The Poultry Worker Justice Project has developed a series of workers’ rights workshops and union stewards training that our staff has conducted in conjunction with several union and community partners in: Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas.

Hundreds of workers have taken part in these workshops which cover basic rights related to wages, job safety, contracts, non-discrimination and labor contractors. These workshops, conducted bilingually in Spanish and English, also cover specific topics such as understanding labor unions and the additional protections that a union contract offers, how to protect yourself from immigration based discrimination and retaliation, how to access your workers’ compensation benefits, and understanding your workplace rights in the broader human rights context.

At our Mississippi Poultry Workers’ Center, during the fall of 2005 we will be piloting our new workers’ rights language course and cultural curriculum entitled:


Solidaridad/ Solidarity:
Building Cross Cultural Understanding for Poultry Worker Justice


This 12 week course will be offered in English and in Spanish and will teach poultry worker leaders critical English and Spanish language skills as well as teach them about their workplace rights and build relationships between African American, Caucasian, and Latin American immigrant workers. Through the course workers will learn about the similarities and differences between different ethnic and racial groups, see how discrimination and oppression have impacted these various communities, and look for ways that all workers can come together to make the poultry plants safer, healthier, and more fair places to work. The language and workers’ rights component of the course will be taught twice a week and the multicultural workshops will be held every other week.

Organizations or individuals interested in hosting a workshop or developing a training in conjunction with our Poultry Worker Justice Project staff may contact the Equal Justice Center at: 512-474-0007 ext. 103.