Domestic Fair Trade and Farmer Justice Organizations
Domestic Fair Trade Association
The Domestic Fair Trade Association is a collaboration of organizations representing farmers, farmworkers, food system workers, retailers, manufacturers, processors, and non-governmental organizations. Our primary goal is to support family-scale farming, to reinforce farmer-led initiatives such as farmer co-operatives, and to bring these groups together with mission-based traders, retailers and concerned consumers to contribute to the movement for sustainable agriculture in North America. DFTA has posted on its website a detailed evaluation of fair trade claims in the US market. NOFA is a founding member of DFTA. http://www.thedfta.org/
Agricultural Justice Project
The Agricultural Justice Project (AJP) is a non-profit initiative to create fairness and equity in our food system through the development of social justice standards for organic and sustainable agriculture. On the website you will find a Tool-kit for farmers with resources on fair labor policies, intern con-tracts, fair pricing, contracts and the background for fairness in international law. NOFA is a founding member and a continuing partner in AJP. http://www.agriculturaljusticeproject.org/
Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI – USA)
The Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA’s mission is to cultivate markets, policies, and communities that sustain thriving, socially just, and environmentally sound family farms. RAFI works nationally and internationally, focusing on North Carolina and the southeastern United States. RAFI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Pittsboro, North Carolina and incorporated in 1990. On the website, there are many resources for farmers and the staff provides counseling for farmers in financial distress. Their vision: Family farmers have the power to earn a fair and dependable income. Every-one who labors in agriculture is respected, protected, and valued by society. Air, water, and soil are preserved for future generations. The land yields healthy and abundant food and fiber that is accessible to all members of society. The full diversity of seeds and breeds, the building blocks of agriculture, is reinvigorated and publicly protected.
Fair World Project
Fair World Project (FWP) educates and advocates for a just global economy where: people are treated fairly with dignity; the environment is respected and nourished; commerce fosters sustainable livelihoods and communities in a global society based on cooperation and solidarity; fair market opportunities and fair government and trade policy defend and support the contributions of farmers, workers, and artisans to our global society; marketing claims have integrity and promote throughout entire supply chains, and support dedicated brands that put people before profits. FWP publishes a quarterly magazine with reports on domestic and international fair trade, evaluations of standards and certification programs. www.fairworldproject.org
“Justice in the Fields: A Report on the Role of Farmworker Certification and an Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Seven Labels” (2016) http://fairworldproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Justice-In-The-Fields-Report.pdf
Farmworker Organizations
Farmworker Justice
Farmworker Justice is a nonprofit organization that seeks to empower migrant and seasonal farmworkers to improve their living and working conditions, immigration status, health, occupational safety, and access to justice. http://www.farmworkerjustice.org/
• Labor and Immigration Resources: http://www.farmworkerjustice.org/resources-publications/labor-immigration
• Farmworker Justice/Oxfam America Report on Farmworker Abuse: http://www.farmworkerjustice.org/files/immigration-labor/weeding-out-abuses.pdf
• Farmworker Justice Report on H2A program: http://www.farmworkerjustice.org/images/stories/imm_labor_files/LitanyofAbuseReport_Dec2008_FINAL.pdf
• Farmworker Justice’s Selected Analysis of 2011-2012 National Agricultural Workers Survey Memo
• Farmworkers’ Health Fact Sheet: Data from National Agricultural Workers Survey
• Migration Policy Institute Briefing on Farm Labor Highlights Recent Data Trends (September 2015 Blog)
The Farmworker Support Committee (El Comite de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agricolas, CATA), based in Glassboro, New Jersey. Empowering and educating farmworkers through leadership development. The Farmworker Support Committee is a membership-based migrant and agricultural worker advocacy organization. In an effort to improve the conditions of workers, CATA has been working for over 35 years to help farmworkers and migrant workers improve their working and living conditions through organizing, capacity-building, and self-empowerment. CATA is a founding partner in the Agricultural Justice Project and has a food justice project, helping farm workers grow their own food in community gardens in Glassboro and Bridgeton, NJ and Kennett Square, PA. CATA has its own radio station: Radio CATA: the station plays on 102.5 FM in Bridgeton and is streaming online for the rest of the world to hear at www.radiocata.com. http://cata-farmworkers.org/
Migrant Justice/Justicia Migrante
Based in Burlington, Vermont, Migrant Justice builds the voice, capacity and power of the migrant farmworker community and engages community partners to organize for social and economic justice and human rights. http://www.migrantjustice.net
Workers’ Centers
There are Workers’ Centers in Central New York, Tompkins County, NY, Western, NY, the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts, and Vermont. These cen-ters provide training for low-wage workers in their legal rights, support workers who have been cheated out of wage and overtime pay, connect workers with unions and with information about medical treatment for injuries on the job and how to apply for Workers Compensation or medical leave. The Workers Center of Central New York focuses on organizing dairy farm workers. The Pioneer Valley Workers’ Center mission statement is typical of these centers: “The RVWC builds power with low-wage, and immigrant workers in Western Massachusetts. Through innovative and creative work-er-organizing strategies, the Center unites community allies to win real change in the lives of working families and our communities.” Centers engage in direct action, document human trafficking, and educate the public about labor issues.
They organize campaigns on immigration reform and help re-unite immigrant families broken up by the arrest and detainment of a family member, facil-itate bail and identify sources of legal help. The Tompkins County Workers’ Center certifies Living Wage Employers who must commit to paying the liv-ing wage calculated by the center for the Ithaca area of NY.
http://www.tcworkerscenter.org/
https://www.pvworkerscenter.org/
https://www.workerscenter.org/
Farmworker organizations in other regions:
Farmworkers Association of Florida (www.floridafarmworkers.org)
Centro Campesino, Minnesota (www.centrocampesino.net
Community to Community Development, Washington State (www.foodjustice.org)
Lideres Campesinas, California (www.liderescampesinas.org)
Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC), based in Toledo, Ohio. FLOC organizes farmworkers in Ohio, NC, SC and Mexico. (www.floc.com)
United Farm Workers
Founded in 1962 by Cesar Chavez, the United Farm Workers (UFW) of America is the nation’s first successful and largest farm workers union, currently active in 10 states. The vision of UFW is to provide farm workers and other working people with the inspiration and tools to share in society’s bounty. http://ufw.org/
• Inventory of Farmworker Issues and Protections in the United States – March 2011: http://www.ufw.org/pdf/farmworkerinventory_0401_2011.pdf
Cosecha
A new grouping led by young undocumented workers who are organizing first a boycott by the undocumented and then a general strike to demonstrate the importance of immigrant workers and their families to the economy of the US. Their goals are protection, respect, and dignity for the undocumented, and paths to citizenship for those who choose it. http://www.lahuelga.com/
Support Services for Farmworkers
Worker Justice Center of New York
Formed from a merger of Farmworker Legal Services of New York, Inc. and the Workers’ Rights Law Center, the Worker Justice Center of New York pursues justice for those denied human rights with a focus on agricultural and other low-wage workers, through legal representation, community empowerment and advocacy for institutional change. (http://www.wjcny.org)
Rural and Migrant Ministry (RMM)
RMM “works for the creation of a just rural New York through nurturing leadership, standing with the disenfranchised, especially farmworkers and ru-ral workers, changing unjust systems and structures.” RMM runs educational centers for farmworkers, summer camps and other educational programs for farmworker youth, and coordinates the Justice for Farmworkers Legislative Campaign that seeks to pass the Farmworker Fair Labor Practices Act. http://ruralmigrantministry.org/
Cornell Farmworker Program
The Cornell Farmworker Program (CFP) is dedicated to improving the living and working conditions of farmworkers and their families. We also seek recognition for farmworkers’ contributions to society and their acceptance and full participation in local communities. Staffed by Mary Jo Dudley, the Farmworker Program conducts research on farm worker conditions, provides training to farmers and farmworkers on improving communications, and provides resources for farm workers on its website. http://devsoc.cals.cornell.edu/outreach/cfp/
National Center for Farmworker Health
The National Center for Farmworker Health (NCFH) is a private, not-for-profit corporation located in Buda, Texas dedicated to improving the health status of farmworker families by providing information services, training and technical assistance, and a variety of products to community and migrant health centers nationwide, as well as organizations, universities, researchers, and individuals involved in farmworker health. http://www.ncfh.org/
The New Farmer Development Project
The New Farmer Development Project (NFDP) identifies, educates, and supports immigrants with agricultural experience by helping them become local farmers and establish small farms in the NYC region. http://www.grownyc.org/greenmarket/nfdp
National Farm Worker Ministry
The National Farm Worker Ministry is a faith based organization which supports farm workers as they organize for justice and empowerment. When United Farm Workers founder Cesar Chavez began organizing in the 1960’s, he called on the religious community to change its emphasis from charity to justice. NFWM became the vehicle for people of faith to respond to that call. NFWM brings together national denominations, state councils of churches, religious orders and congregations, and concerned individuals to act with the farm workers to achieve fundamental change in their living and working conditions. Grounded in faith, NFWM works side by side with farm workers throughout the country, organizing vigils, picketing, coordinating boycotts and educating constituents. http://nfwm.org/
Books, Films, Articles:
Labor and the Locavore: The making of a Comprehensive Food Ethic
By Margaret Gray (U. CA Press, Berkeley, 2014) The result of ten years of study of the conditions for both farmworkers and farmers in the Hudson Valley of New York, Gray gives us an honest picture of how farm labor relations look through a labor justice lens.
“The Hands that Feed Us: Challenges and Opportunities for Workers Along the Food Chain”
From the Food Chain Workers Alliance, a coalition of organizations that includes farmworkers, restaurant workers, unions that organize food service workers, and other grassroots stakeholder groups. This study is based on a survey of FCWA members and reports on their work, their wages and benefits, and makes recommendations for change. http://foodchainworkers.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Hands-That-Feed-Us-Report.pdf
Farm Hands By Tom Rivers
Batavia, N.Y. newspaper reporter Tom Rivers wrote a first-person series about farm work in 2008 that won state and national awards. Now the series, with more background and other information, is compiled in this newly released book, Farm Hands: Hard work and hard lessons from Western New York fields. http://www.farmhandsbook.com/
Trampling Out the Vintage: Cesar Chavez and the Two Souls of the United Farm Workers (Verso, 2012)
By Frank Bardacke
Not for the faint of heart, this 740 page study by a man who worked with UFW for a decade in the 1970’s, attempts to capture in great detail both the strengths and weaknesses of Cesar Chavez and the organization he created. Bardacke paints a vivid picture of the obstacles to organizing farm workers, struggling against farms and agribusinesses determined to maintain control, and the bitter fights within the labor movement.
The Color of Food: Stories of Race, Resilience and Farming. By Natasha Bowens, 2015.
A voice for food sovereignty in communities of color as well as a book by Natasha Bowens. The Color of Food is a multimedia project that aims to address the lack of voices from Asian, Black, Latino and Native American communities in the dialogue on healthy food and food justice. http://thecolorofood.org/home.html
New York Times Articles:
Immigrants Go From Farms to Jails, and a Climate of Fear Settles In (December 2006) http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/24/nyregion/24migrant.html
Illegal Workers Swept From Jobs in Silent Raids (July 2010) http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/10/us/10enforce.html
The Other Side of Immigration (Film)
Based on over 700 interviews, The Other Side of Immigration asks why so many Mexicans leave home to work in the United States and what happens to the families and communities they leave behind. http://www.theothersideofimmigration.com/
After I Pick the Fruit: The Lives of Immigrant Farm Women (Film)
For ten years, Nancy Ghertner filmed the lives of 5 women farm workers in Wayne County, New York, at work, with their families, dealing with the Border Patrol and deportation. http://www.afteripickthefruit.com
Harvest of Empire
This film examines the role that US military and corporate intervention in Latin America has played in triggering massive waves of migration from Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America. Based on book by Juan Gonzalez of Democracy Now! Available for free viewing on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6AQ2mOaG7Q
