The following information taken directly from the SAF website, copied and pasted here for easy reading…
Support North Carolina’s Farmworker Union- Join Project Solidarity Today!
STUDENT ACTION WITH FARMWORKERS
Beginning this June, FLOC will begin monthly farmworker leadership meetings for their members across the state. They NEED dedicated supporters to drive workers to these meetings- Click here to find out more about taking part in this incredibly meaningful experience!
SAF Selects Twenty-Five College Students to Participate in the 2006 Into the Fields Program
SAF has just finalized the 2006 class of Into the Fields interns, who will spend their summer working with migrant farmworkers throughout the Carolinas. During this ten-week program, SAF interns will support farmworkers as they address health and safety concerns, educational barriers, community concerns, and discrimination in the workplace.
The 2006 Intern Class represents 18 campuses across the U.S. Sixteen of these interns are themselves from farmworking families.
To see where these interns are from and where they’re working this summer, please click here.
Congratulations Interns!
Most successful Farmworker Awareness Week in history!
Thousands participated in Cesar Chavez Day marches, letter writing & postcard campaigns, McDonalds Truth Tour, panels, teach-ins, film screenings, cultural shows and service projects!
Click here for more information.
SAF Solidarity Days
July 20th National Immigration Call-in/Meeting Day
November20th Farmworker Campaign Support
STAND IN SOLIDARITY with farmworkers and SAF alumni no matter what city or state you’re in. In 2006, SAF will initiate three national volunteer days as a way to keep the 400+ alumni of the Into the Fields summer internship program actively supporting farmworkers in their communities. Each volunteer day will have a specific focus: Service, Policy Advocacy, and Farm Labor Campaigns. SAF Regional Representatives will help coordinate alumni to participate in SAF Solidarity Days. Want to get involved? Contact Laxmi at 919-660-3660
Email
SAF Regional Representatives will help coordinate alumni to participate in SAF Solidarity Days.
Durham activists and Smithfield workers demand Justice @ Smithfield Packing.
Click here to find out how to take action.
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Invite farmworkers, farmworker agency representatives, and union representatives to speak on campus. Contact the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC), Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN), or United Farm Workers (UFW), to find out about possibilities. One of these unions may have a speaking tour already in progress– contact them to set a date for your campus!
- Create a boycott committee to raise awareness of current boycotts and encourage administrators to boycot products in campus dining services. You can communicate with administrators through:
-meetings
-newspaper editorials and letters
-letters
-campus radio shows
-petitions
-rallies and sit-ins
- Make presentations about farmworkers to campus groups. You may find the most receptive audiences in justice-oriented groups, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t branch out to other groups. Think about speaking to faith-based organizations, women’s groups, academic clubs (e.g. the Econ Majors Club), and social organizations.
- Participate in "Farmworker Awareness Week," held every spring (SAF will announce exact dates in the fall). You can arrange a showing of a video like "Harvest of Shame" (available from the SAF library), distribute handbills (check out the ones in the SAF Action Pack), coordinate speakers and discussion groups, or plan a rally featuring farmworkers, students, union members, and faculty speaking in support of farmworker-called boycotts.
- Organize a letter-writing campaign at your school centering on current legislation, government programs affecting farmworkers, or boycotts. Hand-written letters are most effective. As few as ten letters to a legislator will urge action.
- Develop an academic course on farmworkers for your school. Click here to see a sample syllabus.
- Use research papers and class projects to explore farmworker issues. For a list of resources available in the SAF library, click here.
- Make a pin or a sticker that says "Ask me about farmworkers" and have information on hand to distribute to those who do. It may seem unusual– but it can help get the word out.
Many ideas for campus activism also work elsewhere. In addition to the suggestions for campuses, think about how you can:
- Volunteer with a local agency that works with farmworkers. Check out the SAF Internship Directory for agency listings.
- Organize awareness-raising presentations at local religious organizations, clubs, libraries, and other community meeting spaces. SAF can also provide slides and other materials– click here for more information.
- Use customer comment cards to encourage grocery stores to honor farmworker-called boycotts.
- Work in a profession that supports farmworkers– health outreach work, migrant education or English as a Second Language instructor, community organizing, labor or immigration law, documentary photography and writing– or think about how you can use your profession to support farmworkers.
- Learn about issues that most affect local farmworkers, then raise money for agencies addressing these issues. For more information on contributing to SAF, click here.
- Find out about your representatives’ stances on issues affecting farmworkers, and contact them to discuss their views.
Be a Conscientious Consumer
Overview
85% percent of the fresh fruits and vegetables we eat are hand-picked by farmworkers. As consumers, we can support farmworkers when we:
- Support farmworker-called boycotts. This means not buying boycotted products AND informing the company– by letter, phone call, fax, or email– of your decision. Otherwise, they may not get the message. For more information on current boycotts, visit these websites: the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC), Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN), or United Farm Workers (UFW).
- Don’t waste food.
- Purchase locally-grown, pesticide-free, and sustainably-produced fruits and vegetables that honor just labor practices.
- Support local food cooperatives, farmer’s markets, and organic growers’ associations that honor just labor practices.
- Participate in local awareness-raising actions.
- Stay informed of current issues affecting farmworkers. To find out about receiving weekly updates through SAF’s listserve, sign up here for News, Action Alerts and more. To sign up for the mailing list, please click on the link and in the message text write "subscribe farmworkers".To receive SAF’s newsletter three times a year, contact SAF.
Please SUPPORT the following:
United Farm Workers (UFW)
Strawberries - Swanton Berry, Coastal Berry Co. LLC
Roses - Armstrong, Meilland Star Roses, Jackson & Perkins (J&P)
Other Flowers and Nursery - L E Cooke
Apples - Mann’s CA Apples, Elwin R Mann
Almonds - Montpelier
Dates -Brown Date Garden
Wine/Champagne - Chateau St Michelle, Columbia Crest, Saddle Mountain, Farron Ridge, North Star, Snoqualmie, St. Supery, Dollarhide Ranch, Scheid Vineyards Inc., Charles Krug, C.K. ondavi
Vegetables - Muranaka,* Balletto
Mushrooms - Prime (East Coast), Family Farms, Monterey CA only), Money’s (CA only), California Mushrooms Farms, Inc
Citrus (Lemons, Oranges, Grapefruit, Tangerines) - Big Jim*, Sunkist*, Sunworld*, Airdrome*
*Only with the UFW Black Eagle.
Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC)
Pickles - Mt. Olive Co.; Vlasic Co.*, Heinz USA Corp.*, Dean Foods Co.*,including Aunt Jane Co.* * OHIO only
Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN)
Blueberries & Strawberries - Nature’s Fountain Farm
Chestnuts, Apples & Pears - Thomas Paine Farms
Organic Fruit & Vegetables - Moon Ridge Farms
Organic Vegetables - Egor’s Acres (Oregon only)
On Monday, March 8, Taco Bell Corp (A division of YUM! Brands) agreed to work with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to address the wages and working conditions of farmworkers in the Florida tomato industry. Taco Bell also agreed to pay a penny more per pound of tomatoes directly to farmworkers. Thanks to all the SAF supporters, interns, students and allies who have supported CIW’s struggle to improve conditions for farmworkers by honoring the boycott, getting your university to "Boot the Bell", participating in Truth Tours, marching and picketing at local Taco Bells, and sending letters and making calls to Yum headquarters. See press release here.
FLOC Victory! Boycott of Mt. Olive ends!
On Thursday, Sept. 16 (Mexican Independence Day), the Mt. Olive Pickle Co. Boycott ended, marking the beginning of better conditions for over 8,000 workers covered by the historic labor agreement. Congratulations FLOC on this amazing victory!
During the past 2 months:
–The NC Growers Association (NCGA) signed a neutrality agreement, which enabled FLOC to go to NCGA farms and meet with H2A guestworkers without NCGA opposing them. NCGA gave FLOC a list of all their growers and told the growers to expect visits from FLOC.
–FLOC President Baldemar Velasquez received a call from Bill Bryan of Mt. Olive Pickle Co. saying he was ready to talk! Bryan and Velasquez negotiated, while FLOC organizers organized H2A workers.
–H2A workers met weekly to come up with ideas for a new contract. The Growers’ Association agreed to it, and Mt. Olive signed the agreement, along with a separate side agreement.
–At 10 am on Thursday, September 16, the official signing ceremony took place in Raleigh, NC. Over 200 supporters witnessed this historic event.
Thanks to all the SAF supporters, board members, and alumni who:
-researched the pickle industry in NC in the early 1990s,
-served as Into the Fields summer interns with FLOC since 1995,
-participated in rallies and marches,
-leafleted consumers about the boycott,
-debated with Mr. Bryan and Mr. Eury,
-sent letters, faxes, and emails to Mt. Olive Pickle Co.,
-did NOT eat those darn pickles for the last 5 years!
Gallo Boycott over! Buy the union label!
On Sept. 14th the United Farm Workers announced that they signed a 30-month contract with Gallo Vineyards, ending the 3 month Gallo boycott. The new agreement covers all 310 Gallo farm workers in Sonoma County, California. Including a unilateral raise Gallo granted in April, the Sonoma workers will see their base hourly pay rise 9.5% to $8.98 by the end of the 30-month contract. Those workers hired through labor contractors will have the right to file grievances over discipline and seniority issues for the first time.
The UFW made the contract announcement on the steps of city hall in San Francisco, three months to the day from the boycott kick-off on the same steps. Workers poured wine from Gallo bottles and toasted to the new contract. National Farmworker Worker Ministry’s California organizer, Ana Rizo, who emceed the event said, "There was great energy as farm workers waved flags and celebrated in solidarity with the supporters who helped in this victory." Major Gallo of Sonoma labels include Gallo of Sonoma, Mac Murray Ranch and Frei Brothers.
Thank you for the support you lent toward this victory!