Voces Campesinas
Summer/Fall 2020 Edition
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Message from the Executive Director
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Already dealing with dangerous health and economic conditions, such as heat stress, exposure to pesticides, and workplace violence, campesinxs now find themselves in even more dire situations. Although campesinxs plant, harvest, and pack the food on everybody’s tables, many are now unable to feed themselves and their families. Others are unable to pay rent and utilities, unable to get COVID-testing, or healthcare once infected. Some have to work without protective gear or without so much as soap and water to wash their hands. If they get sick they continue to work for fear of losing their jobs. The crowded living conditions in which most farmworkers live do not allow them to maintain safe distancing practices, much less a place to quarantine should they become ill. These are some of the reasons that COVID-19 is having such a devastating impact on farmworker families and communities.
Just as everyone across the country has had to adapt and make necessary changes, to cope with this unexpected crisis, so too have Alianza and its member organizations had to adapt to respond to the specific needs and challenges confronting campesina families. But we are more committed than ever to help advance the safety, health, rights, and dignity of campesinas in the communities where they live and work.
The challenges are many, as are the needs, but through our 15 member organizations working locally in communities across the country, we will continue to help include the voices of campesinas in the national discourse, offer support and help mobilize resources, help ensure that campesina families have access to COVID testing and medical care, and push for the inclusion of campesina workers and families in economic relief packages. In this newsletter you will be able to read about the various efforts of Alianza, its member organizations and the many campesinas struggling to cope and find solutions that benefit their lives and that of their fellow workers and compatriots.
With the sad passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg; Rest in Peace & in Power! it is even more important that we all vote and that we all get counted in the Census. At the bottom of this newsletter we have included links for you to register to vote and to complete the Census form if you haven't already done so. As always, united in the struggle!
Mily Treviño-Sauceda
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Images submitted by children ages 8-12, as part of a contest, inspired the artist who was selected to create the logo for Alianza. Prizes were awarded to the 3 youth finalists and the drawings submitted by the many talented young artists were posted on Alianza’s website.
Alianza board and staff members were asked to review, offer input, and help select the final version of the logo.
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COVID-19 has changed the way we work, shop, travel, worship and communicate
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On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared the Corona Virus disease (COVID-19) a pandemic—affecting countries across the planet.
As we all have seen, the pandemic has fundamentally changed the personal lives of people, as well as the way society functions. We have had to adapt to changed ways of working, accessing health care, shopping, traveling, worshiping, and interacting with family and friends, among otherwise routine activities. Health care facilities, businesses, schools, places of worship, government agencies, and community based organizations have all had to adapt their ways of operating.
In March, Alianza was getting ready to host an important gathering in Washington, D.C—the Third National Convivencia of Campesinas. The Convivencia was to bring together about 50 campesinas from across the country, as well as Alianza board and staff members, representatives from Alianza’s 15 member organizations, and invitees from several federal agencies whose work impacts farmworkers.
Round table discussions were being organized around Alianza’s four Priority Issue Areas—Violence Against Women and Girls (including Workplace Sexual Harassment and Assault); Pesticides (such as Roundup, Chlorpyrifos, and Paraquat); Immigration, and Labor Rights.
Convivencia participants had also planned to visit members of Congress to provide them with information about the problems and issues that impact campesina families and communities. Campesinas were going to share testimonies about their life and work experiences, which in the past had proven to be a very effective educational tool for members of Congress and governmental agencies.
The Convivencia’s underlying purpose was the generating of actions and solutions, including laws and regulations (in all 4 Priority Issue Areas), to protect and promote the health, safety, well-being, dignity, and human rights of campesinas.
With the Corona Virus crisis far from over and the need to “shelter in place,” still the best practice, we at Alianza have had to acquire and quickly learn to employ the tools and technology needed to transition to effective remote work, communication, advocacy, and connection.
We are providing training for our staff and membership, including campesinas, in the creative and effective use of these tools for staying connected with each other, creating public awareness, doing organizing, mobilizing, conducting trainings and technical assistance, and advocacy work.
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COVID-19 Worsens Existing Conditions for Farmworkers
Alianza and Member Organizations Develop a Joint Response to COVID-19’s Devastating Impact on Farmworker Communities
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Already dealing with dangerous health and economic conditions, such as heat stress, exposure to pesticides, and workplace sexual harassment and abuse, farmworkers now find themselves in even more dire situations. Ironically and sadly, although they plant, harvest, and pack the food on our nation’s tables, many are now unable to afford food for themselves and their families. Others are unable to pay rent and utilities or to get COVID-testing or medical care when they become ill.
Lacking sick pay, a majority of them have continued to work for fear of losing their jobs, and they are doing so without protective gear, some without so much as soap and water to wash their hands. The crowded living conditions in which many farmworkers live do not allow them to maintain safe distancing practices, much less a place to quarantine and recuperate when they get infected.
Furthermore, while farmworkers are now “officially” deemed essential, they are being denied the support and resources they need to cope with the health or economic challenges which have been made worse by the pandemic. Even though they pay taxes, they have been deemed ineligible for almost all public relief assistance.
Following are some of the actions that Alianza and member organizations are taking and or plan to take to directly help and support farmworker families, as well as advocate locally and nationally to mobilize support from various sectors, and to bring about important systems changes.
- In mid-March, we started convening weekly (now bi-monthly) meetings with representatives from our member organizations to share information about the specific needs and challenges being encountered in their respective states, about the actions each of them is taking to address them, and about the type of support needed from Alianza.
- Alianza has helped support the work of its member organizations by providing them with stipends and small grants; lists of funders with COVID-19 funds; we have shared sample letters of appeal, letters to congressional representatives; fact sheets; sample position statements, and other documents that can be adapted by our members. We have also connected them with news reporters and producers which has helped create public awareness and helped raise funds.
- To meet the essential needs of farmworker families, Alianza and member organizations’ staff are working tirelessly to leverage and mobilize local support and donations, including food, health & hygiene supplies, pampers, and assistance with rent and utilities, from community based organizations, businesses, churches, foodbanks, funders.
- To counter false and misleading information that was being circulated by some public officials, employers, and co-workers, we have had to find ways to disseminate accurate information to campesinas and their families about the seriousness of the pandemic and about the proper precautions to take to protect themselves.
- We have also and are advocating on behalf of farmworkers and their families to ensure they have safe living and working conditions, access to free COVID-19 testing, access to medical care without fear of being arrested or harassed by ICE agents, and access to economic assistance. We continue to inform and communicate with regulatory agencies such as OSHA and EPA to help ensure the enforcement of existing regulations in the workplace and introduce new regulations that are COVID-related.
- We continue to inform policy makers at state and national levels about the specific needs and challenges of farmworkers and their families and ask that they include farmworkers and others along the food chain in legislative relief packages.
For example, from Aug. 31- Sept. 4, 2020, Alianza and the Rural Coalition led a broad coalition of organizations in warning congressional leaders of both parties of the dire consequences for the American food system and the historically underserved communities that make it work, unless Congress provides immediate and targeted relief. A Letter Demanding Pandemic Response to Protect and Increase Resilience in the Food and Farm System authored by Alianza, the Rural Coalition and a number of ally groups urged Congress to provide equitable and just food and farming systems for all communities by providing pandemic relief that: 1) Assures protections for farmworkers, fish and food system workers and their communities; 2) Sustains small and mid-scale farmers, ranchers and fishers including support for farm and food programs that increase food system resilience for rural, agricultural, immigrant and low-income communities; and 3) Assures basic health, safety, economic security, education, housing and representation for rural and tribal communities. The letter kicked off a Week of Action, to spread widely our message for pandemic relief for the food, farm, and fish systems and for rural and immigrant communities.
- Given the rise in violence against women during this time of crisis, we have been working to ensure, to the extent possible, that immigrant survivors of sexual assault and intimate partner violence and their families have access to the help and services they need.
- We continue to engage and mobilize campesinas at the grassroots level in such activities as making and distributing masks and helping to distribute food and other basic products to farmworker families who live in remote areas and are unable to access even foodbanks that might be available to others. Our organizers are also continuing to work with campesinas to organize educational and mobilization campaigns around our priority issue areas. An example is the Morralitos Campaign which raises awareness about the dangers of pesticides.
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Funders, Donors, and Ally Organizations Are Providing Crucial Support
Through its networking efforts, Alianza has been able to obtain the support of some funders and allies to continue building its infrastructure and capacity in order to respond to the COVID-19 generated crisis. The following are a few examples of key collaborations:
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Thanks to a small grant from the Tides Foundation (Rising Fund), which our friends and supporters at V-Day helped us negotiate, we have been able to hire 2 experienced media consultants to help us raise awareness about the devastating impact COVID-19 is having on farmworker families and communities across the country. Local and national coverage is also helping to publicize our COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund which has helped attract individual donations.
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The newly-formed Momentum Fund has awarded Alianza an $80,000 grant to continue its COVID-19 relief work to farmworker families and communities which have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. The grant was one of 129 grants, totaling $8.5 million, awarded by the Momentum Fund to organizations around the country managing COVID-19 relief funds. The grant will allow Alianza to provide mini- grants and other forms of support to its member organizations so they can provide direct support to farmworker families in their states. Please see below links to some major media coverage that we have been able to generate.
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In March, in partnership with Earth Justice, we started a Campesinas Story Telling/Testimonios project which is allowing us to collect video and audio testimonies from campesinas in various states wherein they share their experiences working in the fields, including their exposure to pesticides, heat stress, sexual harassment and abuse, wage theft, and COVID related problems. The information collected through 145 testimonies has helped us craft messaging for dissemination via social media, op eds, news articles, blogs, etc. One of the key outcomes of the Story Teller project will be the creation of a documentary video to be shared with legislators, relevant government agencies at local, state, and national levels, given that in-person visits to share information are not possible. In the past, hearing directly from campesinas about their lived experiences, needs, and concerns, has proven to be an effective way of getting these policy makers and heads of agencies to respond.
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In south Florida, a small grant from the Peacock Foundation is helping to support Alianza’s collaboration with the Farmworker Association of Florida’s South Florida office and Grupo A.M.O.R., a project of the Rural Coalition. Activities include: a) garnering media coverage about the very high rates of COVID among farmworker families and the need for testing, medical care, food, etc.; b) engaging campesinas in making and distributing masks, in food distribution, and in disseminating accurate information to farmworkers and families; help and guidance in starting community gardens; establishing healing circles/healing spaces for campesinas and staff working around COVID issues to help handle grief, stress, anxiety, etc.
Member organizations (Mujeres Divinas, Workers Justice Center of New York, and Workers Center of Central New York, are carrying out similar activities in New York, as are PCUN and Mujeres Luchadoras Progresistas in Oregon, and La Mujer Obrera in Texas.
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Mujeres Divinas, Upstate New York has involved women, men, and children in their Community Garden project. |
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In California, Alianza and two of its members (Lideres Campesinas and the Rural Coalition) are participating in a campaign entitled Campesinxs a Campesinxs: Feeding Those Who Feed Us, to provide masks, groceries for tens of thousands of farmworkers and their families, cooked food and lunches for children, to prevent hunger. Others collaborating in this effort include UFW, UFW Foundation, Mercy Housing, and some local churches and businesses. Líderes Campesinas’ thirteen chapters/committees have also organized many activities each month to provide food baskets, masks and gloves and other hygiene products, as well as school supplies to farmworker families. Líderes Campesinas is also working in collaboration with several groups in various rural regions in California to provide stimulus funds that the state of California gave to immigrants based on Governor Newsom’s response to a letter campaign led by Líderes Campesinas requesting assistance and support for farmworker families.
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Líderes Campesinas has also worked closely with Congressman and medical doctor Raul Ruiz, county board officials, and assembly members including farmworker health clinics to ensure COVID19 exams are provided directly in the communities where farmworker families reside. Lideres Campesinas Valle Coachella chapter’s adults and youth group are partnering and collaborating with Congressman Raul Ruiz, MD and the volunteers of medicine in getting COVID-19 testing and care to farmworkers and rural communities in California.
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In addition to the funding provided for the above projects, we also want to thank our other funders without whose support our work would not be possible: NoVo Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Time’s Up LDF, Earth Justice, Mosaic, RSF Social Finance, Women Donors Network. We also want to acknowledge the generous donations from the more than 200 individuals who help make our work possible and provide support for farmworker families.
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Collaborative COVID-19 Farmworker Study (COFS) Provides Evidence of Farmworker Vulnerability |
Alianza and Lideres Campesinas (one of our member organizations) are part of a collaborative research project—COVID-19 Farmworker Study—coordinated by the California Institute for Rural Studies with participation from a wide group of researchers, farmworker organizations and policy advocates. The study, which surveyed more than 900 farmworkers across 21 counties in California, provides critical missing information on work site conditions and the degree to which farmworkers’ are able to protect themselves while continuing to work on the frontlines during the pandemic. It also adds important details about how employers are protecting or not protecting their workers, the barriers faced in accessing adequate healthcare, and the precautions that concerned workers are taking to protect themselves and their families. The phone-based surveys were conducted in Spanish and various indigenous language by staff (60 surveyors) at various community-based organizations, including Lideres Campesinas. Alianza’s executive director is also a member of the coordinating committee. See the California Preliminary Data Brief. The study is also being conducted in Oregon and Washington.
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Alianza and Member Organizations Created the Aliento A Families Campesinas/Breath for Farmworker Families, a Mask Making and Distribution Campaign in Various States*
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Young boy in south Florida helping to make masks says: “I wear a mask because I love my family and farmworkers are my family.” |
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Variety of masks hand sewn in California with designs for campesino kids. |
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Cristina Aldana, Alianza board member (and Community Organizer for M.U.J.E.R.), applies her sewing skills to making masks for farmworker families in south Florida |
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LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens) Provides laptops for farmworker families |
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Alianza received 100 laptops from LULAC to share with farmworker families with school-age children. The laptops are being distributed through our member organizations to families in their areas who otherwise would not be able to afford them. As part of the project, the children who will use the laptops for schoolwork, will also teach their parents to become computer literate. Alianza, its members, and the families are very grateful. |
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STATE OF THE CAMPESINA CAMPAIGN |
In March 2020, Alianza organized an awareness campaign called STATE OF THE CAMPESINA to draw attention to the realities faced by campesinas at work, home and in society. In the U.S., the president gives a speech each year reporting on the State of the Union. Similarly, the daily reality of farmworker communities and their struggles for equality, security, and dignity deserves to be recognized and shared across the country. The campaign was held from 18 – 25 March
Alianza organizers who are located in different regions of the country were able to talk to campesinas and listen to their experiences about various situations they face. They shared information on Alianza’s priority areas including:
- Violence Against Women
- Labor Laws and Rights
- Exposure to Pesticides
- Immigration
The stories were posted on Alianza social media platforms, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #EstadoDeLaCampesina and on our website on our blog page VOCES CAMPESINAS
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Alianza in the News
Raising Awareness About the Impact of COVID-19 on Campesina Families
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Thanks to a grant from the Tides Foundation (Rising Fund), which our friends and supporters at V-Day helped us negotiate, we have been able to hire experienced media consultants to help us raise awareness about the devastating impact COVID-19 is having on farmworker families and communities across the country. Local and national coverage is also helping attract support to ensure that Alianza and its member organizations are able to respond to the needs of these communities. |
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We need to protect the ones who sustain us. Campesinas are risking their lives to put food on our tables while they struggle to feed their own families, lack access to protective equipment and are unable to practice social distancing. The vast majority cannot access financial protections put forth by the federal government.
“…the work does not stop. We were told that we have to continue working. They gave us a letter that says that we are essential workers. One fear we have is that we don’t have a driver’s license. They told us that if we have the letter, at the moment that we get stopped by the police and get asked for our license…we travel in fear of being out in the street. We all need your help and especially those who have small children who have to leave them at home in order to work. We hope we get some help. We hope there will be help for all.”
– Ruzelia, Campesina, Florida
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April 1st, 2020: Webinar (Hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw)
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The past several weeks have prompted unprecedented levels of turmoil and unpredictability due to rising alarm over COVID-19. While American society has taken precautionary measures to counter the spread of the virus, those most vulnerable to societal neglect remain most impacted. Coronavirus did not create the stark social, financial, and political inequalities that define life for so many Americans, but it has made them more strikingly visible than any moment in recent history. Unfortunately, some of the intersectional dimensions of these structural disparities remain undetected and unreported.
Length: Mily Treviño-Saucedo Speaks at 1:26:52
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Farmworkers have families to feed and bills to pay, but they can't pick crops from home. We need to protect and respect this valuable workforce.
Mily Treviño-Sauceda Opinion contributor
Published May 23rd, 2020 Op-Ed, Mily Treviño-Sauceda, USA Today.
"I was 8 years old when I first joined my two older brothers and my mom to work moving irrigation pipes in the potato, alfalfa and wheat fields outside Blackfoot, Idaho. During the weekdays, we worked before and after school. During the weekends, it was mornings and late afternoons. The work was very hard and the weather was cold. Sick pay and health care were pipe dreams for most farmworkers. Then, as now, these frontline workers were critical to maintaining America’s food supply".
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In a letter sent today to congressional leaders Mitch McConnell, Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi and Kevin McCarthy, a broad coalition of organizations warned of dire consequences for the American food system and the historically underserved communities that make it work, unless Congress provides immediate and targeted relief. The letter—authored by Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, Rural Coalition, and a number of allies in the food and farm system—urges Congress to provide equitable and just food and farming systems for all communities….”
The letter was the first step in a series of actions spearheaded by Alianza and the Rural Coalition and dozens of ally organizations urging congress to act to protect our communities. The actions were scheduled from August 31 – September 4. See the full list of actions here.
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Trabajadores agrícolas en Florida denuncian que los dejan trabajar mientras esperan resultados de pruebas de covid-19
6 de julio 2020 – 07:37 PM EDT
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Elvira Carvajal, de la Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, asegura que los contagios con coronavirus en los viveros están subiendo dramáticamente y que a los trabajadores "los dejan seguir trabajando a pesar de tener síntomas". La mujer dice que algunos se ven obligados a seguir trabajando a pesar de estar contagiados ya que no tienen días pagados por enfermedad. Enlace a entrevista.
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April 29th, 2020: Jomari Goyso fue hasta una zona en Florida en donde 32 familias necesitaban del apoyo en medio de la pandemia del coronavirus. Así fue el emotivo momento que llenó de esperanza a estas personas. Primer Impacto (YouTube Link), Univision News.
Farmworkers work, live, and travel in crowded conditions, and are being allowed few if any safety measures against COVID-19—which puts them and the food system at risk.
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Alianza Member Organizations in the News |
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A son of farm workers and an emergency room doctor, Ruiz says the workers are scared and anxious but hungry for information about the coronavirus.
In Monterey County, growers and worker advocates join forces with researchers, doctors, and public officials.
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Alianza Holds Bi-monthly Bonding Sessions to Help Staff Cope with Stress and Get to Know Each Other in a Fun and Relaxing Atmosphere |
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Elvira Carvajal, Alianza Lead Organizer, leads a Learning How to Make Home Remedies session for Alianza board and staff, some of whom are shown below during the Zoom session.
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Since April, Alianza has been seeking and distributing funds to respond to the health and economic crises in farmworker communities brought on by COVID-19. In June, we launched a COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund to assist Alianza and its 15 member organizations in addressing the alarming rise in COVID 19 cases among farmworker families. Funds are helping to ensure they get tested, receive needed medical care, have a safe place to live, as well as providing food, hygiene products, diapers, masks and gloves, and assistance with rent, utilities, and internet access.
The Emergency Fund is also being used to support an intensified public education campaign to be carried out in the 11 states where our member organizations operate to help farmworkers and their families stay safe, help slow the spread of the virus, and cope with the economic hardships created by this health crisis. We are providing basic information in Spanish and Indigenous languages to counter the misinformation that exists and is being spread via word of mouth leading to many farmworkers and their families not taking the necessary precautions, not getting tested, not sheltering in place if infected, and not receiving the medical care they need to get well.
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Alianza Launches a Series of Train-the-Training Webinars for Organizers and Campesinas |
Alianza and staff from its member organizations are collaborating on a series of webinars focused around several priority issue areas. The webinars are meant to inform participants about their basic rights, provide tools and strengthen their capacity as trainers. The trainers will also provide technical assistance to participants following the training sessions on an as needed basis. The first webinar addressed Labor Rights and included topics such as: Heat Stress; Pesticides; COVID-19; Fair and Just Wages; Rights of H2A Workers. Other webinars covering other topics are being currently planned. |
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Alianza Nacional de Campesinas encourages all eligible people to register to vote for the upcoming 2020 elections and verify their voter registration.
Make yourself and your communities heard by casting your vote and encourage family, friends and co-workers to do the same. To register, to verify your registration and to learn more, please visit vote.org
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We must have a fair and just Supreme Court. Please contact your Senators and tell them: The next president should wait to nominate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s replacement until after the people have spoken! It is imperative that the Senate holds off on appointing a replacement for Justice Ginsburg until after the inauguration.
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Make Sure You're Counted!
If you haven't already, please do so today!!
It's safe and confidential
The 2020 census will determine representation in Congress, how billions of dollars will be distributed in federal funds, and provide data that will impact communities over the next decade.
Help ensure there will be funding in your communities for health clinics, fire stations, schools, roads and public transportation, and many other services
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To Learn More About Our Work |
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Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, Inc.
P.O. Box 20033
Oxnard, CA 93034
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