Friday, April 25, 2025
Dear Friends and Supporters of La Isla Network,
On March 26, 2025, we found out via a social media post that over two-thirds of La Isla Network’s funding had been eliminated. DOGE unilaterally cut all grants from ILAB (Bureau of International Labor Affairs), the U.S. Dept. of Labor agency which had been supporting our PREP for Change project since 2021. PREP for Change was made possible through ILAB’s mission to “strengthen global labor standards, enforce labor commitments among trading partners, and combat international child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking”; since its founding in 1947, ILAB has been instrumental in raising the standard of workplace conditions around the world and strengthening the position of American workers and industry. This was achieved by ensuring a more level playing field via trade agreements, while mitigating risk in the supply chains of our most successful companies. Despite the great value that ILAB provides to U.S. industry and workers, DOGE declared the Bureau’s lifesaving work “America Last.”
These programs, which have thrived under broad bipartisan support for years, saved lives, mitigated immigration through providing workers with viable employment in their home countries while protecting workers in the US and abroad by preventing a race to the bottom. These cuts make it easier for production and manufacturing to be offshored to the most inexpensive, lawless, and dangerous settings. If you’re short on time, a simple note to your representatives saying you support this statement asking for the restoration of these programs will be immensely valuable. Your voice matters.
The most difficult impact to grapple with is the devastation these cuts mean for thousands of workers and families in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador whose working conditions, health, and lives were actively improving because of PREP for Change. It is also an enormous blow to our incredible mission-driven La Isla Network staff, who are dedicated to improving the lives of workers, their families, and industry by reducing risk and driving efficiency.
There was no consultation and no appeal to be made.
The immediacy of the cuts has hampered our ability to continue the data collection and analysis that allows us to measure the impact of our life saving work, inform future programs, and apply for future funds.
As a research-driven organization we use data to tell the stories of those who often go unheard. This data shows that La Isla Network’s PREP for Change project reduced harm and changed lives. Without it, future support for this and similar programs is jeopardized—and more lives will be left unprotected.
We are urgently looking for donors to make a charitable contribution that will help us weather the next six months as we engage clients, apply for grants, and secure alternative funding.
Please consider making a donation today. Do you know someone looking to give a major tax deductible gift? We want to talk to them! Please put us in touch with them via in**@***********rk.org.
Feel free to browse our donor brochure below and share it with friends and family.
Thank you for reading and I hope to issue good news soon, in the meantime stay strong and stay engaged.
Sincerely,
Jason Glaser
CEO | La Isla Network
