The 2024 Food Worker Summit is a wrap! From August 3-6, 52 workers and organizers from 21 FCWA member organizations traveled to Skagit County, WA from 11 U.S. states and Ontario, Canada.
More local workers and organizers from co-host organizations Community to Community Development and Familias Unidas por la Justicia joined as well, providing insight into the region based on their organizing work with farmworkers across Skagit and Whatcom counties. This area about 90 miles north of Seattle is known for its agricultural production, with blueberries, raspberries, and tulips being some of its more notable crops.
Between our hotel in Burlington, meeting spaces in La Conner, and action in Lynden, members were able to experience the natural beauty of the region and visit several different local communities, and see the impact of a strong farmworker movement. And over the course of three days of workshops, meetings, and group activities, members continued building relationships across our alliance and sharing strategies for empowering food workers:
Welcome picnic in Burlington’s Railroad Park featured dinner prepared by C2C members and a performance by a local dance group. Photos: Sattva Photo
Regional grounding session with New Season Labor Union (OR, WA), Burgerville Workers Union (OR), Front and Centered (WA), Community to Community Development (WA), and Familias Unidas por la Justicia (WA). Photo: Edgar Franks
Peer to peer workshops: Union Organizing 101, Protecting Worker Organizing through DALE, Grassroots Fundraising & Approaching Grantmakers, Immigration Roundtable, Organizing for Gender Equality and Against Sexual Harassment, Supply Chain Mapping, and Protecting the Right to Organize
Action protesting local grower Enfield Farms’ use of H-2A program, which exploits migrant workers and displaces local workers. This action launched a campaign for local member Community to Community Development, as they focus on showing the Skagit and Whatcom agricultural communities that H-2A is not fair labor and not good for their communities.
Photos: Sattva Photo
At our annual meeting, members in-person and joining virtually voted to approve our annual budget, and fill seats on the FCWA board, which is composed entirely of member organizations. Photos: Edgar Franks
THANK YOU to everyone who made the 2024 summit possible: every worker and organizer who traveled to participate, our co-hosts Community to Community Development and Familias Unidas por la Justicia, our Growth & Learning Committee who planned the summit with staff, our sponsors including Dr. Bronner’s and the HEAL Food Alliance, and all the member groups in attendance:
Alianza Agrícola
Brandworkers
Burgerville Workers Union
California Institute for Rural Studies
Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center
Community to Community Development
Familias Unidas por la Justicia
Farmworker Association of Florida
Global Labor Justice
Justicia for Migrant Workers
Laundry Workers Center
New Seasons Labor Union
Pioneer Valley Workers Center
Restaurant Opportunities Center Los Angeles
Rural Community Workers Alliance
Street Vendor Project
Trabajadores Unidos por la Justicia
United for Respect
Venceremos
Warehouse Workers for Justice
Workers’ Center of Central New York
Worker Justice Center of New York