Rural economies have long been tied to extractive and exploitative practices. In sectors ranging from natural resource extraction to agriculture, rural economies are deeply rooted in racial capitalism by positioning populations or communities for economic exploitation. This exploitation of rural workers is compounded by factors including lack of employment opportunity and barriers to higher education and job training in rural communities. And in the food/agriculture sector in particular, immigration status and health and safety (including climate-exacerbated concerns) create additional layers of exploitation and harm.

As we well know, the ability of workers to build power, organize, and collectively advocate is key to shifting from exploitation to dignity. However, building worker power - whether in a specific company or across an entire industry - does not happen overnight. It requires financial resources to support research, conduct culturally competent and trust-based outreach, and allow for self-determination through democratized leadership models.

On November 30th, we will hear directly from leaders at Food Chain Workers Alliance and Demo Lab South about current efforts to build rural worker power in the agricultural sector, from farm and dairy workers in the Northeast to poultry workers in Georgia. We will learn about FCWA's upcoming farmworker tribunal, and explore what it takes to move from the nascent stages of reaching and educating workers all the way to affecting change when workers are organized and have the resources to self-determine, shape the narrative, and collectively advocate.

The briefing will close with a call to action for funders to support building rural worker power, including through organizing your institutions and peers into this work as well as specific funding opportunities to resource both early stage worker organizing as well as collective power building and advocacy.

Speakers:

• • Stephanie Cho, she/her, Demo Lab South
  • LP Green, they/them, Demo Lab South
  • Fabiola Ortiz Valdez, she/her/ella, Food Chain Workers Alliance
  • Elizabeth Walle, she/her, Food Chain Workers Alliance

This will be an interactive and dynamic webinar for funders to:

• Deepen their understanding and political analysis around the intersections of racial capitalism and rural worker exploitation;
• Learn about real examples of what it takes to build rural worker power from square one all the way to self-determination and collective action;
• Activate these learnings with specific opportunities to resource rural worker power building.

This event is hosted by Integrated Rural Strategies Group and Funders for a Just Economy at Neighborhood Funders Group in partnership with Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR), GRACE Communications Foundation, Grantmakers for Southern Progress, and Hill-Snowdon Foundation.