Introduction

         Alianza Nacional de Campesinas is a national organization with a mission to help the farmworker women's unique needs since they have gone unmet for some time now. They focus on helping the women and their needs, whatever that may be. In order to do so, their members are mostly farmworker women and farmworker families. This way they are able to listen to their needs first hand and address them as they can. Many of the issues they focus on include social, environmental, and economic justice; violence prevention; equality, healthier workplaces, homes and communities for these women and their families. From the beginning they have been concerned with ending workplace exploitation, with a particular emphasis on sexual harassment of farmworker women. This particular event made me think about class more than other things like race or gender. A lot of these women are farmworkers in order to bring home money for food and to support their family. It is not that they do not enjoy the work, because they do. However, because of being in such a low paid industry, that is what leads to the inequality that they face. It is because of the class and power dynamics at play from the managers and bosses. This event connects to learning objective two and four. Two, because I was able to recognize my privilege in all of this. I will not have to experience what these women experience because I will not be working at farms in the fields. Four, demonstrating the ability to see things from others' perspectives, because before this I would have never guessed that these inequalities happen and that is another privilege of mine. 

Reflection

         I had the pleasure of having Elvira Carvajal and Mily Trevino-Sauceda with Alianza Nacional de Campesinas come in to speak with my Race and Ethnicity class, as well as attend their on campus talk at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater on March 14, 2019. Carvajal and Trevino-Sauceda discussed their positions in Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, what they are working towards, and how they are working toward these changes based on personal experiences in the fields. 

         First, these two powerful women gave us some background information in order for us to understand their goals. Mily Trevino-Sauceda, co-founder and executive director of Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, is originally from California where she too began working in the fields at the age of eight years old. Trevino-Sauceda co-founded “Mujeres Mexicanas” (Mexican Women) and Lideres Campesinas, both which help advocate on behalf of campesinas. In addition, she has earned a bachelor's degree in Chicano studies with a minor in Women's Studies at Cal State Fullerton and a masters degree in Social Sciences: Rural Development and Capacity Building, Women’s Leadership and Oral History from Antioch University.  Elvira Carvajal, the co-founder and president of Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, is originally from Mexico. She started working in the agriculture fields of Mexico at the age of eight alongside her father. She moved to California then to Florida, and started volunteering with the Farmworker Association of Florida in the late 1990s. She represents FWAF with La Via Campesinas (an international farmerker/peasant organization) on gender issues as well as pesticides and labor rights. In addition to experiencing these issues first hand, these organizations, coupled with many more, show that Carvajal is very knowledgeable about the topic as well as feels passionately about the injustices happening to the farmworkers. 

         Both women faced sexual harassment while working in the fields as well as seen other women go through it as well. On the Alianza Nacional de Campesinas webpage, Carvajal is quoted, “So many of us had experienced sexual assault, harassment, reproductive health problems thanks to the pesticides we were doused in, unequal pay… We were all sick and tired of it.” Alianza Nacional de Campesinas is particularly concerned with ending workplace exploitation against farmworker women and all farmworkers. They work with member organizations and other farmworker advocacy groups in order to help other people who experience the same unjust treatment.

         The main systems of exploitation that I recognized right away are gender, power, and hierarchy. Gender plays a role as it is the women who are the ones that get sexually assaulted. Gender also plays a role in this case because most of the farm workers are females and the males are generally those in charge and those doing the assaulting. This correlates with the power dynamic that is seen. Men exude their power over the women because they know that they are more likely than not to get away with it. Lastly, this ties in with hierarchy seamlessly, because of the men having the power and being in charge it displays a very gendered hierarchy. 

         Before speaking with Elvira Carvajal and Mily Trevino-Sauceda, I had no idea that these work conditions crossed the border and can be seen as common almost everywhere. I have no prior knowledge or connection to farm workers. The only remote connection I have to these women is also being a woman. However, I will never have to face the working conditions that they have. During and after speaking with them, I had to reflect on the privilege, blessing really, that I have never experienced that type of inequality in the workplace. I know that I will experience inequality and some harassment in the workplace but probably not nearly as much as they have gone through. Whether that be unequal pay, being treated differently because of being a woman, harassment to name a few. 

https://www.alianzanacionaldecampesinas.org/leadershipLinks to an external site.