National Farmworker Awareness Week, March 25-31

It’s important to recognize and name that the United States of America’s rise to economic power was made possible by the free labor of Black and brown people who were enslaved throughout its history. In many ways, the legacy of exploitation and bondage continues today. Cooperative principles and values call on Seward Co-op to stand in solidarity with farmworkers who continue to experience oppression and call for liberation.

National Farmworker Awareness Week (NFAW) is organized by Student Action with Farmworkers (SAF), for partners like Seward Co-op to bring attention to farmworkers and honor them for the contributions they make to our daily lives. During NFAW, we will center farmworkers – of which over 80% are Hispanic or Latinx, 72% identify as male – who often do not have a platform to speak about their lives and impacts of farmwork. Farmworkers are people; they are married, many live apart from their partners and children for long periods of time and many lack protection of United States’ labor laws. This spring, we celebrate the resilience and dignity of our country’s most essential workers, while also raising awareness around unhealthy work environments and living conditions too many farmworkers are expected to endure each growing season.

In partnership with SAF, we recognize National Farmworkers Awareness Week because:

Farmworkers feed the world. 85% of our fresh fruits and vegetables are handpicked.

There are an estimated 2.5-3 million men, women and children who work in the fields in the United States. Farms are in every state, including ours, yet farmworkers remain largely invisible and continue to live and work in horrific conditions. We demand dignity for farmworkers.

Farm work is one of the most dangerous jobs in the United States.

The people who plant and harvest our fruits and vegetables suffer from the highest rate of toxic chemical injuries of any other workers in the nation and have higher incidences of heat stress, dermatitis, urinary tract infections, parasitic infections and tuberculosis than other wage-earners. We demand safe working conditions for farmworkers.

Farmworkers are treated differently under the law.

Overtime, unemployment insurance, and even protection when joining a union are not guaranteed for farmworkers under federal law. Farmworkers were excluded from almost all major federal laws passed in the 1930s. The Fair Labor Standards Act was amended in 1978 to mandate minimum wage for farmworkers on large farms only, and it still has not made provisions for overtime. We demand just living and working conditions for farmworkers and an end to unfair treatment under the law.

Take Action:

Join United Farm Worker’s drive to get farmworkers vaccines.
Learn about Seward Co-op’s March SEED recipient, Immigrant Law Center of MN, and support their local work by rounding up your grocery purchase at the co-op.
Support legislation including national heat regulation bills, as described in the Heat Stress petition.

The past year has been both challenging and rewarding for small-scale farms. Despite being absolutely vital to our food system, farmworkers are often first and most profoundly affected by crisis and supply chain disruption. Learn more about NFAW and how you can directly support farmworkers on SAF’s website.

#NFAW2021 #farmworkersfeedtheworld
Seward Co-op is grateful for the information, support and resources provided by SAF.

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