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Leadership Update & Preparing for 2025

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Dear Friends,

Five years ago, we were excited to step up as Co-Directors of the Food Chain Workers Alliance, taking the reins from longtime leaders Joann Lo and Jose Oliva. FCWA had just celebrated its tenth anniversary, and it was an opportune moment for a transition to ensure the organization’s long-term health and vitality.

As Co-Directors, we’ve remained committed to FCWA’s founding mission to bring worker voices into the food movement and fight corporate consolidation. We’ve also worked with staff and members to further prioritize member-led, worker-led organizing and economic, racial, and gender justice. From responding to the pandemic to expanding educational programs and creating new spaces for members to collaborate and seed collective work, we’re proud of the work FCWA and our members have accomplished in the past five years.

Today, the Alliance is ready for a new chapter, and it is bittersweet to announce that we will step down from our roles as Co-Directors in early 2025. We know that FCWA will continue to build power for food workers under new leadership, and we are embarking on a process to find that leadership with staff, the board, and a newly-formed transition committee. Stay tuned for updates in the coming months.

In this transitional moment, we hope you’ll support FCWA Member Funds so food workers are ready to spring into action in 2025. This program started as a one-off drive in 2019 to provide direct assistance to poultry workers impacted by ICE workplace raids. As part of our priority to support member organizing, we now have three ongoing funds making grants of $500 – $5,000 to members for Immigration Rapid Response, Language Justice, and Organizing & Capacity Building. Our goal is to raise $10,000 to replenish these funds by December 31, and we’re more than halfway there!

Thank you for supporting the Food Chain Workers Alliance, and most importantly, for supporting workers’ rights across the food chain and beyond.

Suzanne Adely & Sonia Singh
Co-Directors, Food Chain Workers Alliance

International Food Workers Week 2024

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In 2012, FCWA launched International Food Workers Week (IFWW) to honor workers across the food chain and solicit public support for workers’ campaigns for better wages, working conditions, and protections.

Food workers are one of the largest working groups in the United States, and they are essential to our economy and general well-being. They are also some of the lowest paid and least protected. Food work is not easy, and often hazardous read our new report on the 2024 Bi-National People’s Tribunal on the Struggles of Farmworkers in North America to learn more.

So this week, as you shop, cook, and enjoy meals with your loved ones, please keep food workers in mind. Here’s some timely FCWA member actions you can follow and support:

1

NSLU has called a strike!

 

For nearly two years, the independent New Seasons Labor Union has been bargaining for a fair contract with their “progressive” employer. But the company’s proposals continue to fall short. On Wednesday, November 27, workers at all eleven unionized New Seasons Market locations in WA and OR will engage in a one-day Unfair Labor Practice Strike. They’re also calling for a customer boycott this holiday season. Learn more at nslu.org/contract-now, and go to nslu.org/community to sign the pledge, donate, and join the mailing list.

 

 

2

Defend the NLRB

 

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) enforces labor law and protects workers’ right to organize. Corporations like SpaceX and Amazon are trying their best to see the NLRB gutted or dissolved entirely so they can continue exploiting workers. In June, President Biden nominated the current NLRB chair for a third term, but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer hasn’t yet scheduled a confirmation vote. As part of the Athena Coalition, our members Warehouse Workers for Justice, Warehouse Worker Resource Center, and United for Respect are asking you to go to bit.ly/ProWorkerNLRB and tell Senator Schumer to schedule a floor vote now to maintain a pro-worker board through 2026.

 

3

Visit the C2C Solidarity Shop

 

When you purchase from the Solidarity Shop you are helping to spread Community to Community Development’s mission and vision of farmworker justice, food sovereignty, and eco-feminism. Shop for original artwork, upcycled clothing, secondhand jewelry, stickers and more! All proceeds go toward continuing the work.

 

 

 

4

Support Milk With Dignity

 

It’s been seven years since Ben & Jerry’s and Migrant Justice signed a historic agreement for the company to adopt Milk With Dignity, a landmark worker-driven social responsibility model. Since then, the program has brought unprecedented improvements to the living and working conditions of hundreds of farmworkers in Vermont and New York. But workers are still pushing hard in the ongoing fight to get Hannaford Markets to join the program. Learn more in the 2018-2024 Program Report and sign the Milk With Dignity Consumer Pledge to join us in asking Hannaford to adopt the program and ensure human rights in their dairy supply chain.

 

5

Support Immigrant Workers in NY

 

On December 4, Workers Center of Central NY is holding a call-in day for the NY For All Act that proponents are trying to pass before the inauguration to prevent law enforcement and state agencies from colluding with immigration officials. On the same day, WCCNY is hosting an art build to uplift dairy farm workers’ testimonies on conditions of employer-provided housing. 

 

 

6

Donate to Worker Campaigns

 

The Laundry Workers Center is raising funds for their Leadership Institute and Cabricanceos Campaign with immigrant construction workers in NYC.

The Farmworker Association of Florida is raising funds to empower farmworker communities through agroecology and food sovereignty.

Food Chain Workers Alliance is replenishing our member funds to support work on Language Justice, Immigration Rapid Response, and Organizing & Capacity Building. We’re almost halfway toward our goal of raising another $10k by December 31!

Read the Report: Bi-National People’s Tribunal on the Struggles of Farmworkers

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On March 30, 2024, a historic tribunal took place at The People’s Forum in midtown Manhattan. Fourteen current and former farmworkers presented testimony on behalf of themselves and their fellow workers, reporting on conditions they face working in dairies in Vermont and New York; in greenhouses in Ontario, Canada; and on farms in Massachusetts, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Washington. Video messages from workers in Vermont and Jamaica were also shown.

This is a historic moment for farmworkers. I can't remember the last time or the first time there's ever been a gathering like this of farmworker organizations from all around the U.S., from Canada, coming together and strategizing and building this analysis together. Usually we're isolated, we're just doing the work on our local level or state level, never coming together like this on an international level, to discuss what does a farmworker movement from the grassroots really look like? And how do we build power from the bottom up?

Edgar Franks, Familias Unidas por la Justicia

Nothing has changed. And that's why this is so important, that's why it's so historic, because to my memory, in the forty plus years that I've been a revolutionary, this is the first farmworker tribunal that I know of, and that I've attended.

Jaribu Hill, Mississippi Workers' Center for Human Rights

Over the course of sessions focused on Health & Safety, Freedom of Movement, and Climate Justice, worker leaders spoke about life-changing injuries, abysmal housing, sexual assault and harassment, heat exhaustion, social isolation, employer retaliation for organizing, and other everyday realities for agricultural workers.

This tribunal was organized by the Farmworker Committee of the Food Chain Workers Alliance to unite and amplify the voices of farmworkers across North America and beyond. Because our current systems do not function to provide justice for farmworkers, testimonies we heard at the tribunal must be answered by collective organizing at the grassroots level.

Now, our new report on the tribunal is live at farmworkertribunal.org, featuring excerpts from worker testimonies and key findings from the jurors and Farmworker Committee.

Review the report today to learn about issues of housing, sexual violence, workplace injuries, exploitative guest worker programs, extreme temperatures, forced migration, climate disasters and more. The report also lays out our Farmworker Committee’s alternative vision of liberation: a world in which immigrant workers do not live in fear, farmworkers are not robbed of their health and lifespan, farmworker children have access to schools and community, agroecology farms and co-ops abound, our environment is protected, workers unite for fair wages across the food chain, and people work for life and earth, instead of profit for the few.

Go to farmworkertribunal.org to read the report today.
Go to the FCWA YouTube Channel to watch all the recorded testimonies with interpretation in English and Spanish.

Meet our 2024-2025 Organizing Fellows!

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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!

An Injury to One is an Injury to All: We Won’t Work for Genocide

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Mass Labor Action to Stand With Gaza Starting October 7, 2024

The Food Chain Workers Alliance is proud to endorse the mass labor action to Stand With Gaza called by Labor for Palestine National Network and UAW Labor for Palestine. This action is called to begin today, October 7, 2024, which marks one year since the escalation of Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza.

We continue to stand with Palestinian trade unions, who have asked the international labor movement for solidarity consistently for the past year, including their call for work stoppages of 15 minutes today. As unions, worker resource centers, and even as individual workers, we must mobilize in solidarity with Palestinians. We must stand with university students and academic workers across the U.S. who are continuing to organize despite repression by their schools and local police.

We join many others in demanding the end of this genocidal campaign, the end of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, and the end of the 16-year blockade on Gaza.

We oppose the United States’ longtime role as the main funder of this occupation and genocide. Despite the fact that millions of Americans and a majority of Democratic voters oppose Israel’s violence, the Biden-Harris administration will not stop the genocide. Neither, we can confidently say, will any administration taking office in January 2025.

Unfortunately for our movement, major union leaders are unwilling to go beyond mere words in the fight to stand against Israel’s campaign to occupy, subjugate, and kill Palestinians. That is why workers must use our greatest leverage—the ability to collectively withhold our labor, alongside other action—to respond to urgent Palestinian trade unions’ appeals for solidarity.

Together as workers, we have the power to directly disrupt the supply chain that powers this genocide. Go to tinyurl.com/riseforgaza to learn more about the mass labor mobilization that starts today and will continue over the coming weeks.

Artwork by Rommy Torrico (@rommyyy123)

2024 Food Worker Summit in Washington

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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

Victory for Good Food NY!

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After three years of building a coalition to make public food dollars align with community values, the Good Food New York Bill passed in the state legislature on June 6, 2024!
What does this mean for New York? Public institutions across the state (like schools, hospitals, and prisons) will no longer be restricted by “lowest bidder” mandates when awarding food contracts. Instead, they can work with suppliers that truly reflect our community values, and support small farmers, fair labor, animals, the environment, and public health!
One of the major wins in this bill for our work as FCWA is that it requires supplier transparency for all contracts at the municipal level, meaning contractors and subcontractors must name their suppliers and are responsible for sourcing data all the way back to the farm of origin. This transparency is key to the fight to hold employers accountable for their labor practices within public supply chains.
The Good Food NY win reflects the incredible leadership of Community Food Advocates of NYC and the Good Food Buffalo Coalition, including FCWA members Alianza Agrícola, Worker Justice Center of NY, and RWDSU. The coalition worked to solidify broad support for the bill, and leadership of policy champions Assemblywoman Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes, State Senator Liz Krueger, Senator Michelle Hinchey, and 44+ co-sponsors. The next step is for Governor Kathy Hochul to sign the bill by the end of the year.
Congrats to the New York State Good Food Purchasing Program Coalition! Here’s to building the food system New York needs, deserves, and is now one step closer to realizing.

Report Back from the People’s Tribunal

By News

Last month, the Food Chain Workers Alliance Farmworker Committee convened in New York City to host a Bi-National People’s Tribunal on the Struggles of Farmworkers in North America.

Over two days at The People’s Forum, dozens of farmworkers in the U.S. and Canada gave video and in-person testimony, with probing commentary and questions from jurors Max Ajl (University of Tunis/MECAM), Jaribu Hill (Mississippi Workers Center for Human Rights), Chaumtoli Huq (Law@Margins), Raj Patel (University of Texas at Austin) and Rob Robinson (Partners for Dignity and Rights). All worker testimonies are available to watch on the FCWA YouTube channel, with English or Spanish interpretation. If you don’t have time to watch all 5.5 hours of testimony right now, here are initial key takeaways:

Employers and farm owners show complete disregard for workers' well-being and health.

Employers and farm owners thwart worker organizing efforts by pitting workers against each other, retaliating against workers who complain, and with verbal and physical abuse.

Farmworkers are experiencing the impacts of the climate crisis now. The U.S. and Canada are not only failing to create new and necessary protections, but in some cases passing laws to prevent those protections.

The agricultural industry has benefited from the U.S. and Canadian immigration systems for decades, by way of exploitative guest worker programs and the threat of immigration enforcement to prevent worker organizing.

The tribunal also underscored that farmworkers are organizing for a better future. At our opening Workers’ Assembly, participants envisioned the better world we’re working toward, speaking not only about freedom of movement, free healthcare, higher wages and overtime pay; but also broad implementation of agroecology, more co-op models, a master bargaining agreement across the food chain, a welcoming environment for all immigrants, and one day, no bosses.

We closed out the weekend in lower Manhattan’s Foley Square. This historic area is not only steps away from a Colonial-era burial site of free and enslaved Africans, reminding us of our food system’s origins in the slave economy, but also surrounded by the very institutions (DHS, ICE, DOL, US federal courts) that maintain an extractive and exploitative labor economy today. Worker leaders Claudia Rosales, Luis Jiménez, Gabriel Allahduah, and juror Jaribu Hill spoke about themes that were raised in testimonials and charged each other and the broader public to continue fighting for farmworker justice.

The FCWA Farmworker Committee is a group of 10 worker-based and 2 ally groups that are carving a new path for alternative, grassroots organizing for farmworkers. Findings from the tribunal will help determine our collective strategies for both short and long-term goals along that path.

THANK YOU to everyone who made this possible: first and foremost every farmworker who provided their time and testimony, our jury panel, The People’s Forum, FCWA staff, everyone who donated and showed up to this event online and in-person, and of course, to the visionary members of our Farmworker Committee:

Alianza Agrícola

California Institute for Rural Studies 

Comité de apoyo a los trabajadores agrícolas (CATA)

Community to Community Development

Farmworker Association of Florida

Familias Unidas por la Justicia

Justice for Migrant Workers

Migrant Justice

Pioneer Valley Workers Center

Rural & Migrant Ministry

Worker Justice Center of New York

Workers’ Center of Central New York

Stay tuned for our full tribunal report later this year, and help us continue convening workers and facilitating worker-led organizing and honor May Day by making a donation to support FCWA today! 

Bi-National People’s Tribunal on The Struggles of Farmworkers in North America

By News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Jan 24, 2024
Grassroots farmworker organizations from the United States and Canada will convene a People’s Tribunal on the Struggles of Farmworkers in North America from March 29-31, 2024. The Tribunal is being hosted by the Food Chain Workers Alliance at The People’s Forum in New York City.

In this participatory process, workers, organizers and members of the public will hear direct testimony from U.S. and Canadian farmworkers on the daily conditions they face, what protections they need, and what organizing goals should be prioritized in worker-led movements.

The tribunal will focus broadly on three priority areas for the future of farmworker labor organizing: health & safety, freedom of movement, and climate justice. A post-tribunal report will capture all testimonies and articulate a collective, alternative vision of farmworker justice.

This event is organized by members of the FCWA Farmworker Committee: Alianza Agrícola, California Institute for Rural Studies, Comité de apoyo a los trabajadores agrícolas (CATA), Community to Community Development, Familias Unidas por la Justicia, Farmworker Association of Florida, Justicia for Migrant Workers, Migrant Justice, Pioneer Valley Workers Center, Rural & Migrant Ministry, Workers’ Center of Central New York, and Worker Justice Center of New York. Together, they represent thousands of workers in the agricultural sector in eight U.S. states and one Canadian province.

“Our current legal and political system will not bring justice for exploited workers. Our members in the farmworker sector are leaders of a grassroots movement, and they have decided to not only work defensively against the forces that oppress them, but also to create their own solutions.”
– Suzanne Adely, FCWA Co-Director

“It’s important to have farmworkers come together at this time to share our stories and strategize collectively across the region. We want to offer a different vision for our food system than the one set by the industry. To do that, workers need to come together and wield our power.” 
– Edgar Franks, Political Director at Familias Unidas por la Justicia

“Our voices, of farmworkers, nursery, construction, and domestic workers too many times go unheard when it comes to making and enforcing laws in the United States, and especially in Florida. We have been saying for decades that we need the compensation and protections that are standard in other industries, as we see everyday employers that exploit as much as they can get away with. We are who feeds, builds, drives, and cares for this country. We are people of action, and we are looking for something to be done. That is why we are going to the People’s Tribunal, so our voices will be heard, and that action will happen.”
– Yésica Ramirez, General Coordinator at Farmworker Association of Florida

“Farmworkers across the U.S. and Canada have been demanding worker protections for decades. Most traditional legal remedies for migrant agricultural workers are piecemeal and don’t get to the heart of the systems of oppression that create their conditions. The People’s Tribunal centers workers’ experiences across farms and even across borders to demand real, lasting changes to our food systems.”
– Chris Ramsaroop, Organizer with Justicia for Migrant Workers

“In New York State, farmworkers have achieved major victories expanding legal rights and protections. However, these rights are under constant threat by employers who aim to undermine collective bargaining protections, sew divisions among workers based on immigration status, and prevent their employees from organizing in the workplace. In these times, it is critical that we hear from workers on the front lines of the fight to secure safe and dignified working conditions in the agricultural sector.”
– Emma Kreyche, Director of Advocacy, Outreach & Education at Worker Justice Center of NY

More information and updates can be found at https://foodchainworkers.org/peoples-tribunal

Looking Ahead: FCWA in 2024

By News

We recently shared our 2023 Impact Report of highlights from the past year, like launching our Food Workers Organizing Institute, hosting our member summit in Arkansas, and publishing a report on a decade of work on values-based purchasing. Now we want to share what we’re anticipating for the year ahead:

1. FARMWORKER TRIBUNAL
FCWA members from our farmworker committee are planning a bi-national farmworker tribunal in March 2024. The tribunal will take place over two days in New York City, where farmworkers will testify about the conditions they face on the job, and which rights and protections are needed.

We will focus on three key themes: Climate Justice, Freedom of Movement, and Health & Safety. Members are already conducting regional listening sessions to collect worker testimonies, and after the tribunal, we will produce a report to guide our collective work going forward

Our farmworker members have recently worked together to fight government attacks like the egregious Farm Workforce Modernization Act (which has failed to pass the Senate so far!), but we must do more than just fight defensively. Farmworkers must find their own solutions and create their own accountability process.

Stay tuned for more information about the tribunal and forthcoming report in 2024.

2. SUPPLY CHAIN TRANSPARENCY
The food supply chain is extremely opaque. Even after ten years working to shift how taxpayer dollars are spent on food under the Good Food Purchasing Program (see our Procuring Food Justice report for more info) we’ve only been able to obtain a sliver of the overall sourcing data we need.

Without uncovering supply chain data, workers can’t easily determine organizing targets, and communities can’t know where their taxpayer dollars are being spent on food. We are left instead to rely on corporate-friendly certifications and limited government inspections to tell us what is fair. That’s not going to work.

In 2024, we will continue working with members to conduct research mapping projects and advocate for publicizing supply chain data everywhere we are supporting values-based public food procurement.

3. SEEDING & SUPPORTING WORKER ORGANIZING
Finally, and as always: we will seed and support worker-led organizing along the food chain. We do this by amplifying and supporting our members’ campaigns, which run the gamut from demanding more permits for street vendors in NYC, to fighting anti-immigrant policies in Florida, to forming new independent unions in Washington and Oregon. We provide support in the form of peer-learning spaces, strategic advice, and cash infusions.

We’re also building the long-term infrastructure for food worker organizing by educating workers and organizers in our network through our Food Workers Organizing Institute.

 

Building a larger, stronger movement of food workers organizing is our mission. Thank you for supporting it in 2023, whether that meant standing up for workers in your community, donating to a worker campaign, or speaking to your friends about workers’ rights.

Your gift before January 1 helps us keep moving forward.

2023 Impact Report ✊

By News

We are pleased to share our 2023 impact report and thank everyone who makes this work possible, especially our incredible members. From our Food Workers Organizing Institute to our report on a decade of work on values-based procurement, FCWA continued moving the needle for food workers this year.

We’re proud to share this work with you now and keep building on it in 2024:

2023 FCWA Impact Report

This would not be possible without support from generous foundations, event sponsors, and most critically, individual grassroots supporters who stand with workers.

Please help us keep this movement going by donating before December 31.

2023 Reading List 👀

By News

Before we fight on for worker power in the new year, let’s look back and celebrate all we’ve accomplished. Our can’t-miss articles from 2023 feature FCWA members’ work and issues we’re focused on collectively: freedom of movement, grassroots worker-led organizing, solidarity economies, human rights, heat stress & more:

Congress Killed a Bill to Give Farmworkers a Path to Citizenship. What Comes Next?
Civil Eats, 2/22/23 | Featured member: Alianza Agrícola

“The legislation got as far as it did, and ultimately failed, because it represented a major compromise between farmworker advocates and the agricultural industry—two groups with very different needs. As a result, neither side liked the whole package very much. And from the get-go, there was fierce disagreement within groups on both sides.”

The Long Road to Justice for NYC Wage Theft Victims
City Limits, 2/23/23 | Featured member: Laundry Workers Center

More than three years after 15 laundry workers first lodged their complaint with New York Attorney General Letitia James, the employees—all Latina immigrant women—finally received the first checks for their owed salaries. The case is emblematic of what can be a long road to justice for victims of wage theft, which lawmakers estimate impacts some 2.1 million New Yorkers each year.”

Photo Essay: A Cooperative Farm’s Long Path to Liberation for Farmworkers
Civil Eats, 6/29/23 | Featured members: Familias Unidas por la Justicia & Community to Community Development

“The co-op began looking to the workers’ Indigenous culture to find new products to grow, and a market for them. Co-op members experimented first with nopal, or prickly pear cactus. Nopal is a staple in Mexico, used in everything from salads to scrambled eggs. Some of the first year’s crop was lost to cold weather, so today the plants begin in a greenhouse long before being replanted outside.”

Canada’s migrant farm worker program was founded on ‘racist’ policies, new lawsuit alleges. And today’s workers are still paying the price
Welland Tribune, 12/11/23 | Featured member: Justicia for Migrant Workers

“The lead plaintiff, a migrant farm worker from Jamaica, told the tribunal he was given the option of either submitting DNA to police or losing his job. Of the 100 farm workers offered a similar choice, only four refused. In the end, none of the DNA samples that police collected matched what was found at the crime scene.”

Calls for change after Florida farmworker, 29, dies in heat. ‘Is this what we deserve?’
Miami Herald, 7/20/23 | Featured member: Farmworker Association of Florida

“All of this could have been prevented with the right legislation,” said Yvette Cruz, a spokesperson for the Farmworker Association of Florida. “All we ask is for four basic things: water, shade, breaks and to work with somebody — not to be left alone.”

Street Vendors Fight for Public Space Outside Hudson Yards
Documented NY, 7/20/23 | Featured member: Street Vendor Project

“We’ve been here since before Hudson Yards even existed, feeding the construction workers,” he said. “And now that Hudson Yards is up and running, and after we’ve suffered – we’re being displaced because we don’t fit their vision. I served my country, why can they put us out of business so easily?”

Organizing Portland, Local Labor Organizers See Surge in Union Solidarity, Diversity
Portland Mercury, 9/14/23 | Featured member: Burgerville Workers Union

“While certain fields— like the automobile and education industries— have long been seen as fixtures in American organized labor, other industries have much less union participation. But Portland retail and restaurant workers are leading a paradigm shift. In addition to Burgerville, which formed its union in 2016 and reached a contract in 2021, workers are getting organized at Portland’s donut shops, grocery stores, pet shops, strip clubs, and more.”

A Worker-Driven Model for Protecting Labor Rights Is Successful — and Expanding
truthout, 10/15/23 | Featured member: Migrant Justice

“Under the Fair Food Program, retailers and growers agree to abide by a “Code of Conduct” that is shaped by, and protects, farmworkers. This is cemented in a signed, legally-binding agreement that is enforced, largely, by workers themselves through regular education sessions and a multilingual 24/7 hotline. An independent body, the Fair Food Standards Council, conducts investigations into abuses and undertakes serious audits. The program also includes a Fair Food Premium that retailers pay that ends up in workers’ paychecks as a bonus.”

Protestors urge Arkansas’ Tyson to commit to child labor, worker safety protections
Arkansas Advocate, 10/17/23 | Featured member: Venceremos

“Children, including migrant children, should never be exploited for their labor or subjected to the dangerous working conditions in Tyson plants and in your supply chain,” the letter reads. “We know that Tyson has a no tolerance policy when it comes to illegal child labor, but it’s unclear how Tyson ensures accountability to that commitment, because the Company does not disclose that information.”

Thank you for supporting FCWA and food workers this year.

If you want to keep work like this going in 2024, please consider giving to FCWA or our members before December 31.

It’s International Food Workers Week!

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It’s International Food Workers Week!

We started IFWW in 2012 to uplift workers in the food system and call for the public to support worker organizing. The week of U.S. Thanksgiving is an opportune time to reflect on the food chain: 22 million people work in our food system, and our economy and daily sustenance depends on these essential workers. During the height of the pandemic, we relied on them to stay working in fields, processing plants, warehouses, grocery stores, and restaurants while so many people stayed at home.

Yet, the national median wage for food workers is just $10 per hour, and food workers are forced to rely on food stamps to feed themselves and their families at more than twice the rate of the general workforce. Discriminatory and abusive practices are commonplace for workers in our food system, particularly for women, immigrants, and people of color.

Food workers continue fighting to stop exploitation and improve their conditions and communities. In 2023, FCWA members have been organizing against child labor rollbacks, anti-immigrant policies, and employer retaliation. Others organized for heat stress protections, fair labor standards, and critical environmental policies. We cannot have healthy food systems as long as food workers are being exploited.

In honor of International Food Workers Week, you can take action in support of FCWA member campaigns today:

REGISTER: Southern Human Rights Organizer Conference in Nashville, TN
SHROC is a unique opportunity for human rights organizers and grassroots organizers to come together to share strategies, learn from each other, and build relationships.

SIGN: Petition for an Excluded Workers Fund in NYS
Unemployment insurance is an essential labor right. We are calling on Governor Hochul and NYS legislators to repair the holes in our safety net and prevent the most vulnerable workers from being excluded again.

DONATE: Los Cabricanecos Campaign
Construction workers at the Super Best Cleaning in Brooklyn have experienced wage theft, hazardous conditions, exposure to chemicals without protection, and retaliation for organizing. Support their fight!

DONATE: Burgerville Workers’ Union Defense Fund
Since the start of communications with management about negotiations, we have received only a torrent of opposition. We are asking folks to give to our Defense Fund so we can effectively support our members across the PNW.

Recap: Food Worker Summit in Arkansas

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We are reinvigorated for the year to come after wrapping up our 12th annual Food Worker Summit last month!

65 workers and organizers from 19 groups gathered in Springdale, Arkansas for this annual convening of FCWA members, welcomed by fellow member and our local host: Venceremos. Here’s a quick recap of four days in Arkansas with leaders from across the Alliance:

Pizza and artmaking at Venceremos HQ with the incredible Chicago ACT Collective

Mistica & Opening Plenary: Struggles & Organizing in the South

 

Peer-to-peer workshops: Building cooperatives and solidarity economies; Lavender Solidarity: Combating the rise of anti-Queer segments of society & our movement; Workers Organizing around Heat; Processing Workers Organizing; Building Cooperatives and Solidarity Economies; Union Organizing; and more!

 

Action at Tyson Foods! Tyson is headquartered in Springdale, and on Monday, October 16, Venceremos led us in a march on the HQ to demand accountability on three key issues: inhumane line speeds, high rates of worker injury, and potential child labor in Tyson’s supply chain. When we sent a delegation to deliver our letter, we were told by security that we would have to come back after making an appointment. But the messages from Tyson workers, expressed through powerful art, chants, and speeches could not be ignored. And we will be back!

Learn more in press coverage from the action: Republicans continue effort to erode US child labor rules despite teen deaths (The Guardian, 10/20/23); Protestors urge Arkansas’ Tyson to commit to child labor, worker safety protections (Arkansas Advocate, 10/17/23); and Poultry plant workers protest child labor, ask for better working conditions (Arkansas Times, 10/16/23)

 

Plenary: Power Mapping our Movement; Member-to-Member Discussion on Racial Capitalism

 

The summit is a highlight for FCWA members and staff every year, and where we build and strengthen so many important relationships across our movement. We are grateful to all the members who made time to attend and lead sessions, to everyone who supported this annual event by donating, and especially to our incredible local hosts Venceremos.

Until next year!

FWMA : Here We Go Again

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On June 30 2023, Representative Lofgren and other house members introduced a new version of the Farm Workforce Modernization Act (Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2023). Food Chain Workers Alliance farmworker members are appalled by the decision to put this bill forward for a third time. The FWMA is a bill at the service of the agriculture industry, and a threat to migrant farmworkers and their families.

It is unacceptable that the proponents of this bill have not engaged in dialogue with the many farmworkers and grassroots farmworker organizations across the country who do not want to revive the FWMA.

Together, our Alliance will continue to oppose this pro-deportation and anti-labor bill, as we have since its first appearance in 2019. The days of accepting dehumanizing laws because they are “the best we can get” are over. Farmworkers deserve better, and they will keep fighting to build a better future for themselves and their families.

Learn more about FCWA members’ opposition to this bill in coverage from the last time we opposed it: here and here.

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El 30 de junio 2023, el Representante Lofgren y otros miembros de la cámara baja introdujeron una nueva versión de Ley de Modernización de Los Trabajadores Agrícolas (Ley de Modernización de Los Trabajadores Agrícolas de 2023). Los miembros trabajadores agrícolas de Food Chain Workers Alliance están consternados por la decisión de introducir el proyecto de ley por tercera vez. La FWMA es un proyecto de ley al servicio de la industria agrícola, y es una amenaza para los trabajadores agrícolas migrantes y sus familias.

Es inaceptable que los proponentes de este proyecto de ley no hayan participado en diálogo con muchos trabajadores agrícolas y organizaciones de trabajadores agrícolas de base en el país que no quieren revivir la FWMA.

Juntos, nuestra Alianza continuará oponiéndose a este proyecto de ley pro-deportación y anti-laboral, así como lo hemos hecho desde su primera introducción en el 2019. Los tiempos en que aceptamos leyes deshumanizantes porque eran “las mejores que podemos tener” se acabaron. Los trabajadores merecen algo mejor, y continuarán luchando por un mejor futuro para ellos mismos y sus familias.

Aprenda más sobre la oposición de los miembros de FCWA a este proyecto de ley en la cobertura de la última vez en que lo opusimos: aquí y aquí

Procuring Food Justice: read our new report on a decade of values-based procurement

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artwork by Emitxin

New Report Exposes Corporate Control of Public Supply Chains and the Communities Reclaiming Them
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A new report released today from the Food Chain Workers Alliance and HEAL Food Alliance analyzes how grassroots leaders have won policies in 10 U.S. cities that hold institutions accountable to purchasing food from suppliers who support people working on the frontlines, local communities, animals, and the environment – collectively influencing over $540 million in public food dollars. 

Procuring Food Justice: Grassroots Solutions for Reclaiming Public Supply Chains distills lessons from a decade of organizing to offer advocates a new blueprint for leveraging a “values-based purchasing” strategy to challenge corporate control of public food and redirect billions of taxpayer dollars toward small producers, producers of color, and suppliers with fair labor practices.

“This new analysis reveals how just a handful of corporations have seized near-total control of our public supply chains so they can rake in profits while paying workers poverty wages, putting lives at risk with hazardous working conditions, and retaliating against workers who exercise their right to organize,” said Christina Spach, Food Campaigns Director at the Food Chain Workers Alliance. “This report outlines opportunities for leveraging public contracts to hold these corporations accountable. In order for public contracts to reflect public values, we must demand transparency from suppliers and establish consequences for companies that do not follow fair labor practices.”  

“Three out of five kids rely on the food served in public schools, and they deserve food systems that support them, not entrench them in the current state of inequality” said Jose Oliva, Campaigns Director at HEAL Food Alliance. “These massive food corporations are using taxpayer dollars to increase their own profit margins at the expense of our children, working people, and the planet. The solutions detailed in this report show that it is possible to get quality, nutritious, and sustainable food into schools and other public feeding programs – where kids and families need it most.” 

The report draws on the testimonies of organizers and advocates on the ground, including surveys of 83 people working on the frontlines of production and warehousing; case studies with farmers, food aggregators, and processing plant workers; and 50 interviews with organizers, farmers, advocates, and academics. The report concludes that there are two primary needs for the future success of this work: supply chain transparency and real enforcement mechanisms.


“Our local work to implement values-based food procurement is only possible with meaningful support from our state government. New York has some of the most restrictive procurement laws in the country, so we are keenly aware that lowest bidder requirements are incredibly prohibitive and do not create enough space for food purchasing to be democratized across municipalities. Eliminating lowest bidder requirements and lifting barriers to values-based food procurement allows municipalities to make decisions about their institutional food purchasing needs that are aligned with the values of the communities they are serving.”

Ribka Getachew
Director of the NY Good Food Purchasing Program Campaign
Community Food Advocates
 


“I asked for the data [for procurement contracts]. Who bought from whom? Who ends up with the contracts? The three privileged white farmers that already had a monopoly on everything because they “work with organic methods.” Well, so do all of us [ACN’s Black, Indigenous and producers of color], but because they had that longevity of farming, they also had the capital, the land, the resources, the labor, and they had their white skin privilege.”

Helga Garcia-Garza
Director of Agri-Cultura Co-operative Network


The full report is available at: procuringfoodjustice.org

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El Nuevo Reporte Expone el Control Corporativo de Las Cadenas Públicas de Distribución de Suministros y las Comunidades que las Reclama.  

Un nuevo reporte publicado hoy por Food Chain Workers Alliance y HEAL Food Alliance analiza la manera que los líderes de base han ganado políticas en 10 ciudades de EE.UU. que tiene instituciones responsables para comprar alimentos de los proveedores que apoyan a las personas trabajando en las primeras líneas, las comunidades locales, los animales, y el medio ambiente – colectivamente influyendo más de $540 millones en dólares de alimentos públicos.

Adquirir la Justicia Alimentaria: Soluciones de Base para Reclamar Las Cadenas Públicas De Distribución destila lecciones de una década de organizar para ofrecerle a los promotores un nuevo plan para potenciar la estrategia “comprar basado en valores” para retar el control corporativo de los alimentos públicos y redirigir miles de millones de dólares de contribuyentes hacia pequeños productores, productores de color, y proveedores con practicas laborales justas.

“Este nuevo análisis revela cuánto un manojo de corporaciones han tomado un control casi total de nuestras cadenas públicas de distribución de suministros para que puedan embolsarse las ganancias mientras le pagan a los trabajadores sueldos de nivel de pobreza, poniendo a riesgo los derechos a organizar,” dijo Christina Spach, Directora de Campañas de Alimentos de Food Chain Workers Alliance. “Este reporte perfila las oportunidades para aprovechar los contratos públicos para hacer responsables a estas corporaciones. Para que los contratos públicos reflejen los valores públicos, tenemos que exigir transparencia de los proveedores y establecer consecuencias para las compañías que no siguen las prácticas laborales justas.”

“Tres de cada cinco niños dependen de los alimentos que se sirven en las escuelas públicas, y merecen sistemas de alimentos que los apoyen, no que los afiance en el estado actual de desigualdad,” dijo Jose Oliva, el Director de Campañas de HEAL Food Alliance. Estas corporaciones masivas de alimentos usan los dólares de los contribuyentes para aumentar su propio margen a costa de nuestros hijos, la gente trabajadora, y el planeta. Las soluciones detalladas en este reporte demuestran que es posible obtener alimentos de calidad, nutriente y sostenible en las escuelas y otros programas públicos de alimentación – en donde los niños y las familias más lo necesitan.

El reporte recurre de los testimonios de organizadores y de defensores sobre el terreno, incluyendo encuestas de 83 personas que trabajan en la primera línea de la producción y los almacenes; estudios monográficos con agricultores, agregadores de alimentos, y trabajadores de plantas de procesamiento; y 50 entrevistas con organizadores, agricultores, defensores, e investigadores. El reporte concluye que hay dos necesidades principales para el éxito de este trabajo en el futuro: la transparencia de la cadena de producción y mecanismos auténticos de responsabilidad.

“Nuestro trabajo de implementar la adquisición de alimentos basados en valores sólo es posible con apoyo significativo de nuestro gobierno estatal. Nueva York tiene una de las leyes de adquisición más restrictivas en el país, por eso estamos plenamente conscientes de que los requisitos más bajos del licitador son increíblemente prohibitivos y no crean espacio suficiente para que la compra de alimentos sea democratizada en las municipalidades. Eliminar los requisitos más bajos del licitador y levantar las barreras de la adquisición de alimentos basados en los valores le permite a las municipalidades tomar decisiones sobre su necesidad de compras de alimentos institucionales para que estén más alineadas con los valores de las comunidades que sirven.”

Ribka Getachew
Directora de NY Good Food Purchasing Program Campaign
Community Food Advocates


“Yo pedí la información [para los contratos de adquisición]. ¿Quién compró de quien? ¿Quién se queda con los contratos? Los tres agricultores blancos privilegiados que ya tienen un monopolio de todo porque ellos “trabajan con métodos orgánicos.” Pues, tambien todos nosotros [Las personas negras, indígenas y productors de color de ACN], pero porque han tenido la larga duracion de la agriculturas, tambien han tenido el capital, la tierra, los recursos, el labor, y han tenido el privilegio de su piel blanca.”

Helga Garcia-Garza
Directora de Agri-Cultura Co-operative Network

Puede encontrar el reporte completo en: procuringfoodjustice.org

The Food Workers Organizing Institute!

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On International Workers’ Day, we’re excited to announce the launch of our Food Workers Organizing Institute!
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Since our founding in 2009, the Food Chain Workers Alliance has been committed to building organized worker density in the food chain with strategies led by members. To achieve that vision, we support 33 member groups — representing hundreds of thousands of food workers from the fields to the check-out counters — to amplify their organizing projects, build their leadership skills, and foster solidarity across the food system.

Over the past three years, we have responded to members’ desire for more programming for workers and senior organizers to build skills, share strategies, and develop organizing projects with peer support. The Food Workers Organizing Institute combines existing programs with a few new ones:

Food Sector-based cohorts: Workers from FCWA member groups learn and share organizing strategies, campaign planning and power analysis skills. Meetings are led by FCWA staff and a range of guest speakers.

Member Organizer Fellowship: Workers and organizers from FCWA member groups expand their work under the mentorship of our staff, and receive funding to spend one day per week on an organizing project important to their sector.

Senior Organizer Trainings: One-off trainings on strategy and organizing tools for experienced organizers. Upcoming topics include overcoming employer retaliation and supply chain mapping.

Conducting these programs virtually makes them more accessible to workers and allows us to convene participants from across North America. We provide iPads, wifi hotspots, tech support, language interpretation, and stipends to workers to ensure accessibility.

As an alliance of groups organizing workers across the entire food chain, we have the unique opportunity to create a pipeline of worker organizers to connect with the larger food movement and effect meaningful changes to our food system. Stay tuned for more updates from these spaces and check out the FCWA blog to meet our 2023 Member Fellows!

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¡En el Día de los Trabajadores Internacionales, estamos emocionados de anunciar el lanzamiento del Instituto de Los Trabajadores de Alimentos Organizando!

Desde nuestra fundación en el 2009, Food Chain Workers Alliance ha estado comprometida a construir una densidad de trabajadores organizados en la cadena alimenticia con estrategias lideradas por los miembros. Para alcanzar esa visión, apoyamos a 33 grupos miembros — representando a cientos de miles de trabajadores de alimentos desde los campos hasta las cajas registradoras — para amplificar sus proyectos organizativos, construir sus habilidades de liderazgo, y promover la solidaridad en todo el sistema alimentario.

En los últimos tres años, hemos respondido a los deseos de los miembros de más programación para los trabajadores y organizadores de senioridad para construir habilidades, compartir estrategias, y desarrollar proyectos organizativos con el apoyo de los compañeros. El Instituo de Trabajadores de Alimentos Organizando combina los programas existentes con algunos nuevos:

Cohortes basados por sector de alimentos: Los trabajadores de los grupos miembros de FCWA aprenden y comparten estrategias organizativas, planificación de campañas y habilidades de análisis de poder. Las reuniones son lideradas por el personal de FCWA y una gama de oradores invitados.

Compañerismo de Organizadores Miembros: Los Trabajadores y organizadores de los miembros grupos de FCWA expanden su trabajo bajo la orientación de nuestro personal, y reciben fondos para dedicar un día por semana a un proyecto organizativo importante para su sector.

Capacitaciones para los Organizadores de Senioridad: Capacitaciones únicas sobre herramientas de estrategia y de organización para organizadores con más experiencia. Los próximos temas incluyen superar las represalias del empleador y mapeo de la cadena de distribución de suministros.

Realizando estos programas virtualmente los haces más accesibles a los trabajadores y nos permite convocar a participantes de toda Norte America. Proveemos iPads, epicentros de conexión inalámbrica, apoyo de tecnología, interpretación de lenguaje, y estipendios para los trabajadores para asegurar la facilidad de acceso.

Como una alianza de grupos de trabajadores organizando en toda la cadena alimenticia, tenemos una única oportunidad para crear una formación de trabajadores organizadores para conectar con el movimiento general de alimentos y realizar cambios significativos en nuestro sistema de alimentos. Esté atento para más actualizaciones de estos espacios y ¡revise el blog de FCWA para conocer a nuestros Becarios Miembros de 2023!

Meet our 2023 Member Organizer Fellows

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In 2021, FCWA launched our new Member Organizer Fellowship Program to support a cohort of organizers and senior worker leaders anchored in our member groups. Fellows are funded to spend one day per week on organizing projects important to their sector or organization. They convene monthly for peer-to-peer learning and to get support from FCWA’s staff organizing team. Projects from our 2022 Member Organizer Fellows included: storytelling workshops for workers; building a safehouse for injured workers; documenting injured worker testimonies; and mapping the web of warehouse companies, logistics companies, and staffing agencies within the food system. We can’t wait to see what this year’s fellows will do!

Meet the 2023-2024 Member Organizer Fellows:

Nita Carter
Mississippi Workers’ Center for Human Rights
Nita Michelle Carter is a native of Greenville, MS, born and raised in the Delta. I am a mother of three with two grandchildren. A fun fact about me is that I am a people person and love to cook. I graduated from Mississippi Valley State with a Social Work Degree. I am currently attending Walden University for Leadership Management. I have worked in various restaurants and know the danger of being in an unsafe and unhealthy environment. Working with FCWA members will allow me to engage and work with others across the globe, this will give me the chance to further improve lives in my community for safety. What inspires me to be a member of the Mississippi Workers Center for Human Rights and work with FCWA is not to fix all the problems but to be a rising leader to motivate and guide others, facilitate the problem-solving and decision-making processes, and innovate to benefit the community itself.

 

Martha Hernández
Venceremos
I am Martha Hernández, I am originally from Morelia, Michoacan, I am an ex-employee of Tyson and I have been supporting the workers for the last 10 years. I also went through difficult circumstances in Tyson and that is why I got involved, supporting workers and telling my story. I have been supporting Venceremos and continue to support them since the organization started with a group of women. Right now I am receiving training on how to talk to poultry workers and thinking about how to attract them and motivate them so that they know their rights and know that there is a place of support for them.

 

 

 

Maira Martínez
Workers’ Center of Central NY
My name is Maira Martínez, I am originally from Guatemala. I immigrated to the United States in 2018 with my family. I have worked in the agriculture industry and selling food. Since 2020 I have been a member of the Workers’ Center of Central NY (WCCNY). The WCCNY is a membership, farm, and city worker organization that facilitates worker empowerment and leadership development. I have participated in various campaigns such as fighting for immigration reform. I got involved in the state campaign to form a fund for excluded workers and health care for all immigrants. I have also participated in wage theft and anti-retaliation campaigns. I am now part of a leadership committee tasked with planning campaigns that benefit farm workers in NY. My project in this FCWA program focuses on consulting with dairy workers on housing issues. In the coming months I will be conducting a survey gathering data on housing issues, and documenting the vision that workers have for fair housing.

 

Jesus Mendoza
Alianza Agrícola
My name is Jesus Mendoza. I am a farm worker. I have been part of Alianza Agrícola for 4 years and am currently a member of the steering committee of leaders of the organization. Alianza Agrícola is an organization made up of farmworkers. I got involved in Alianza because it is an organization that strives to support the immigrant community throughout the state of New York. Alianza members participate in and lead educational and community campaign efforts and we collaborate with organizations across the state. Over the past few years, Alianza Agrícola and its partners have won victories that guarantee driver’s licenses to all New York State residents, improve working conditions for farmworkers, and protect their right to organize. I am happy to be part of Alianza Agrícola, because together we can achieve many things and win respect and equality for immigrant workers.

My project in the FCWA member organizer fellowship program is to start the initial steps of developing a worker-owned cooperative for dairy workers. Through the program, I plan to do interviews with FCWA members who have developed similar cooperatives to learn from their experience. I hope to develop a plan of action for Alianza Agricola members as we develop this long-term dream and project to have dairy workers, who have so much experience and knowledge, running a worker-owned dairy that creates just and sustainable jobs.

 


 

¡Conozca a nuestros becarios organizadores miembros de 2023!

En octubre de 2021, FCWA lanzó el nuevo Programa de becas para organizadores de miembros para apoyar a un grupo de organizadores y líderes de trabajadores anclados en nuestras organizaciones miembros. Las y los participantes reciben fondos para pasar un día a la semana trabajando en la organización de proyectos importantes para su organización o sector. Se reúnen mensualmente para compartir y aprender entre grupo y para obtener el apoyo del equipo organizador del FCWA.

Los proyectos del primer grupo de Miembros Organizadores Becarios en 2022 incluyeron: talleres de narración de historias para trabajadores, construcción de una casa de seguridad para trabajadores lesionados, documentación de testimonios de trabajadores lesionados y mapeo de la red de empresas de almacenamiento, empresas de logística y agencias de personal dentro del sistema alimentario. ¡Estamos ansiosos por ver qué harán estos nuevos becarios!

Nita Carter
Mississippi Workers Center for Human Rights
Nita Michelle Carter es nativa de Greenville, MS, nacida y criada en el Delta. Soy madre de tres hijos con dos nietos. Un hecho divertido sobre mí es que soy una persona sociable y me encanta cocinar. Me gradué de Mississippi Valley State con un título de trabajo social. Actualmente estoy asistiendo a la Universidad de Walden para la Gestión de Liderazgo. He trabajado en varios restaurantes y conozco el peligro de estar en un ambiente inseguro e insalubre. Trabajar con miembros de FCWA me permitirá involucrarme y trabajar con otros en todo el mundo, esto me dará la oportunidad de mejorar aún más la vida en mi comunidad por seguridad.  Lo que me inspira a ser miembro del Centro de Trabajadores de Mississippi por los Derechos Humanos no es solucionar todos los problemas, sino ser un líder en ascenso para motivar y guiar a otros, facilitar los procesos de resolución de problemas y toma de decisiones, e innovar para beneficiar a los demás comunidad misma.

 

Martha Hernández
Venceremos
Yo soy Martha Hernández,  soy originaria de Morelia Michoacán.  Soy una ex-trabajadora de Tyson. He estado apoyando los trabajadores desde hace 10 años.  Yo tambien pase por circunstancias difíciles en Tyson por eso me involucraba apoyando. Y viajado aparte con los trabajadores contando mi historia. Sigo apoyando a Venceremos desde que se inició con un grupo de mujeres. Ahorita estoy recibiendo entrenamiento de cómo hablar con trabajadores avícolas y pensando de qué manera atraerlos y motivarlos para que ellos conozcan sus derechos y sepan que hay un lugar de apoyo para ellos.

 

 

 

Maira Martínez
Workers Center of Central NY
Mi nombre es Maira Martínez soy originaria de Guatemala. Emigre a los Estados Unidos en el 2018 con mi familia. He trabajado en la industria de la agricultura y vendiendo comida. Desde el 2020 he sido miembro del Centro de Trabajadores de NY Central (WCCNY). El WCCNY es una organización de miembros, trabajadores del campo y de ciudad que facilita el empoderamiento de los trabajadores y el desarrollo de liderazgo.

He participado en varias campañas como luchar por una reforma migratoria. Participe en la campaña estatal para formar un fondo de trabajadores excluidos, y colabore en la campaña estatal para ganar servicios de salud para inmigrantes. Tambien he participado en campañas de robo de salario y despido injustificado.

Ahora soy parte de un comité de liderazgo encargado de planear campañas que beneficien a trabajadores y trabajadoras del campo en NY. Mi proyecto en este programa del FCWA se enfoca en consultar con trabajadores de lechería sobre los problemas de la vivienda. En los próximos meses voy a realizar una consulta recabando datos de los problemas de las viviendas, y  documentando la visión que los trabajadores tienen para una vivienda justa.

 

Jesus Mendoza
Alianza Agrícola
Mi nombre es Jesus Mendoza. Soy un trabajador agrícola. Formo parte de una organización que se llama Alianza Agrícola, desde hace 4 años y a la fecha formo parte del gabinete de lideres de la organización.

Alianza Agrícola es una organización formada por trabajadores agrícolas. Me involucre en Alianza porque es una organización que se esfuerza en apoyar a la comunidad inmigrante en todo el estado de Nueva York, los miembros de Alianza participamos y lideramos esfuerzos de campañas educativas y comunitarias, colaboramos con organizaciones de todo el estado..En los últimos años, la Alianza y sus socios obtuvimos victorias que garantizan licencias de conducir para todos los residentes en el estado de Nueva York, mejoran las condiciones laborales de los trabajadores agrícolas y protegen su derecho a organizarse.

Me siento feliz de formar parte de Alianza Agrícola, porque se juntos podemos lograr muchas cosas y que la comunidad inmigrante tenga respeto e igualdad ante la sociedad.

Mi proyecto en el programa es comenzar los pasos iniciales para desarrollar una cooperativa que sea propiedad de los trabajadores lecheros. A través del programa, planeo hacer entrevistas con miembros de FCWA que hayan desarrollado cooperativas similares para aprender de su experiencia. Espero desarrollar un plan de acción para los miembros de Alianza Agrícola a medida que desarrollamos este sueño y proyecto a largo plazo de tener trabajadores lecheros, que tienen tanta experiencia y conocimiento, administrando una lechería propiedad de los trabajadores que crea empleos justos y sostenibles.

Why must we support the Protecting America’s Meatpacking Workers Act

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“Current labor laws protect companies more than workers. Many times, we are being forced to work under unsafe and unhealthy working conditions without the protection of the law. They have been calling us essential workers but we are still being treated as disposable. It’s time to pass laws that truly protect workers.”

             – Meat processing worker with 18 years of experience in one Missouri facility

 

 

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Meat and poultry processing workers have been organizing for safe working conditions and a voice in their workplace for decades. Many have spoken out about the hazardous and exploitative conditions in pork, beef and poultry plants across the U.S. – the vast majority of which are owned by four massive corporations: Cargill, Tyson Foods, JBS, and National Beef Packing Co.

The majority of workers in this sector are from BIPOC communities, and when compared with the workforce at large, they are much more likely to be born outside of the US and/or lack citizenship status. They frequently report injuries from excessive and unsafe line speeds, which can create lifelong complications. Line speeds are not the only hazards: workers are forced to operate dangerous machinery without adequate training, and are exposed to harmful chemicals which can lead to poisoning and death. Workers are denied bathroom breaks and describe a general culture of abuse, fear and retaliation from employers when they try to organize or ask for changes in their workplace.

During the pandemic, meat companies pushed workers to keep working without putting critical protections in place. We now know they also used the threat of supply chain shortages to exempt themselves from nationwide COVID protocols and keep plants open, earning them record-breaking profits. With the pandemic exemption, deregulation of the pork industry, and few consequences for violations from agencies like OSHA, these conditions are only worsening.

But workers in these plants continue to organize, through grassroots organizations and FCWA members like Venceremos, Rural Community Workers Alliance and CATA, and they have a critical need for stronger legal protections. This week, Senator Booker and Representative Ro Khanna re-introduced the Protecting America’s Meatpacking Workers Act (PAMWA) as part of a package of bills tackling injustice in the food system. PAMWA would provide essential protections for workers, including limiting line speed waivers, enhancing protection from retaliation for workers who speak up, ensuring access to proper medical care, eliminating unreasonable restrictions on workers’ use of bathrooms, and requiring OSHA to develop enforceable standards to protect workers from musculoskeletal disorders and airborne diseases, while addressing the stranglehold that a handful of corporations have over this industry.

“Day after day meat processing workers sacrifice their health and safety to feed all of us in this country, despite the hazards and risks they face. This is an opportunity for congress to provide   meatpacking workers with necessary legal protections that would greatly improve the safety of their workplaces while protecting their right to speak out freely against mistreatment” said Axel Funtes, Executive Director of the Rural Community Workers Alliance. “Here in Missouri, at the Rural Community Workers Alliance, we listened to our workers’ stories –  the PAMWA bill includes the voices of these working people and is a vital step to reform health and safety standards across our food systems.”

While there is still much more to do to protect workers and support worker organizing in meat processing plants, the provisions in this Bill are a critically important step and we are urging Congress to support this legislation.

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“Las leyes laborales actuales protegen a las compañías más que a los trabajadores. En muchas ocasiones somos forzados a trabajar bajo condiciones de empleo inseguras e insalubres sin la protección de la ley. Nos han llamado trabajadores esenciales pero todavía nos están tratando como si fueras desechables.”
– Trabajador de procesamiento de carne con 18 años de experiencia en una facilidad en Missouri

Los trabajadores de procesamiento de carne y aves se han estado organizando por décadas para mejores condiciones de trabajo y para tener una voz en el trabajo. Muchos han alzado la voz sobre las condiciones peligrosas y de explotación en las plantas de carne de cerdo, de res y the aves en todos los EE.UU. – la mayoría de la cual son propiedad de cuatro corporaciones masivas: Cargill, Tyson Foods, JBS, y National Beef Packing Co.

La mayoría de los trabajadores en este sector son de comunidades BIPOC, y cuando son comparadas a los trabajadores en general, es más probable que hayan nacido fuera de los Estados Unidos y/o carecen de estatus de ciudadanía. Frecuentemente reportan lesiones basadas en velocidades de líneas excesivas e insalubres, que pueden crear complicaciones de por vida. La velocidad de las líneas no son los únicos peligros: los trabajadores son forzados a operar la maquinaria sin entrenamiento adecuado, y son expuestos a químicos dañinos que pueden llevar a la intoxicación y hacia a la muerte. Se les niega a los trabajadores el descanso para usar el baño y describen una cultura general de abuso, temor y represalias de los empleadores cuando tratan de organizarse o cuando piden cambios en su lugar de trabajo.

Durante la pandemia, las compañías de carne empujaron a los trabajadores a seguir trabajando sin establecer protecciones críticas. Ahora sabemos que usaron la amenaza de escasez en la cadena de suministros para excusarse de los protocolos de COVID a nivel nacional y mantener las plantas abiertas, ganando ingresos sin precedentes. Con la exención de la pandemia, la desregulación de la industria de la carne de cerdo, y pocas consecuencias por las violaciones de las agencias como la OSHA, estas condiciones sólo han empeorado.

Pero los trabajadores en estas plantas continúan organizándose, por medio de organizaciones de base y los miembros de FCWA como Venceremos, Rural Community Workers Alliance y CATA que dicen que tienen una necesidad crítica de protecciones legales más fuertes. Esta semana, el senador Booker y el representante Ro Khanna reintrodujeron el proyecto de ley de Protección a los Trabajadores Empacadores de Carnes (PAMWA) como parte de un paquete de proyectos de ley enfrentando la injusticia del sistema de alimentos. PMWA proveería protecciones esenciales para los trabajadores, incluyendo limitaciones a las exenciones de velocidad de las líneas, mejorar protecciones contra las represalias para los trabajadores quienes alzan la voz, asegurar acceso al cuidado médico adecuado, eliminar irrazonables restricciones al uso de los baños para los trabajadores, y requerir que la OSHA desarrolle normas aplicables para proteger a los trabajadores de desórdenes musculo esqueletales y enfermedades transmitidas por el aire, mientras tratan la opresión que un manojo de corporaciones ejercen sobre la industria.

“Día tras día los trabajadores de procesamiento de carne sacrifican su salud y seguridad para darnos de comer a todos en este país, a pesar de los riesgos y peligros que enfrentan. Esta es una oportunidad para que el congreso provea a los trabajadores empacadores de carne con las protecciones legales necesarias que mejorarían considerablemente la seguridad de su lugar de trabajo mientras protegen sus derecho de hablar libremente contra el maltrato” dijo Axel Fuentes, Director Ejecutivo de Rural Community Workers Alliance. “Aquí en Missouri, en Rural Community Workers Alliance, escuchamos las historias de nuestros trabajadores – el proyecto de Ley PAMWA incluye las voces de estos trabajadores y es un paso vital para reformar las normas de salud y seguridad en todo el sistema de alimentos.”

Aunque haya mucho más que hacer para proteger a los trabajadores y apoyar la organización en las plantas procesadoras de carnes, las provisiones en este proyecto son un paso crítico y estamos exhortando al congreso para que apoye esta legislación.

Update on the Farm Workforce Modernization Act

By News


(Español abajo)
This year, for the third time, Food Chain Workers Alliance members mobilized to block the Farm Workforce Modernization Act or FWMA.

Our campaign has been led by a grassroots farmworker movement, by worker leaders, organizers, and allies who knew from the very beginning that farmworkers deserve better than what the FWMA was offering. Any real legislative solution must ensure fair wages, dignified housing, healthy and safe workplaces, legal status for all, and the protected right to organize.

So we spoke out about the FWMA’s dangers: how it ties a long and complicated path to citizenship to years of exploitative labor in agriculture and expands the harmful H-2A visa and E-Verify systems in the agricultural sector. We organized to prevent a last-ditch effort to pass the bill under a new name, and we challenged the agriculture industry’s efforts to cram the bill into the Omnibus.

But the fight still isn’t over. The agricultural industry will continue to value profits over workers’ lives, and we must continue fighting. Our fight is long, but we are ready to organize, build power, and win the rights and protections we deserve. Will you join us?

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Este año, por tercera vez, los miembros de Food Chain Workers Alliance se movilizaron para bloquear la Ley de Modernización de la Fuerza Laboral Agrícola (FWMA).

Nuestra campaña ha sido dirigida por un movimiento de trabajadoras y trabajadores agrícolas de base, por líderes de trabajadores, organizadores y aliados que sabían desde el principio que los trabajadores agrícolas se merecen algo mejor que lo que FWMA estaba ofreciendo. Cualquier solución legislativa real debe garantizar salarios justos, vivienda digna, lugares de trabajo saludables y seguros, estatus legal para todos y el derecho protegido a organizarse.

Así que hablamos sobre los peligros de la FWMA: cómo vincula un largo y complicado camino hacia la ciudadanía con años de explotación laboral en la agricultura y expande los dañinos sistemas de visa H-2A y E-Verify en el sector agrícola. Nos organizamos para evitar un esfuerzo de última hora para aprobar el proyecto de ley con un nuevo nombre, y trabajamos para desafiar los esfuerzos de la industria agrícola para meter el proyecto de ley en el Omnibus.

Pero la lucha aún no ha terminado. La industria agrícola seguirá valorando las ganancias por encima de la vida de los trabajadores, y debemos seguir luchando. Nuestra lucha es larga, pero estamos listos para organizarnos, construir poder y ganar los derechos y protecciones que merecemos. ¿Te nos unirás?

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