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With the onset of summer, there is excitement over warmer weather, summer fruits and vegetables coming into season, and an opportunity for rest and relaxation. But for farmworkers who often have few, if any, protections in the workplace, the summer harvest season can bring heat exhaustion, exposure to wildfire smoke and pesticides, long hours without overtime compensation, substandard housing conditions provided by employers, and more. We also know that many farmworkers are in the U.S. temporarily through visa programs such as H-2A, which can perpetuate labor abuses against migrant workers and has historically excluded farmworkers from federal labor protections. These experiences and the occupational hazards faced by farmworkers are often hidden and can obscure the true human cost of food production.
In the Pacific Northwest, there has been recent progress toward addressing these workplace dangers and violations, including the establishment of heat and smoke standards in Oregon and development of new overtime protections for farmworkers in Washington. These wins have been the result of massive grassroots organizing and advocacy by farmworkers and labor organizations to bring visibility to the issues facing farmworkers.
Join GCIR and Philanthropy Northwest for a program featuring organizations and individuals who are advancing worker enfranchisement and empowerment at the forefront of the movement for farmworker justice in the Pacific Northwest.
speakers
- Edgar Franks, Political and Campaign Director, Familias Unidas por La Justicia
- Kevin Douglas, Senior Director of National Programs, Grantmakers Concerened with Immigrants and Refugees
- Nargess Shadbeh, Director for the Farmworker Program, Oregon Law Center
- Reyna Lopez, Executive Director, Pineros Y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN)
CO-HOST
registration
To register, please visit the event page on the Philanthropy Northwest website.
Photo by andresr on iStock, is licensed under Standard License