Dear Resister,
Happy May Day! Today, and every day, we celebrate and uplift the struggles of some of the most courageous and dedicated workers and labor organizers around the world.
Since the beginning of 2023, we’ve witnessed a powerful show of solidarity spreading throughout the workplace and beyond.
In France, mass protests have erupted in response to the government raising the retirement age from 62 to 64. Here in the United States, we’re witnessing Starbucks baristas and Amazon warehouse workers striking and testifying against some of the world’s most powerful corporations. On college campuses, students, adjuncts, and professors have been striking—and winning!—for better benefits.
What all of these struggles have in common is the beautiful conviction that labor produces all value and that all people must therefore be compensated fairly and equitably rather than lining the pockets of greedy corporations.
Invest in Grassroots Movements
[ID: United Farmworkers hold signs that say "Farmworkers Say Boycott Safeway."]
Since Resist’s founding, labor struggles have been front and center of our politics. In as early as 1971, Resist funded the United Farm Workers founded by Cesar Chavez, an organization that mobilized migrant agricultural workers for equitable labor practices and protections.
To combat the horrific and dangerous treatment migrant workers and children faced in the fields, Chavez and UFW staged a boycott where hundreds of farm workers stopped working in the fields across the country.
The wins were monumental.
According to UFW’s newsletter in 1976: “For the first time farm workers worked with dignity. Children were no longer in the fields. Growers were now contributing towards a medical plan. Five health clinics in California and one in Florida have been established. The use of pesticides was tightly controlled by the workers. Workers now applied for jobs through a democratic hiring hall. Cold water and toilets were provided in the fields.”
These corporate concessions were not only possible through the determined organizing of farmworkers but also the generosity and fierce political support from you, our donors. Now, the legacy of Cesar Chavez and UFW can be felt in our current grantees.
[ID: Tenayuca Labor Project Members hold gathering outside of restaurant.]
Resist grantee, Tenayuca Labor Project is a collective of service and food workers in Santa Ana, California that came together after filing wage claims against their current and former employer. They’re the first organization like this in Orange County. They form committees, train workers to transform into strategic organizers, and use cultural and base-building strategies to reach more workers and help them win campaigns of their choosing. Their biggest win to date was recuperating over $30,000 in stolen wages from their employer!
Resist is committed to supporting organizations doing this crucial, life-saving work but we need you, our donors, to help.
Your gift has the power to ensure the frontline groups tirelessly organizing for us can win, and all workers can live dignified, just lives. Alone, we fight, but together, we win. Join us by making a generous donation today.
Invest in Grassroots Movements
With you in struggle,
Nicki Kattoura
Co-director, Resist
