The board & staff of NFWM met in Los Angeles the weekend of July 30 & 31, 2010. On the 30th, we traveled north to the area around Arvin and met with farm workers and UFW co-founder Dolores Huerta.
 

 
 
 
 
 
We then went to the edge of a grape vineyard and held a prayer vigil honoring those workers who have died working in the heat of California fields in recent years.
 
From there we went to Bakersfield, where NFWM President Felix Garza was featured speaker at an Immigration rally on the day that Arizona’s anti-immigrant bill was to go into effect. Before leaving Bakersfield, we had dinner at Believers in Jesus church and heard from several Giumarra workers.
 
We then traveled back to our conference site, Mt. St, Mary’s College. We were delighted to be joined throughout the weekend by co-founder of the Orange County Interfaith Committee to Aid Farmworkers and former NFWM board member, Jeanne Giordano and her husband Roy.
 
 
 
 
 

For more photos of the weekend, click HERE.
 
 

NFWM Board member, Bro. Mark Schroeder (left), led a group in prayer outside of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office on Tuesday, July 20th as they hand-delivered a bill that would require overtime pay equity for farm workers. Schwarzenegger has 12 days from Tuesday to sign or veto the bill. Also pictured are United Farm Workers President, Arturo Rodriguez (left) and the bill’s sponsor, State Sen. Dean Florez (D-Shafter)(center).

Click HERE for a Sacramento Bee article, The Buzz: Farmworkers deliver overtime bill to Schwarzenegger's office.
 
 

Virginia Nesmith, Executive Director of NFWM, was among the participants at the First International Global Agricultural Industry and Waged Agricultural Workers Conference, held at the National Chavez Center, Villa La Paz, in California. The event, sponsored by the United Farm Workers of America, Oxfam America and Oxfam Nobid, included representatives of farm worker organizations from South Africa, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, India, Bangladesh, and the Philippines as well as Oxfam colleagues from Morocco, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

During the three day meeting, participants shared information about farm worker conditions and the work they are doing in their respective countries; drew a “wall” of key moments in their history; heard reports on the globalization of the food industry and discussed approaches to organizing; visited workers in the fields of the San Joaquin Valley and in their homes, and began to identify areas of potential collaboration. The similarity in oppressive conditions and challenges from continent to continent was remarkable, as was the passion to overcome them. Everyone left convinced that just as agribusiness and the food retail industry are global in scope, it was critical that farm worker representatives begin to communicate and collaborate on a global level. The conference planted the seeds for that work, as we opened the door to the future with new knowledge, energy and hope.

CLICK HERE for an article about the Conference (Spanish)

Supporters of human rights and justice joined the National Farm Worker Ministry and the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on Friday May 7, 2010 where Reynolds Tobacco held its annual shareholders meeting.

More than 30 farm worker supporters gained access to the meeting by purchasing a share of the company’s stock or by representing someone, through a proxy, who owned one. These included several NFWM staff and Youth and Young Adult Network (YAYA) members from Florida.

Those inside used the question and answer period to create a dominating presence inside the meeting, giving voice to the real human rights situation for tobacco farm workers in the fields of North Carolina. At the conclusion of the meeting, Rev. Carlton Eversley, President of the Ministers’ Conference of Winston-Salem led the group out singing a civil-rights spiritual.

On May 1st, over 2,000 people marched and rallied in St. Louis, MO calling for immigrant, human, and civil rights, with the message, “Because we believe, we act for immigration rights.” The National Farm Worker Ministry and other local organizations teamed with the United Methodist Women (UMW) to organize the event. The UMW were in St. Louis for their Quadrennial Assembly.

The march/rally, planned months ago, was especially compelling because of the passage of Arizona’s anti-immigrant law the week before. UMC Bishop Minerva Carcaño, whose area includes Arizona, was the rally’s main speaker. She called the Arizona law "unwise, short sighted and mean spirited."

March 31, the 83rd anniversary of Cesar Chavez’s birth, couldn’t have been a better day to march in solidarity with tobacco farmworkers. In the cool morning, a group gathered in rural Tobaccoville, North Carolina. The air was thick with roasting tobacco from Reynolds’ massive processing plant. Overlooking the miles of fence surrounding the plant, we put our feet to the pavement and began our 15 mile march along the country road.
 

For the full report from our North Carolina organizer, Alexandria Jones, and a reflection on the day from participant Andrew Trump, CLICK HERE
 
To view a photostream of the March 31 march for farmworkers, CLICK HERE.
 

On the anniversary of Cesar Chavez’s birthday, March 31, President Barak Obama met with UFW President Arturo S. Rodriquez, UFW co-founder Dolores Huerta, and members of the Chavez family in the White House Oval office. President Obama signed a proclamation honoring Cesar Chavez. Following the meeting, Arturo Rodriquez said, “We thank President Obama for honoring Cesar Chavez on this important day for millions of Americans. We thank the President for his concern for the farm workers who feed our nation every day, and for his strong support of immigration reform. No other change is more urgently needed, and would be more lasting.”

CLICK HERE for President Obama’s Proclamation
CLICK HERE to read statements of Arturo Rodriguez & Paul Chavez.
 
 

Several NFWM staff traveled to Washington DC to join the more than 200,000 people from across the country for the Reform Immigration For America march on March 21st. Alex Jones from North Carolina, Christy Lafferty from California, and Bert Perry, Lariza Garzon and YAYA members from Florida all participated in the day to demand immigration reform that is fair to families, workers and our communities.
 
 
 
  
 

This year, Farmworker Awareness Week will take place from March 28 through April 3. Farmworker Awareness Week (FAW) is a nation-wide week of action for students, community members, and congregations to raise awareness about farm worker issues during the week of Cesar Chavez' birthday. The week honors his legacy as a leader of the farm worker movement.

NFWM and NFWM-YAYA are co-sponsors of the week. We are planning activities and actions around the country. We encourage you to plan an activity too. Let us know what you are doing for FAW 2010 by emailing or calling the national office.

CLICK HERE for Ideas for Action.
CLICK HERE to go to the Farmworker Awareness Week website.