Farmworker Justice Mission

Our Mission

About Farmworker Justice - Our Mission & Vision

Farmworker Justice is a nonprofit organization that seeks to empower migrant and seasonal farmworkers to improve their living and working conditions, immigration status, health, occupational safety, and access to justice. Using a multi-faceted approach, Farmworker Justice engages in litigation, administrative and legislative advocacy, training and technical assistance, coalition-building, public education and support for union organizing.

Farmworker Justice was founded in 1981 and is based in Washington, D.C. Farmworker Justice works with farmworkers and their organizations throughout the nation. In 1996, Farmworker Justice became a subsidiary corporation of National Council of La Raza, the nation's largest constituency-based Hispanic civil rights organization. Farmworker Justice maintains an independent Board of Directors and 501(c)(3) status as a charitable corporation.

Activities and Projects

Farmworker Justice monitors and analyzes decisions by Congress, the White House, the courts and administrative agencies that affect farmworkers.

In collaboration with farmworker groups and others, Farmworker Justice develops agendas for improving the effectiveness of federal and state regulation of the agricultural workplace. To promote the interests of farmworkers, Farmworker Justice meets with high-level agency officials, submits written comments on proposed regulations, and files formal complaints.

When these methods are inadequate, Farmworker Justice seeks remedies through litigation, media attention and requests for Congressional investigations or legislation. To improve the quality of legal representation for farmworkers, Farmworker Justice co-sponsors conferences to train lawyers and paralegals about agricultural employment law; publishes training materials, scholarly articles, newsletters, alerts and other materials.

Farmworker Justice provides direct training of farmworkers on several critical topics including: leadership development, HIV/AIDS prevention and related issues. Working with community-based organizations, primarily in the U.S.-Mexico border region, farmworkers who have been trained by Farmworker Justice as promotores de salud (lay health educators) have provided HIV/AIDS prevention training to thousands of their peers. Farmworker Justice also has been in Mexico educating farmworkers about their rights when they are employed in the U.S. under the H-2A temporary foreign worker program.