Sunrise Seattle is organizing a remote phone action every day during the week of May 18 in solidarity with the Washington state farmworkers currently striking for COVID-19 protections and hazard pay. Click here to sign up for a shift to take action at the same time as others, or use the following information to take action when you can. 

Background

Familias Unidas por la Justicia and Community to Community Development are currently supporting six farmworker strikes in Washington State, as workers call for better health and safety protocols due to COVID-19. Although Emergency Rules for Housing in Agriculture go into effect on May 18, they are not adequate for the pandemic (e.g. do not require the ratios for housing, showers, sinks, cooking and food storage facilities, laundry, and bunkbeds to reflect CDC social distancing protocols) and are likely to not be adequately enforced. These farmworkers continue to work hard during this global pandemic to ensure that we have food to eat, but they are being exploited. You can help support their efforts to win protections by contacting the farms, Governor Inslee, and the Attorney General following our guide below – and by donating to the strike fund here.

Note about Tone

We want to get our message across without burning any bridges. We are asking farm owners to negotiate in good faith with workers and not retaliate. We need to do our part to make workers’ demands heard, while also setting both parties up to have fruitful negotiations going forward. Be direct, but also polite.

Take Action

We hope that you can join us by taking the following six actions today (or sometime this week):

1. Call the fruit companies
2. Email the fruit companies
3. Call the WA Governor
4. Email the WA Attorney General
5. Post on social media
6. Report back on your actions went