Our third Member Organizer Fellowship Program has launched, and this year we’ve expanded it from four to five members to meet growing demand! Representing the meat processing, food manufacturing, and agricultural sectors, each worker leader in this cohort will develop an organizing project over the course of the six-month program, and get together monthly for strategy sharing and peer-to-peer learning. Fellow FCWA members also join these calls, including past fellows Nita (Mississippi Workers’ Center for Human Rights) and Maira (Workers’ Center of Central New York), and guest speakers like Mahoma Lopez (Laundry Workers Center).
Meet our 2024-2025 Member Organizer Fellows:
KIRA (Brandworkers)
Kira was a bread baker and one of the organizing committee members that led the successful union drive at She Wolf Bakery this past spring. The momentum to organize developed out of shared frustration with poor wages, inaccessible health benefits, and inadequate protection from climate hazards like wildfire smoke and extreme heat. The Organizing Committee reached out to Brandworkers early on, and their staff came roaring in with inoculation trainings, allies, company research, legal support, and a grassroots base ready to back them up. After winning the NLRB election, Kira joined Brandworkers staff supporting the She Wolf Worker Union as they transitioned to bargaining. They continue to work closely with the She Wolf Workers Union as an FWCA Fellow, and they are excited to represent Brandworkers on the FWCA Board in the upcoming year!
SOPHIE (Brandworkers)
Sophie is a baker in Brooklyn, NY who would like to see better working conditions across the food production sector in NYC and everywhere.
LELO (Community to Community Development)
Alfredo “Lelo” Juarez Zeferino is a farmworker who has been organizing with Community to Community Development and Familias Unidas por la Justicia for twelve years. He was one of the initial founders of Familias Unidas por la Justicia in Washington State, where he helped agricultural workers get paid for breaks and overtime. His focus is on policy amendment/development and civic engagement.
LENINN (Pioneer Valley Workers Center)
After immigrating from Tlaxcala, Mexico and working for more than a decade in the restaurant industry, Leninn began as a volunteer with PVWC’s mutual aid program in 2020. Growing up, Leninn saw his mother struggle to provide her children with consistent healthy meals. His upbringing, immigration journey, and experience in the restaurant industry have led to a deep, personal understanding of food insecurity and the myriad challenges facing the undocumented immigrant and low-income community in the US. Leninn became a member of PVWC’s staff in the early 2021 and is proud to help to keep the Mutual Aid food distribution program running and growing to serve communities in need in the Pioneer Valley.
FORTINO (Venceremos)
Fortino started to work in the bird industry about 30 years ago, after initially thinking he would only stay for three. He started organizing with Venceremos about four years ago, because has experienced being bullied and he likes to defend people. There was a lot of bullying at his workplace, and he stood up for the workers, including defending some women from sexual harassment. That’s how he met Venceremos founder Magaly Licolli and is now working by her side to learn ways to organize. He thinks of his family when he’s supporting the workers in the workplace as he wouldn’t want my family to be treated like this.
We can’t wait to see what projects these five organizing fellows develop over the course of the cohort!