Town Hall Seattle (Downstairs) at Eighth & Seneca
This event is FREE, but please register. Volunteers needed - email us! Help spread the word - Share the Facebook event.

Join activists, organizers and community-based organizations from WA and throughout the US for a ceremony and reception to honor this year’s winners: Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa and Farmworkers Association of Florida. In the face of increased corporate agribusiness interests threatening their food systems, this year’s honorees address critical needs for farmers and farmworkers by strengthening alliances and advancing food sovereignty through the dissemination of agroecological practices.

The USFSA is an alliance of organizers, scholars and working families, dedicated to food justice and food sovereignty in the US. The Prize – an alternative to the Big Ag-sponsored World Food Prize - will be awarded in Seattle for the first time since its 2009 inception. CAGJ was awarded Honorable Mention in 2009, the first year the prize was awarded, and La Via Campesina won; C2C was awarded the prize in 2014. Learn more about the prize, and come celebrate with the winners on Oct 15!

With deepest respect and admiration, we are excited to share the amazing news that Familias Unidas por la Justicia (FUJ) was elected last month to represent farmworkers at Sakuma Bros. Berry Farm in negotiations for a union contract! This is a historic moment in FUJ’s long history of courageous and persistent organizing, and gives strength to the broader farmworker justice and labor movements. FUJ was formed in the summer of 2013 to fight for fair wages and dignified working conditions for their workers, and in the last three years they have spearheaded a truly inspiring campaign for justice, rallying supporters both locally and nationally around their cause, with many important gains along the way. Against many odds, FUJ pressed on until some of their key demands were met: a union election and negotiations for a union contract. In a historic secret ballot election on Monday, September 12, farmworkers at Sakuma Bros. Farms overwhelmingly voted for FUJ to represent them, with a 77% majority. FUJ is the third independent farmworker union in Washington state and the first union led by indigenous workers, representing over 500 Triqui, Mixteco, and Spanish speaking workers. Now FUJ has entered a union contract negotiation process and has called off their boycott of Driscoll’s and Sakuma products. We applaud Familias Unidas por la Justicia for this remarkable victory that comes as a result of their powerful and tireless organizing, and we stand behind them as they negotiate a contract to secure better pay and working conditions for generations of farmworkers to come. For updates on FUJ’s work, visit their new website and follow them on Facebook. And join us for our celebration woth FUJ and C2C on Nov 18 (see details above)!

 

Community advocates are working hard to make sure that grocery workers in the region are protected from poor labor practices and that grocery customers are protected from unsafe food handing. As redevelopment of commercial corridors begins, advocates are asking what kind of business is coming to their neighborhood.  Dina Burnstein is concerned that grocery workers are able to keep the high labor standards they have now. “I’m worried that developers are partnering with anti-union grocers instead of courting the local stores we have here in Seattle,” says the Capitol Hill resident.  One example is New Seasons Market, a Portland-based private equity-backed chain expanding into Seattle’s “natural foods” market. New Seasons has a history of unsafe food handling practices, union busting, and workplace safety violations. Worker rights advocates and food justice advocates (including CAGJ) have been waging a public fight since January to keep New Seasons out of the transit-oriented development project next to the Capitol Hill Light Rail Station. “We have to stop that kind of business from coming into our communities. We want to support good corporate neighbors who treat workers fairly,“ Burnstein says. An action is planned for the grand opening of the Mercer Island New Seasons store November 10^th. Join in the fight by coming to Mercer Island and telling New Seasons their anti-union practices aren’t welcome! To learn more about how you can get involved, contact Joe Solorio at UFCW 21.

 

CAGJ’s longtime Treasurer is stepping down – thank you Emma for your years of service to CAGJ!  Please help us find the right person for this vital volunteer role in CAGJ! The Treasurer supports our book-keeper to ensure accurate accounting, supports our annual budgeting process, and assists with quarterly and annual taxes. A full job description can be found here, and contact Heather if you are interested!  Thank you!