LOCAL
Rally June 11 on Sakuma strike anniversary; make donation
That first strike led to the formation of Familias Unidas por la Justicia, which has continued to fight this past year for a fair contract for the Sakuma Brothers workers and continues to urge consumers to boycott Sakuma berries.
TAKE A STAND! Attend Friday’s rally in Burlington! Meet at 10 a.m. just off I-5 Exit 232. Just head east and look for the banners. Can’t make it? Familias Unidas has just set up a GoFundMe campaign so you can make a donation to support their important work benefiting all farmworkers in Washington state.
There will also be a meeting this Sunday, July 13, in Seattle to discuss how Familias Unidas will move forward with the Sakuma boycott. (See the Facebook event page.) It will be Sunday from 4 to 6 p.m. at the New Hope Baptist Church, 116 21st Ave. Please RSVP to fjp@seattleglobaljustice.org.
Familias Unidas has won a series of court victories (here and here) against the Sakuma Brothers management for illegally retaliating against the workers who walked off the job a year ago. Most recently, a judge ordered the farm’s owners to end their discriminatory denial of housing to farmworkers who participated in last year’s work stoppages. (Later that same day, Sakuma Brothers opened a 30-acre field for a free strawberry pick because they claim that they do not have the required labor force to harvest the berries, a claim Familias Unidas denies.)