Got food? Thank a farmworker!
“Every time we sit at a table at night or in the morning to enjoy the fruits and grain and vegetables from our good earth, remember that they come from the work of men and women and children who have been exploited for generations…”
-César Chávez
National Farmworker Awareness Week (NFAW) will be celebrated in the United States beginning on Sunday, March 24th and running through Cesar Chavez' birthday on Saturday, March 31st.
Why do we celebrate Farmworker Awareness Week? Because "farmworkers feed the world," says Durham-based non-profit Student Action with Farmworkers (SAF). "Farm work is the third most dangerous job in the United States, and farmworkers are treated differently under the law." SAF's mission is to bring students and farmworkers together to learn from each other and to build networks for social change. SAF has a great resource section about NFAW on its website - including messages, ideas for actions, and a list of events during NFAW.
4 ways to support the farmworkers' union during NFAW
The Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC, AFL-CIO) will continue its fight for justice for North Carolina's tobacco field workers with events during Farmworker Awareness Week.
(1) As an individual or duo, deliver a letter to any Pantry/Kangaroo store any time during the week.
From March 23rd to March 28th FLOC needs YOU (yes, you!) to visit Kangaroo stores and drop off a letter asking that CBO James Holman visit the fields and convey consumer concerns to Reynolds. For instructions on how to go about this and for the letter you would hand-deliver to the store manager, email FLOC volunteer Dave Austin at [email protected]. By the way, if you don't know where your nearest Pantry/Kangaroo convenience store is located, check out the store-find page on Pantry’s website: http://www.thepantry.com/StoreFind.aspx?state=NC.
(2) Attend the Rally at Pantry/Kangaroo Headquarters in Cary on Thursday 3/28 at 3:00 pm.
FLOC will be stopping at Kangaroo Headquarters at 305 Gregson Dr, Cary, NC at 3:00 on Thursday March 28th as part of the Pilgrimage for Peace and Justice when it comes through the Triangle.
(3) Join the Pilgrimage for Peace and Justice in Goldsboro on Tues, March 26th.
This day of the Pilgrimage will focus on solidarity with the struggle of farmworkers and immigrants in Eastern NC. The walk will be from 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM, starting and ending at the FLOC office in Dudley, NC. Participants will be stopping at various Kangaroo stores while walking for economic justice. For the full schedule click here: http://www.supportfloc.org/Pages/Pilgraimage2013.aspx
(4) Learn more about FLOC and its campaign to organize farmworkers.
If you would like to learn more about FLOC and the campaigns we have going on, come listen to FLOC organizers speak at these events.
- Monday, March 25th at North Carolina State University at 4 pm, Caldwell Lounge; and
- Thursday March 28th at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Murphy Hall Rm 116.