What do Iran and the United States have in common? They both have systemic issues that lead to the rights of workers being violated, according to a report released this month by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).

Despite being touted as a model of liberty and freedom across the globe, the new ITUC document notes the U.S. has a problem when it comes to protecting its workers from corporate greed and indignity. On a ratings scale of “1” to “5” -- with “1” being the best -- America scored a “4” on the ITUC Global Rights Index. That lumps it with such world luminaries as Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Indonesia, Myanmar (Burma) and Pakistan.

Maybe even more distressing is this partial list of nations that ranked above the U.S. when it comes to protecting its workers: Albania, Benin, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Ethiopia, Jamaica, Russia, Sri Lanka, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda and Venezuela.

“Countries such as Denmark and Uruguay led the way through their strong labor laws, but perhaps surprisingly, the likes of Greece, the United States and Hong Kong lagged behind,” said Sharan Burrow, the ITUC’s general secretary. “A country’s level of development proved to be a poor indicator of whether it respected basic rights to bargain collectively, strike for decent conditions or simply join a union at all.”

The ITUC used 97 indicators to rank 139 countries. Only Denmark logged a perfect score, the report states. For those that received a “4” rating, like the U.S., it means that, “The government and/or companies are engaged in serious efforts to crush the collective voice of workers putting fundamental rights under continuous threat.”

America’s ranking may come as a shock to some. But for those involved in the labor movement, it is confirmation of on-the-ground observations that have shown this is what workers have been experiencing for years.

The Teamsters are involved in many of those fights to improve the lives of workers.  One that has recently gotten some media attention is taking place in the Central Valley of California, where Taylor Farms has taken advantage of hundreds of mostly Latino workers by making them work as temps even though many have been working at their facility in Tracy for years. That allows the produce processor to pay them little and offer no benefits, as well as discard them when they become injured on the job without paying workers compensation.