Preparing for FWJD
The focus this year for Farmworker Justice Day is climate justice. Community to Community (C2C) and Familias Unidas por la Justicia (FUJ) have been deep in the struggle for climate justice since their inceptions– led by the reality that those who work and steward the land are the first to feel the effects of its degradation, and the best leaders towards a more just relationship with our environment. Edgar Franks, the political director for Familias Unidas por la Justicia, attended the COP26 climate change conference this past year as a representative of Front and Centered and FUJ. Edgar and Jill Mangaliman, an organizer with Front and Centered, hosted a series of talks on the COP26 grassroots movement, titled Crash the #COP26! Please listen to these short podcasts (linked–all between 5-25 minutes) to prepare for the conversation on COP26.
If you’d like more discussion on this topic, C2C’s Community Voz radio show also hosted several podcasts on the COP26 conference. Find them here.
More ways to prepare
Farmworkers and leaders from C2C and FUJ have already covered a wide array of topics that intersect with farm labor and justice that you can access throughout the website, and on their websites and facebook pages. On this page, we have gathered a few focal resources on these organizations and the movement building that they do. You can gain familiarity with other key topics in the movement by navigating the “Resources” drop-down arrow, or by checking out past Farmworker Justice Day recordings. Engaging with the information many activists have already made available is a critical way to respect the educational labor from our speakers.
A Just Transition for Farmworkers
This February 2022 article from High Country News chronicles the last few months of local farmworker organizing toward a “just transition”: a key tenet held in C2C and FUJ’s movement building.
High Country News: A Just Transition for Farmworkers
The “Just Transition” framework is a set of principles and practices for an economic and political power shift towards climate justice, a regenerative economy instead of an extractive one, and participatory worker-led democracy. Learn more about the Just Transition framework here with this description from the Climate Justice Alliance.
En La Lucha film
Excerpt from C2C’s Website:
“En La Lucha” is a documentary film created by Evergreen alums Ry Feder Pruett, Katryna Newman, and Jorge Bex. Over the last two years, Pruett, Newman, and Bex have followed C2C and FUJ, gathering footage of our movement and documenting historic moments, as well as intimate interviews and portraits of powerful leaders. Through sharing the story of this fight from the perspective of the farmworkers and organizers, they aim to share information and hope for all those in the fight for farmworker justice. The film is set to be released later this year.
For more information, visit: https://enlaluchafilm.wixsite.com/documentary
An Introduction to C2C:
This incredible article from WhyHunger, another food justice organization and member of the US Food Sovereignty Alliance, provides important insight into Community to Community’s ongoing work, formation, and organizing model.
Community to Community Development: Answering the Call for Justice
David Bacon articles:
David Bacon is a photojournalist, labor organizer, and long-time ally of Washington farmworker organizers at C2C and Familias Unidas por la Justicia. He has covered a plethora of events within the movement: from FUJ’s contract negotiations with Sakuma Bros Berry Farm, to the impacts of NAFTA on farmers in Mexico.
Joe Biden Should Roll Back the US’s Exploitative Guest Worker Policies
This article on the H-2A program and the history of guest work in the U.S. is critical in the time of national discussions on expanding the program, through the Farm Workforce Modernization Act which C2C, FUJ, and many other farmworker justice organizations strongly oppose. You can sign your name in opposition of the Farm Workforce Modernization Act here.
Farmworkers Need Families, Not Deportation and Exploitation Another resource on the resistance to our unjust food system structure, this article urges congress not to pass the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, but instead end H-2A and make migration safe and documentation accessible for all people.
Maddi’s workshop:
For people who are new to farmworker justice, this presentation by Evergreen alum Maddi Parvankin, who was a member of Evergreen’s Farmworker Justice Solidarity Collective, covers some basics about farm work in WA, the H-2A program, and how activists have resisted these oppressive conditions and created more sustainable agricultural models.
Videos from C2C website:
Take some time to scroll through the remaining videos to check out more of C2C’s actions.