UPDATE: MIGRANT JUSTICE AT THE PEOPLE'S CONVENTION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS!

UPDATE: MIGRANT JUSTICE AT THE PEOPLE'S CONVENTION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS!

Migrant Justice has undergone a deep transformation over the past year

Our monthly farmworker assemblies, thanks to your support, have allowed us to develop the first ever farmworker driven organization in Vermont. At the same time, by networking with other farmworker and immigrant rights organizations this year we have got to know, first hand, the struggles and strategies of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, the amazing work of the Media Moblizing Project in PA, the Popular Education of CATA in PA and New Jersey, and the transformative organizing of the Border Network for Human Rights in Texas just to mention ja few of our allies. These intercambios of stories, ideas, and strategies have inspired us to become part of the movement for Human Rights at Home and led us to transform our campaign for Immigrant Rights and Agricultural Justice into the Campaign for Human Rights and Food Justice.

Drawing upon these experiences, and in partnership with our allies at the Vermont Worker's Center, Migrant Justice was proud to be one of the lead host organizations of Vermont's first ever "People's Convention for Human Rights" on labor day weekend. At the conference, Migrant Justice was the lead organization in pulling together the "Human rights in the Food System" track. During the outreach for the conference we heard about the many crisis in the food system that we don't often hear about with a purely 'localist' view of food. Farmers on food stamps, food stamps that don't last the month, unlivable wages for farmers and food system workers, lack of truly just and fair food, farmworkers feeling like prisoners on our state's beloved dairy farms.

Our farmworker members shared first hand stories of the denial of human rights and inspired many with our effective efforts to build a grassroots organization to create a Vermont where all of our communities humanity, dignity, and rights are respected regardless of immigration status. We took these problems and worked together with farmers, food system workers, food security and fair food organizers, and farm workers to analyze the common root causes of our problems. Many of these problems can be found here in the first ever Vermont Human Rights Declaration! here: http://www.workerscenter.org/news/vermont-peoples-convention-declaration...

We've come a long way in a short time but we've also got a long road ahead. We are excited to be working to partner with you to build a Human Rights and Food Justice Movement in Vermont!

Want to build the movement? Let us know. info@migrantjustice.net; 802-658-6770