On January 21st, 2025, the annual Farm Workers Tribunal took place for the 12th year in a row in downtown Olympia. The Farmworker’s Tribunal day has been known to be a day of bringing together farmworkers and speaking to congress members of their working conditions in hopes of enforcing policies that prioritize their well being over their labor. The tribunal started early in the morning, making space for the community to congregate and discuss what brought them to the tribunal. Afterwards the Mistica ceremony began. The ceremony is one that commemorates the lives of farmworkers and the sacrifices that come from their labor to keep sustenance for functions that deeply affect our everyday lives, but often not recognized as such. A physical piece of this recognition was displayed as well, containing various varieties of foods, such as vegetables, fruits and eggs, candles, flowers and pictures of those who had passed on but were significant to the process of improving working conditions and showing that their presence is still felt in the movement towards a better future. Seeds were also heavily displayed throughout the memorial piece, which resonated with the phrase often heard “Trabajadores del campo sembrando el futuro” meaning “Farmworkers seeding the future”. A member of FUJ spoke during the Misitica of the working conditions faced by him and others, which included many hours of being overworked. After the Mistica, the march to the Capitol commenced, with around 70-90 people walking with signs in hand and chanting. Stopping at the steps of the John A. Cherburg, speeches were then given, directed to the inside the Capitol who would be hearing more personal statements from farmworkers and their families. Among the many reasons that called for such a large presence to the Capitol that day was the current issue of wages . Familias Unidas por la Justicia (FUJ), a farmworker union from Burlington, filed a lawsuit against the Department of Labor (DOL) in 2020 for changing their wages to be earned on an hourly basis rather than by piece rates, meaning how much farmworkers picked. A second one was then filed last May that went against its current wage system ($19.25 an hour) applying to workers under the H-2A program. The H-2A program “allows U.S. employers or U.S. agents who meet specific regulatory requirements to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary agricultural jobs.” FUJ believes that this creates conflict for local farmworkers, as this gives bigger corporations the ability to hire more people, exploiting their labor for a cheaper pay through the H-2A program.
