Farmworker Awareness Week is a national week of action for students and community members to raise awareness about farmworker issues on our campuses and in our communities.

See the Campaigns

Nadeen Bir
Student Action with Farmworkers
Phone: (919) 660-3652
Fax: (919) 681-7600

Why do we have Farmworker Awareness Week?

We celebrate the12th Annual National Farmworker Awareness Week to raise awareness about farmworker conditions and to honor their important contributions to us every day!

Farmworkers feed the world- 85% of our fruits and vegetables are handpicked. There are an estimated 2-3 million men, women, and children work in the fields in the United States. Farms are in every state, including yours, yet farmworkers remain largely invisible and continue to live and work in horrific conditions.
We demand dignity for farmworkers!

Farm work is the third most dangerous job 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 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.

Let’s do something about it together to honor the critical contributions that farmworkers make.

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Here are a few ideas of how you can take action on your campus and in your community:

1. Invite a panel of farmworkers to speak on your campus or community. Contact a local farmworker union or community organization.
2. Organize a teach-in or presentation about farmworker issues. You can find farmworker facts here that you can use to create a presentation. And you can use short documentaries found here.
3. Host a farmworker-related film screening and discussion.
4. Download our farmworker factsheets and make table tents to put in your cafeteria.
5. Write letters to the editor to raise awareness among the general public. Check out our template.
6. Stage a rally or march to show your solidarity with farmworkers.
7. Check out SFA, CIW, PCUN, UFW, and FLOC to see what campaigns they need students and community members to support.
8. Still not sure what to do? Check out the report of National Farmworker Awareness Week 2010.

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Things to do at your events:

1. Collect Photo Postcards- Take a photo of yourself holding up a sign that states why you support farmworkers with your name, city, and state.
2. Promote AFOP’s National Art Contest among migrant youth: English | Español
3. Use our Media Guide to get your message out about your event and about farmworkers to news sources.
4. Add your event to our national events calendar. You can even search for events in your area.

Speak out ! Take Action in your community this spring and add your voice to the movement for farmworker justice.