
Evaluate and mitigate risks.
TAT’s guide to rooting out labor trafficking introduces its partners in the trucking, bus and energy industries to frameworks for evaluating the risks of labor trafficking most relevant to their business and developing plans to prevent, detect and respond to it.
Train your employees.
TAT offers free human trafficking training resources, including videos, wallet cards, an app, sector-specific toolkits, and supplemental backgrounders. View the trailer to TAT’s corporate training video.
Display victim-centered information.
TAT consulted with survivors of labor trafficking to create victim-centered posters that are intended to be eye-catching for victims to see and learn about resources to help them.
