Over the years I have evolved my answer to the question “Where are you from?” Originally, I would name the nearest town to mine that people might actually recognize, but now I simply say, “Skagit Valley, Washington.” In all honesty, the valley itself is my home. I reside in and went to K-8 in the tiny town of La Conner. I would drive 12 miles inland to the more commercialized town of Burlington to get groceries, shop, and attended all four years of high school there. Across the bridge, to the south, in Mt. Vernon I attended community college, therapy sessions, and social/arts events. It feels impossible to live in the valley and not frequent all of these locations.
Skagit Valley itself is an agricultural hub, producing a diverse array of crops. The most well-known crops and goods being tulips, berries, and dairy items—Skagit Valley is well known for its annual tulip festival, which brings in a good amount of tourism. Growing up in the valley, I attended school with many people who were children of farmworkers and would partake in farm work themselves. In fact, everyone that I know from Skagit is connected to someone who does farm work in some way or another.
In my high school cooking/sewing class I sat next to David Sakuma, son of the Sakuma Brothers Farm and Processing, a berry company and one of the most prominent employers of migrant workers in the valley. I remember him bringing job application papers to school to give to interested students for summer jobs. Like I said, you can’t live in the valley and not know agricultural labor.
In the fall of 2021, here at The Evergreen State College (TESC), I met Jocelyn Moreno. Jocelyn is from Yakima Valley, Washington. (Let it be known that Yakima Valley is also an agricultural powerhouse, producing the most apples in the nation). We met through our roommates who were friends. Both a little shy at first, Jocelyn and I soon figured out that we had a lot in common and think about the world in very similar ways. As our friendship has grown so has our community engagement. Together we take part in political rants, community organizing activities, and push each other to attend more campus events and groups.
I call Jocelyn and I “Valley Girls.” Not a 1980’s television California valley girl with expensive clothes and a new car, but agricultural valley girls. Growing up in the valley means you already have a direct connection to the land your food is grown on and the people whose labor makes sure you get it. Being the daughter of migrant farm workers, Jocelyn is very close to the cause of Farmworker Justice. And having grown up in Skagit Valley surrounded by communities similar to hers, I was completely on board to ramp up our involvement in the advocacy for fair labor conditions for migrant farm workers.
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On October 9th in Mt. Vernon, Washington the Farm Worker Solidarity Tour had its kick-off. This tour was held by the group Familias Unidas por la Justicia (FUJ), an independent union of farm workers in Washington based out of the Skagit and Whatcom counties. This FUJ has over 400 members spanning across a range of farms and companies. The tour stopped in Olympia on the 10th of October. Organizers met at the United Churches basement in downtown. While in Olympia, the union was invited to the Indigenous People’s Day celebration at Squaxin Park (previously known as Priest Point Park, renamed in honor of the indigenous peoples whose land was taken). Jocelyn drove the FUJ’s political director Edgar Franks, committee member Marciano, and myself over to the park for the event. It was there that the group met up with Kris Peters, the chairman of the Squaxin Tribal Council and presented him with a mazorca of maize from Mt. Vernon as well as origami butterflies from Bellingham City Hall that had been a part of a public art display in support of an immigrant resource center after the death of Honesto Silva Ibarra, an immigrant farmworker. These gifts were to thank Peters for his invitation to the event and support for the farmworker justice cause. The Indigenous People’s Day event itself was lively, with a group of drummers and singers as well as several women dancing. The crowd was invited to partake in a meal of chili, chowder, and fry bread. The air was electric with conversation buzzing in every direction and the smell of good food at every turn. After many introductions and conversations, the group sat among rose bushes and ate. Edgar chatted with Anne Fischel, a former faculty at TESC and the main organizing host for this tour stop in conjunction with the group Strengthening Sanctuary Alliance of Olympia.
After the Indigenous People’s Day event we all headed back to the church and got ready for the union’s teach-in. Volunteers served tacos and lemonade and the room was arranged in a giant circle of chairs. Among those who filled the seats were community organizers, Evergreen students, and a senate hopeful, all wondering the same question; “What is the union’s goal, and what can we do to help achieve it?” The afternoon’s conversation started with a land acknowledgment from Anne Fischel, recognizing the rightful ownership of the land to the Medicine Creek Treaty Tribes. Throughout the course of the teach-in, we had the chance to learn from multiple people within the movement. We heard from Alfredo, a farmworker and union member who explained just how severe the impact climate change has on the well-being of agricultural workers. He told us about the “heat rules” in place to protect workers from the dangers of extreme heat exposure, but that there is no substantial enforcement, leaving companies the room to not follow through on protections. Edgar described some workers having 14 hour shifts with no breaks for water and others working inside trailers at temperatures over 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
Edgar described to us all the goal of the tour; to spread awareness of a bill in the senate called the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, a Trump Era bill written by republican Dan Newhouse with the promises of a “pathway to citizenship” for migrant farmworkers. Upon reading a 25-page summary of the bill, Edgar discovered that it in fact does not make things easier for farmworkers, and instead gives more money to corporations. This bill could also allow the expansion of H2-A, a guest worker visa program that doesn’t allow guest workers to advocate for themselves without the threat of being fired and deported.
The main take away from the conversation was that the Farm Workforce Modernization Act is being advertised as something that it is not, and even worse, Washington democrats are signing off on it. Edgar tells us that it is expected for Washington senator (D) Patty Murray to vote for it.
Near the end of the teach-in Edgar said “policy aside, because policy was never designed to work for us in the first place. The question is, who gets to be human?…We can’t do this alone if we are fighting for Farmworker Justice.” Bringing up another point, during the pandemic farmworkers were told that they were “essential workers” but were given no hazard pay and no healthcare. This work is deemed essential, but the treatment of the workers suggests anything but. Last year they fought for and got paid overtime through legislation, though their standard work week is still over 50 hours but promises have been made to transition to a 40 hour work week. While this is great progress, it is only the beginning.
After the teach-in wrapped up, everyone got out banners and posters and we marched to the State Capitol. Lined up on the side of Capitol Way South, the group stood waving to honking cars agreeing with our signs declaring a climate crisis and opposing H2-A.
From here the solidarity tour continues to Wenatchee, then Spokane, Tri-cities, and coming to a close in Yakima where Jocelyn will return home to attend the final event with her family. The curtain may close on this tour, but the need for community action never will. Jocelyn and I will continue our involvement in organizing for the rights of the people who make putting food on all our tables possible. Let it be known, these Valley Girls have farmworker solidarity.
What can you do to help? Contact Washington State senators and urge them to vote against the Farm Work Modernization Act. Email Governor Jay Inslee and urge him to declare a climate emergency—this way workers protections can be included in an emergency package to help with the extreme temperature conditions they face.
