Oaxacalifornia in solidarity with San Quintín: Fund Raising in Los Angeles to support agricultural workers in Baja California

Disfruta de una tlayuda y a la vez contribuye con la recaudación de fondos.

For immediate release

Los Angeles, CA April 11, 2015

The Binational Front of Indigenous Organizations (FIOB), and the Regional Organization of Oaxaca (ORO) invite the community to join us at a fund-raising in benefit of the workers of the San Quintin Valley, in Baja California. San Quintin Valley workers are looking for better salaries, and in general, better working conditions in the fields were they harvest berries, tomatoes and other crops that we consume here in the US.

The fundraising will take place this Sunday, April 12 from 12:00 noon until 8:00 pm at 959 W. 46th Street, Los Angeles.

We will have Oaxacan Tlayudas and other delicious food from the state of Oaxaca. Oaxacan food is a cuisine on its own, and is very distinctive and delicious.  Tlayudas are a typical Oaxacan dish, and are made using big especial corn tortillas (maíz de milpa) covered with lard, refried beans, greens, fresh cheese, salted meat, and salsa, served folded or extended, but always crunchy.

The money of the fund-raising will help to bring non perishable food to the members of FIOB living in San Quintin in a caravan that will go there in April. Members of FIOB are also collecting toys for the children of the workers, who are mostly indigenous  Mixteco and Trique from the state of Oaxaca.

Lo triste de miles de trabajadores del campo en México es que a pesar de que son sus manos las que llevan el alimento a las mesas de los consumidores, hay temporadas que ellos no tienen comida en sus mesas.

Hundreds of agricultural workers have joined the movement in support of the workers in San Quintin who demand justice on their labor fields, since March 17 when more than 70 thousand workers declared a labor strike to demand better conditions of work.

Due to the pressure they have to bring food to their homes, most of the workers have gone back to their daily jobs. However, there are some workers who have continued the strike to pressure the owners of the ranches to negotiate a better salary (they are demanding about 17 dollars per day, and a little more than a dollar per each box full of produce they collect on the fields). They are also demanding access to clean housing, to stop sexual harassment of women working on the fields, and the elimination of child labor. They are also demanding minimum access to healthcare.

The sad part of the situation of many agricultural workers in Mexico is that despite their hands are the ones bringing the food to the tables of consumers, even in the US, there are times of the year when they do not have any food on their own tables.

Oaxacalifornia son los nuevos espacios más allá de las fronteras, creados por los oaxaqueños tanto migrantes como los que han nacido en los ciudades en las que los ancestros han echado raíces. Foto: BRS

Translated from Spanish by Antonieta Mercado.

In Support of San Quintin Farm Workers, Indigenous Migrants Demonstrate at the Driscoll’s Branch in Oxnard

Hundreds of farm workers marched through various cities in Baja California last week demanding better wages and working conditions at the labor camps in the San Quintin Valley. PHOTO: DAVID BACON.

DEMONSTRATION

Saturday April 4, 2015

From 9:00 am to 12:00 Noon

3939 E. Hueneme Road

Oxnard, CA 93033

A caravan with FIOB members will depart from L.A at 7:00 am. 2858 W. 8th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90005.

Members of the Binational Front of Indigenous Organizations (FIOB) and the Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project (MICOP) are holding a demonstration in front of Driscoll’s branch in Oxnard this Saturday April 4, 2015 in support of the San Quintin Farm Workers demanding better wages and working conditions.

Driscoll imports strawberries from BerryMex-Moramex, one of the agribusiness accused by San Quintin laborers with violating working and human rights in the San Quintin Valley, in the neighboring state of Baja California.

Strawberries, blueberries and blackberries are some of the products grown in the area as well as tomatoes, peas, squash, Brussel sprout, pepper, carrots, broccolli and green onions.

Around 27 % of the strawberry exports from Mexico come from Baja California.

According to newspaper reports, around 80,000 men, women and children, mostly indigenous people from the states of Oaxaca, Guerrero, Chiapas, and Veracruz, work in the San Quintin Valley.

The eight-hour pay for farm workers ranges between $7.66 to $8.66 but laborers want at least $13.33 (200 pesos).

FIOB supports the Alliance of National, State and Municipal Organizations for Social Justice, representing thousand or workers seeking better working conditions. FIOB has members in Los Angeles, San Diego, Oxnard, Fresno, and Santa María, California.

MICOP organizes and supports the indigenous migrant community in the Ventura County.