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We’re Hiring! Executive Director Job Listing

By News

(español abajo)

FCWA is looking for an experienced organizer and team leader to be our new Executive Director. As the leader of a small, remote staff team, you’ll be supporting FCWA’s 34 member groups who represent hundreds of thousands of workers across the food chain! If you are an experienced champion of labor, immigrant rights, and human rights, we want to hear from you: https://ideali.st/dv869z 



Food Chain Workers Alliance
Job Announcement: Executive Director

The Food Chain Workers Alliance (FCWA) is a bi-national coalition of 34 worker-based organizations whose members plant, harvest, process, pack, transport, prepare, serve, and sell food, organizing to improve wages and working conditions for all workers along the food chain.

FCWA unites workers across all sectors of the food system. Our members use different strategies and work in different regions, yet are aligned in their vision for a grassroots, worker-led movement to build power and end exploitation in the food system. As a member-driven organization, FCWA is a unique space for this collective strategy.

The Alliance’s organizing North Star is to increase organized worker density in the food system with strategies led by our members. We have worked to fulfill this mission through centering worker leadership development, supporting member organizing, nurturing collective strategies, and building alliances with broader social movements for justice.

THE POSITION
FCWA is seeking an executive director to lead the organization who has a deep understanding of and commitment to building bottom-up food worker power and strengthening movements for social justice. We seek a candidate who is a strategic thinker, is visionary and collaborative in their approach, and committed to building a healthy, safe working environment with trusted relationships across staff, board, and members.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
The ED is responsible for overseeing all of FCWA’s work with the aim of ensuring that all programs interconnect and are grounded in and move forward the vision set by FCWA members. The ED supports FCWA staff to carry out this vision through collaborative mentorship and leadership.

Strategic Organizational Development 

  • Develop and implement collaborative strategic planning processes across the organization with members and staff grounded in our organizing North Star, while also bringing their own strategic lens and ideas.
  • Ensure our work, infrastructure, and member programming reflect and ensure ongoing reflection on the principles and commitments outlined in our Organizing platform and Anti-Oppression policy;
  • Support the development and implementation of new programs that develop from member strategic planning discussions, incorporating their own grounded organizing vision.

Movement Building 

  • Develop, maintain and manage strong internal movement building structures of the organization, such as membership meetings, our annual summit, and other membership wide programs in collaboration with member committees and staff teams;
  • Support program directors to carry out and grow movement-building collective member work including determining strategy and nurturing new campaigns and projects;
  • Maintain and develop relationships with larger social justice networks in furtherance of programmatic goals and membership vision, and actively participate in priority external coalitions;
  • Map food worker organizing and build relationships with organizations outside of our membership (including at a global level), and track larger trends in organizing, and movements that connect with our member priorities.

Staff Supervision & Team Development  

  • Lead the staff team, and support staff program directors and program teams in developing, implementing, and evaluating goals and work plans aligned with our vision and evolving member priorities;
  • Supervise staff team members individually and support staff to build their leadership in their program area;
  • Ensure a collaborative organizational culture based in trust and shared accountability, where all staff have opportunities to learn and grow in the organization.

Operations + Infrastructure 

  • Support the Operations Director to lead operations work/team;
  • Oversight on financial reporting, legal liability, HR, and ensuring compliance with best practices;
  • Develop the annual budget and track cash flow, and ensure overall organizational financial health.

Fundraising

  • Support the Director of Fundraising to cultivate funder relationships, set fundraising goals and priorities to align with our program goals, and review and edit grant proposals and reports.

Board Development 

  • Support the FCWA board to carry out their responsibilities, including orientations with new board members, moving policy discussions forward, synthesizing information for board members to support their decision-making, and facilitating board response to organizational oversight needs.

OUR IDEAL CANDIDATE WILL POSSESS THE FOLLOWING QUALITIES, SKILLS & EXPERIENCES:

  • A minimum of 10+ years of experience in worker-based and grassroots organizing, including both worker center and union organizing models; with a minimum 5+ years of experience in organizational development and/or leading teams;
  • Experience leading grassroots strategic planning processes and experience mentoring and supporting staff and/or members to develop strategy;
  • Demonstrated experience assessing and acting creatively and swiftly on shifting conditions to advance campaigns and strategy;
  • Experience incorporating racial justice frameworks into the general operations and programming of an organization;
  • Experience building multi-racial and diverse coalitions, and experience with member-centered decision making, campaign development, and governance;
  • Conflict resolution skills and experience with conflict resolution tools and processes.
  • FCWA strives to be a place where we can build strategy and visions grounded in an anti-capitalist and global analysis. Candidates should bring well-rounded political analysis that reflects this in practice;
  • Experience cultivating funder relationships and writing funding proposals for organizing;
  • Detail-oriented with excellent financial management and operations skills, including experience managing an organization or project budget and an understanding of legal and administrative responsibilities for nonprofit management;
  • Candidates should be eager to develop a trusting and honest relationship with the staff team. This includes bringing strong interpersonal, facilitation, and communication skills, and a high level of emotional intelligence;
  • Ability to work collaboratively, share responsibilities, and support and acknowledge staff contributions.

Preferred 

  • Experience and connections with national level (including Canadian) worker organizing and coalitions;
  • Experience working directly with a board of directors to support their role;
  • Bi- or multi-lingual (oral and written fluency) in Spanish and/or another language is a plus.

We recognize that no single candidate will possess every qualification. If you are interested in the position and hold many of the experiences and attributes above, we encourage you to apply.

COMPENSATION & LOCATION
The location for this position is flexible, though ideally it will be based in a region where there are current or potential FCWA members. FCWA staff mainly work remotely, with in-person member and staff meetings throughout the year. The ideal start date will be August 2025.

The salary range for this position is $95,000-$105,000, commensurate with experience. FCWA offers excellent benefits and prioritizes flexible schedules to support work-life balance.

The FCWA is an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourages people of color, immigrants, food workers, women, non-binary, and LGBTQ individuals to apply.

TO APPLY:
Please send a resume and cover letter to info@foodchainworkers.org. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis beginning June 23, 2025 until the position is filled.


FCWA busca un organizador con experiencia y líder de equipo para ser nuestro nuevo Director Ejecutivo. Como líder de un equipo pequeño y remoto, apoyarás a los 34 grupos miembros de FCWA, que representan a cientos de miles de trabajadores de toda la cadena alimentaria. Si tienes experiencia en la defensa de los derechos laborales, de los inmigrantes y de los derechos humanos, nos gustaría saber de ti: https://ideali.st/dv869z

Food Chain Workers Alliance
Anuncio de empleo: Director Ejecutivo

Food Chain Workers Alliance (FCWA) es una coalición binacional de 34 organizaciones de trabajadores cuyos miembros siembran, cosechan, procesan, empacan, transportan, preparan, sirven y venden alimentos, organizándose para mejorar los salarios y las condiciones laborales de todos los trabajadores de la cadena alimentaria.

La FCWA une a trabajadores de todos los sectores del sistema alimentario. Nuestros miembros utilizan diferentes estrategias y trabajan en distintas regiones, pero comparten su visión de un movimiento de base, liderado por los trabajadores, para fortalecer su poder y acabar con la explotación en el sistema alimentario. Como organización impulsada por sus miembros, la FCWA es un espacio único para esta estrategia colectiva.

El objetivo principal de la Alianza en la organización es aumentar la densidad de trabajadores organizados en el sistema alimentario con estrategias lideradas por sus miembros. Hemos trabajado para cumplir esta misión centrando el desarrollo del liderazgo de los trabajadores, apoyando la organización de sus miembros, impulsando estrategias colectivas y construyendo alianzas con movimientos sociales más amplios por la justicia.

El Puesto
FCWA busca un/a director/a ejecutivo/a para liderar la organización, con un profundo conocimiento y compromiso con el fortalecimiento del poder de los trabajadores de la alimentación desde la base y el fortalecimiento de los movimientos por la justicia social. Buscamos un/a candidato/a con pensamiento estratégico, visión y enfoque colaborativo, y comprometido con la construcción de un ambiente de trabajo saludable y seguro con relaciones de confianza entre el personal, la junta Directiva

Responsabilidades Clave
El Director Ejecutivo (DE) es responsable de supervisar todo el trabajo de la FCWA con el objetivo de garantizar que todos los programas estén interconectados, se basen en la visión de los miembros de la FCWA y la impulsen. El DE apoya al personal de la FCWA para que haga realidad esta visión mediante mentoría y liderazgo colaborativos.

Desarrollo Organizacional Estratégico

  • Desarrollar e implementar procesos de planificación estratégica colaborativa en toda la organización, con miembros y personal arraigados en nuestra Estrella del Norte organizativa, a la vez que aportan su propia perspectiva estratégica e ideas.
  • Garantizar que nuestro trabajo, infraestructura y programación para miembros reflejen y garanticen una reflexión continua sobre los principios y compromisos descritos en nuestra Plataforma de Organización y la Política Antiopresión.
  • Apoyar el desarrollo y la implementación de nuevos programas que surjan de las conversaciones sobre planificación estratégica de los miembros, incorporando su propia visión organizativa.

Desarrollo de Movimientos

  • Desarrollar, mantener y gestionar sólidas estructuras internas de desarrollo de movimientos de la organización, como las reuniones de miembros, nuestra cumbre anual y otros programas para toda la membresía, en colaboración con los comités de miembros y los equipos de personal;
  • Apoyar a los directores de programa para llevar a cabo y desarrollar el trabajo colectivo de los miembros en el desarrollo de movimientos, incluyendo la definición de estrategias y el fomento de nuevas campañas y proyectos;
  • Mantener y desarrollar relaciones con redes más amplias de justicia social para promover los objetivos programáticos y la visión de los miembros, y participar activamente en coaliciones externas prioritarias;
  • Mapear la organización de los trabajadores de la alimentación y forjar relaciones con organizaciones externas a nuestra membresía (incluso a nivel global), y dar seguimiento a las tendencias más amplias en la organización y los movimientos que conectan con las prioridades de nuestros miembros.

Supervisión del Personal y Desarrollo del Equipo

  • Liderar al equipo de personal y apoyar a los directores y equipos de programas en el desarrollo, implementación y evaluación de objetivos y planes de trabajo alineados con nuestra visión y las prioridades cambiantes de los miembros.
  • Supervisar individualmente a los miembros del equipo y apoyarlos para que desarrollen su liderazgo en su área programática.
  • Garantizar una cultura organizacional colaborativa basada en la confianza y la responsabilidad compartida, donde todo el personal tenga oportunidades de aprender y crecer dentro de la organización.

Operaciones + Infraestructura

  • Apoyar al Director de Operaciones en la dirección del equipo de operaciones;
  • Supervisar la información financiera, la responsabilidad legal, los recursos humanos y garantizar el cumplimiento de las mejores prácticas;
  • Desarrollar el presupuesto anual, realizar el seguimiento del flujo de caja y garantizar la salud financiera general de la organización.

Recaudación de fondos

  • Apoyar al Director de Recaudación de Fondos para cultivar las relaciones con los financiadores, establecer objetivos y prioridades de recaudación de fondos que se alineen con los objetivos de nuestro programa, y ​​revisar y editar las propuestas e informes de subvenciones.

Desarrollo de la Junta Directiva

  • Apoyar a la junta directiva de la FCWA en el desempeño de sus responsabilidades, incluyendo la orientación a los nuevos miembros, impulsar las discusiones sobre políticas, sintetizar información para los miembros de la junta directiva para respaldar su toma de decisiones y facilitar la respuesta de la junta a las necesidades de supervisión organizacional.

NUESTRO CANDIDATO IDEAL POSEERÁ LAS SIGUIENTES CUALIDADES, HABILIDADES Y EXPERIENCIAS:

  • Mínimo de 10 años de experiencia en organización de base y de trabajadores, incluyendo modelos de organización de centros de trabajadores y sindicatos; con un mínimo de 5 años de experiencia en desarrollo organizacional y/o liderazgo de equipos;
  • Experiencia liderando procesos de planificación estratégica de base y experiencia en mentoría y apoyo al personal y/o a los miembros para desarrollar estrategias;
  • Experiencia demostrada en evaluar y actuar de forma creativa y ágil ante condiciones cambiantes para impulsar campañas y estrategias;
  • Experiencia en la incorporación de marcos de justicia racial en las operaciones y la programación general de una organización;
  • Experiencia en la creación de coaliciones multirraciales y diversas, y experiencia en la toma de decisiones centrada en los miembros, el desarrollo de campañas y la gobernanza;
  • Habilidades de resolución de conflictos y experiencia con herramientas y procesos de resolución de conflictos.
  • FCWA se esfuerza por ser un espacio donde podamos construir estrategias y visiones basadas en un análisis anticapitalista y global. Los candidatos deben aportar un análisis político integral que refleje esto en la práctica. Experiencia en el desarrollo de relaciones con financiadores y la redacción de propuestas de financiación para organizaciones.
  • Atención al detalle y excelentes habilidades de gestión financiera y operativa, incluyendo experiencia en la gestión del presupuesto de una organización o proyecto, y una comprensión de las responsabilidades legales y administrativas de la gestión de organizaciones sin fines de lucro., y una comprensión de las responsabilidades legales y administrativas de la gestión de organizaciones sin fines de lucro.
  • Los candidatos deben estar dispuestos a desarrollar una relación de confianza y honestidad con el equipo. Esto incluye sólidas habilidades interpersonales, de facilitación y comunicación, así como una alta inteligencia emocional.
  • Capacidad para trabajar en colaboración, compartir responsabilidades, y apoyar y reconocer las contribuciones del personal.

Preferible

  • Experiencia y conexiones con organizaciones y coaliciones de trabajadores a nivel nacional (incluyendo Canadá);
  • Experiencia trabajando directamente con una junta directiva para apoyar su función;
  • Se valorará el conocimiento bilingüe (oral y escrito) en español u otro idioma.

Reconocemos que ningún candidato posee todas las cualificaciones. Si le interesa el puesto y posee muchas de las experiencias y atributos mencionados, le animamos a postularse.

COMPENSACIÓN Y UBICACIÓN
La ubicación para este puesto es flexible, aunque lo ideal es que esté ubicado en una región donde haya miembros actuales o potenciales de la FCWA. El personal de la FCWA trabaja principalmente de forma remota, con reuniones presenciales con los miembros y el personal durante todo el año.

La fecha ideal de inicio es agosto de 2025.

El rango salarial para este puesto es de $95,000 a $105,000, según la experiencia. La FCWA ofrece excelentes beneficios y prioriza horarios flexibles para facilitar la conciliación de la vida laboral y personal.

La FCWA es una empresa que ofrece igualdad de oportunidades y anima encarecidamente a las personas de color, inmigrantes, trabajadores del sector alimentario, mujeres, personas no binarias y personas LGBTQ a postularse.

PARA POSTULARSE:
Envíe su currículum vitae y carta de presentación a info@foodchainworkers.org. Las solicitudes se evaluarán de forma continua a partir del 23 de junio de 2025 hasta que se cubra el puesto.

 

Food Workers for Climate Justice

By News

APRIL 22, 2025

Over the past two years, FCWA hosted a series of dialogues, focus groups, and hearings for workers across the food chain to discuss how they’re experiencing the climate crisis now, and to uplift a food worker vision for climate and environmental justice. Many of our members are engaged in this work already, whether fighting to establish heat protections for workers, stop the use of pesticides, or defend communities from air pollution.

This Earth Day, we’re releasing a new platform based on these conversations and a Food Worker Climate Justice Declaration to guide our movement building and organizing into the future. It is critical that our food worker movement fight alongside the global movement for climate and environmental justice. Equally, our comrades fighting the climate crisis must center worker leadership and support worker organizing. Click here or read below to see what workers are saying about climate justice and the priorities laid out in our Food Worker Climate Justice Declaration.

“The laws that exist are not sufficient or strong or enforced to protect us.
We decided to take climate change as a central issue in our union in
Washington… It is an issue that is very local but international at the same time.”
– Familias Unidas por la Justicia

“Temperatures have been unbearable for bakery workers in the past year.
Bake rooms are
reaching over 100° with no air conditioning and bosses
dictating to stop complaining, and
‘get in there and make bread.’ Workers
passing out, leaving work, even dying of heat stroke
— workers that we don’t
think of as being affected in cities.”
– Bakery Worker

“There is an increase of animal pests, so the use of pesticides goes up. Pesticide
effectiveness goes down, which causes even more pesticides to be used. With the
higher heat, the chemicals become vaporized, which equals more pesticide
exposure for farmworkers.”
– Farmworker

We Demand the Release of Farmworker Leader Alfredo “Lelo” Juarez from ICE Detention

By News

On Tuesday, March 25,  Alfredo “Lelo” Juarez was violently detained by ICE while driving his partner to her workplace. ICE agents broke his car window when Lelo tried to exercise his rights. He is currently detained at an ICE facility in Tacoma, Washington.

Lelo has been a farmworker and community leader in Whatcom County, WA since he was 12 years old, and has worked tirelessly for immigrant and farmworker rights. He was one of the initial founders of the independent union Familias Unidas por la Justicia (FUJ), where he helped agricultural workers win paid breaks and overtime. As an organizer with Community to Community Development (C2C), he has been involved in multiple campaigns, most recently exposing the local impacts of the exploitative H-2A program.

Farmworker organizations on the ground believe that ICE targeted Lelo for his leadership in standing up for farmworkers and immigrants in his community. Most of the cases like Lelo’s go unnoticed, but there have been countless cases where ICE has harassed and abducted people on work sites, or on their way to and from work. The Trump Administration’s mass deportation plan is a way to harm individuals and families. It is also an attack on workers and on worker organizing, and an attempt to suppress the labor movement and silence pro-worker activism.

We stand with all the immigrant workers that have been targeted. We stand with FCWA members C2C and FUJ in demanding Lelo’s release and calling for U.S. Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, U.S. Reps. Rick Larsen and Pramila Jayapal, Governor Bob Ferguson, and WA Attorney General Nick Brown to do everything they can to free Lelo and to investigate the potential political motivations for his detention. We demand that all our elected leaders denounce these targeted attacks on immigrant workers and intervene to protect their safety.

FCWA is calling for ally organizations to join us in demanding Lelo’s release by signing on to our open letter.

Sign-ons as of May 9 at 9:00 a.m. PDT:
73 for Palestine
Agricultural Justice Project
Agroecology Research-Action Collective
Alternative Housing Alliance
Asian Americans United
Association of Legal Advocates and Attorneys – UAW Local 2325
Birchwood Food Desert Fighters
CAUSE (Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy)
Center for Biological Diversity
Center for Gender & Refugee Studies
Chicago Food Policy Action Council
Chicago Jobs with Justice
Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center
City Fruit
CLEAN Carwash Worker Center
Coffee Workers Coalition
Comité de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agrícolas
Community Alliance for Global Justice
Community First Whatcom
Community Food Advocates
Comunidad Sol
Coope Talamanca Sostenible
Cooperation Jackson
Dream Team Los Angeles
DRUM – Desis Rising up & Moving
DSA National Labor Commission
Ecojustice Ireland
FAACTS
FAE – Foundation for Academic Endeavors
Family Farm Defenders
Farm Aid
Farm and Food Justice Network
Farm Forward
Farmworker Association of Florida
Feedom Freedom Growers
Foggy Hill Farm
Food Culture Collective
Food for the Spirit
Food in Neighborhoods Community Coalition
Friends of the MST
Full Heart Farm
Global Labor Justice
Good Food Buffalo Coalition
Got Green
Grassroots Global Justice Alliance
Grassroots Law & Organizing for Workers (GLOW)
Harriet Tubman Center for Social Justice
Havurah Bris Melach
HEAL Food Alliance
Hearst Union
Huron Valley DSA
Idaho Organization of Resource Councils
Illinois Food Justice Alliance
Imoto Flower Farm
Indivisible Madison East
Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy
Intercommunity Peace and Justice Center
International Mayan League
International Migrants Alliance – US Chapter
Jews for Palestinian Right of Return
Justice for Migrant Workers
Kamayan Farm
La Semilla Food Center
Labor for Palestine National Network
Latinos En Spokane
Latinx Farmworkers of Southern Idaho
Long Way Farm
Makanai Farm
Make the Road PA
Migrant Justice / Justicia Migrante
Mission to End Modern Slavery (MEMS)
Mississippi Workers Center for Human Rights
Mixteca Group
MDC Consulting
Mount Baker Foundation
National Employment Law Project
National Lawyers Guild
National Lawyers Guild DC Chapter
National Lawyers Guild Seattle
National Young Farmers Coalition
NC Environmental Justice Network
Noisy Waters Northwest
NorCal Resist
Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York
Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont
NPEU (Nonprofit Professional Employees Union)
Nuevo Sol Day Labor and Domestic Worker Center
Pesticide Action & Agroeccology Network of North America
Philadelphia Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance
Powerswitch Action
Project South
Queer Spokane
Real Food Media
River Valley Country Club Farm
Rural Community Workers Alliance
Rural Vermont
Skagit County Democrats
Starbucks Workers United
South Carolina Workers Party
Southern Workers Assembly
Southside Food Co-op
Sunnyland Free Pantry
Tacoma DSA
Triumph Teen Life Center
UAW 4811 (UCLA) Rank & File Caucus
University Network for Human Rights
Vamos Outdoors Project
Venceremos
WA People’s Privacy
Wapato Church of the Nazarene
Warehouse Worker Resource Center
WashMasks Mutual Aid
WESPAC Foundation, Inc.
Westchester for CHange
Western Academic Workers United (UAW Local 4929)
WFSE Local 443
Whatcom County Charter Review Commissioner
Whatcom Families for Justice Palestine
Whatcom Democrats
Whatcom Peace and Justice Center
WhyHunger
Worker Justice Center of New York
Worksafe
WWU Jewish Voice for Peace

Individuals can take the following actions to support the cause:

Free Lelo!

New Report: Food Chain Workers in 2025

By News

FEBRUARY 12, 2025

Today, Food Chain Workers Alliance published a new and critical resource on the state of work in our food system. Food ​Chain Worker​s ​i​n 202​5: Labor and Exploitation in the Food System analyzes data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau, and U.S. Department of Labor to find that food workers fare worse than nearly all other U.S. workers by basically any measure

Low wages, high rates of injury, high rates of food insecurity, and low unionization are just some of the trends that continue to make the food industry one of the most exploitative employers in the country. 

Right now, FCWA members are organizing to challenge ramped up immigration enforcement and other Trump administration policies that will hurt workers. This new data attests to what our members already know: our food system runs on worker exploitation, propped up by racist anti-immigrant sentiment. Share this report to uplift the critical need to support worker power in the food system, and use it as a resource for further analysis of the food system:

Download this report as a PDF

Press Inquiries: Elizabeth Walle, elizabeth@foodchainworkers.org
Data Inquiries: Winston Moore, winston@foodchainworkers.org

Leadership Update & Preparing for 2025

By News

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

By News

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

By News

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

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