Marcha Campesina! Celebrate tulip field workers and the larger community of workers both farm and migrant fighting for awareness and show your support for Familias Unidas por la Justicia!
Come out the last day of the festival, April 30th, and stand with the farmworker families who feed us, bring beauty to our lives, and inspired Kerry's 10th and most important Tulip Festival poster hidden item. In 2022, when Kerry was painting her Tulip Festival artwork for the 2023 poster, tulip workers courageously walked off the job and organized a strike at Roozengarde to demand improvements to conditions and pay. The surprised owners, generally known to care about their workers, quickly agreed to negotiations and met all 10 demands, a nearly un-heard of response in the history of labor strikes. While we thank the Roozens for this response, let’s not stop there.
Farmworkers in WA and around the country, mainly at big commercial farms, continue to endure years of wage theft, extreme climate conditions unsafe to the general populous, lack of proper protective equipment, and more before they are able to organize and stand up for themselves. Unlike with the Roozengaarde strike, it can take years for workers to win their rights. In Skagit ~90% of farms are small, family-owned and many go above and beyond to treat workers with fairness, respect, and kindness. But there is a wealth of barriers both for farms and workers to creating a sustainable Skagit Valley.
Visibility is low for farmers and the enormous cost, risk, and amount of work required to sustain a farm. Visibility for farmworkers and migrant workers is lower still. When you think of the Tulip Festival do field workers come to mind? What about when you're in the produce section at the grocery store? Do you think about "organic" or at least notice the signs and labels? Where is the sign for "domestic fair trade"? (Don’t even know what that means? See definition). It's not there. But it could be.
As consumers, let’s start by learning as much as we can from farmworkers, farms, and the community organizations supporting them in Skagit. Join workers and their families on the 30th. March with them, come listen to their stories, and learn how we can continue to stand with them for the long haul to fight for a just sustainable food system.
Oh, and tell the Tulip Festival you'd like to see the farmworkers in next year's poster instead of hidden into the background. This poster artist can advocate, similar to the farmworkers, but consumer demand is necessary for real change.
Start time: 9 am Gathering
10 am (approx) march departs Edgewater Park
The march will proceed through Mt Vernon to Burlington (approx 4 miles) and end with a food and community celebration at Skagit River Park, 1720 E Whitmarsh Rd.
Learn More
March info: https://www.facebook.com/Community2Community/
Interview with Union Political Director: Episode 94: Edgar Franks, Empowering Farmworkers with Familias Unidas por La Justicia — The Check Out (thecheckoutradio.com)
Video Tribute to Skagit Farmworkers feat. Dr. Gary Brown, Alfred Currier, Rubi Vazquez Garcia, Ray de Vries, and Iris Carias: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd5Mt3hIu0o
Images: http://www.alfredcurrier.com/ | https://www.craigbarberphotography.com/
Word Doc with more resources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/142rpZbufdo58yzTWAgjM3bSrIY3gA1zD3ijCjHd-Wqs/edit?usp=sharing