News and Updates
Guest farmworkers find their voices in Washington state
Originally published at High Country News October 24,2018 By Levi Pulkkinen “Al menos que se estén muriendo, no falten.” Unless you are dying, don’t miss work. That was the order given to guest workers bringing in the blueberry harvest for Munger Bros., in Sumas, a...
read moreOur Food System Is Built on Exploitation. Now Farmworkers Are Saying “No More.”
October 24, 2018 By Heather Gies Originally posted at In These Times For Rosalinda Guillén, everything begins with food—and that means paying close attention to the treatment of workers at the foundation of the food system. Standing recently on the steps of city hall...
read moreThe Cross-Border Farmworker Rebellion
By David Bacon October 31, 2018 Workers in the berry fields of the United States and Mexico have the same transnational employers. Now, farmworker unions in those two nations have begun to work together. Surrounded by blueberry and alfalfa fields near Sumas,...
read moreSARBANAND: A “DIRTY DOZEN” CORPORATION CONTESTING BEING FINED IN DISTRICT COURT FOR WORKING A FARMWORKER TO DEATH IN WHATCOM COUNTY
By Edgar Franks, Foodjustice.org May 23, 2018 | RESIST! On Wednesday May 23rd at 9:00am Sarbanand Farms is scheduled to appear in the Whatcom County District Court to appeal a fine that was imposed on them by the WA State Dept of Labor and Industries after the death...
read moreSarbanand Farms Included in “Dirty Dozen” Employers of 2018
April 26th, 2018 It’s Workers’ Memorial Week and National COSH have released their annual Dirty Dozen report and Sarbanand Farms is Included. Based on information from workers, unions, COSH groups, safety advocates and allies, they have documented stories...
read morePublic records reveal extent of Sarbanand Farms’ significant violations of Agricultural Employment Standards
By Sandy Robson Originally Posted at The Searchlight Review April 23, 2018 In a February 1, 2018 letter sent to Robert Hawk, CEO of Sarbanand Farms, LLC, Deibi Sibrian, Industrial Relations Agent with Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I)...
read moreEast and West Coast Farmworkers Unite for Labor Rights
By Jake Clapp Originally Posted at Rochester City Newspaper In the summer of 2013, migrant farmworkers on a berry farm in Skagit County, Washington, about an hour north of Seattle, began to organize against poor working and housing conditions and for better wages. The...
read moreThe Fruit of Our Labor
By Edgar Franks February 1, 2018 Originally Published in The Progressive In the thick of Donald Trump’s first year as President, the U.S. labor movement scored an improbable victory. The workers are mostly indigenous Mixtec and Triqui immigrants from Mexico, living in...
read moreFUJ Message to Supporters about Berry Boycott
Dear Supporters, As of September 4th, 2016 Familias Unidas por la Justicia called for an end of the Driscoll boycott, and all boycott activities. Out of respect for the collective bargaining process with Sakuma Farms please do not contact past, present or potential...
read moreFood Justice Forum Explores Issues of Migrant Labor
On August 6, 2017, Honesto Silva Ibarra, a farmworker in Sumas, died after exposure to brutal working conditions—inadequate food and water, as well as high temperatures and dangerous levels of air pollution from forest fires. The unnecessary death of this...
read more