Traviesa

We adopted a sweet black doggie from El Salvador. She was truly the cutest. She was blind, but we didn't care. She was ours. As she got older, her behaviors got more and more strange. She became aggressive, growling and showing her teeth at odd moments. We got a "slip leash" and confined her to the kitchen. "She's just a teenager," we thought.

One MRI later, we learned that she had severe hydrocephalus. As in, she only had a brain stem and a cerebellum - the rest was fluid. It was devastating. You can give dogs with hydrocephalus steroids for the swelling, but it won't bring their brain back.

We made the hard decision to put her to sleep. We watched as the injection went in, and the life slowly slipped out of her. I don't think I've ever cried so hard in my life! It was also the most peaceful death I could have imagined.

We loved that dog so much. But it was more than just a dog... she was like our first "child". I will be forever grateful for her, because she taught us that we could be caregivers. We worked as a team to take care of a complicated case, and we did everything we possibly could for the little pup.

The beautiful part of this story, the part I will remember most, is how kind all of our 'health care providers' were. From the dog trainer (Claire), to the vet (Dr. Meade) and her vet tech (Paisley), to the behavioral specialist (Dr. Orlando - who helped us get funds for the MRI!) to the neurology vet (Dr. Sampson). They were all part of our journey, and honestly... they had much better bedside manner than any medical doctor I have known.

Health care professionals don't realize what a difference they make. At our most vulnerable, we so need genuine, kind practitioners. This is something to remember as I go 'deeper' into learning mental health care as a social worker.

I am in grief, grief for my life in El Salvador, for my life in Minnesota, for my life in college, for my life in Ireland... Grief for all the relationships I built with all those wonderful people. I miss it, I want to go back...And then I think of all these amazing experiences I've had and I think, "What am I complaining about?"

Gratefulness is the heart of it all. That maybe there is no end point, no mountaintop. Just keep climbing, and enjoy the view.

"It is good to have an end to journey towards, but it is the journey that matters in the end."   -Ursula LeGuin

Thank you, Travi, for the journey. You were a little monster crazy dog, and we loved you. 

Sindicato

Like most North Carolinians I did not know much about unions. In fact, I thought that N.C. was a "non-union" state. Not true - workers here do have the right to organize. North Carolina is, however, a "right-to-work" state, which means that workers have a choice as to whether or not they want to join a union.

Today, I went to support the union movement in Mountaire Chicken Plant in Lumber Bridge, North Carolina. Home to over 2,000 workers, Mountaire workers earn low wages and work long hours. Over 6 months ago, a local union filed unfair labor charges against the Mountaire plant for : "disciplining employees for their union activity, threatening to have employees arrested, engaging in surveillance and coercion, interrogating employees, threatening termination and change in personal working conditions if employees support the union." 

Today while in Eastern NC we visited the pork plant Smithfield Foods, in Tarheel, NC. They do have a union, and while it is still a difficult line of work they have organized and it has made a difference in both worker pay and conditions. The workers there get paid $13.50 and up, depending on their job.

In contrast, Mountaire workers who work through a temp agency make only $8.25 an hour, and do not receive days off. The plant's workers are 50% African American,  30% Latino, 15% Haitian, and 5% other. According to national union organizers, there is a lot of discrimination especially against Haitians. This might include allowing others to take bathroom breaks before them, etc.

The Mountaire plant has a strong "anti-union" campaign. They allegedly have a sign inside the plant that says "we don't need a union - we're a family".

The UFCW (United Food and Commercial Workers) says that, ideally,  they need at least 65% of the union cards to be signed. They only need 30% to conduct elections (run by the government). However, it can take up to 45 days for the government to 'organize' the election, which means that the company has plenty of time to change the workers' minds.

In order to win, they'll need 50% plus one vote. Let us hope for that one vote.

Here's to Mountaire, to people everywhere who work hard in factories to make sure our meat gets to our table. Thank you for the food. Amen.

El Enojo y la Culpa

I have to admit something. And it's something I wouldn't normally admit, but because I am in social work school and social justice class I think... it's time to get real.

I feel guilty.

There, I said it. I feel like I pulled the trigger. 

I have not acknowledged Michael Brown and the shooting in Ferguson. Sure, I talked about it with my husband and my parents... we agreed that it is awful. That it's so sad that racial profiling still exists in America. I haven't spoken to my friends about it, nor Facebook. I haven't signed any petitions or taken any action.

So, perhaps I am not the oppressor. But by allowing racial violence to happen and not even whisper, "no!" am I actually approving Michael Brown's death? And what about Trayvon? And all the thousands before him? What about the thousands of black people that were lynched right here in North Carolina not so long ago? Why are we, as a people, not FURIOUS?

It breaks my heart. That so many have died. That I have no idea what it's like to be a minority in America. That peace has not yet come. 

Silence may be okay for some people. But I do not intend to live my life asleep to the injustices in our world. Nor do I intend to be a "coffee shop anarchist", who perhaps is awake but frozen in their own fear. You're going to hear me roar.

In high school, I was an activist. I knew in my heart that I could stop the Iraq War, with the help of the other members of the protest movement. I started an organization at my school, I traveled to Washington D.C. The day the war started, I lost something. Hope. It has taken me a long time to get that back. 

When we admit defeat, we are allowing the system (corporate America, our government, greed) to continue feeding the injustices. They continue to grow, to take new forms.

Activism is anger, made into positive action. Social justice is not a quick fix. It is a conversation. Let's talk about it.

A Cherokee elder was teaching his grandchildren about life.

He said to them, “A fight is going on inside me… it is a terrible fight between two wolves. One wolf represents fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, hatefulness, and lies. The other stands for joy, peace, love, hope, humbleness, kindness, friendship, generosity, faith, and truth. This same fight is going on inside of you, and inside every other person, too.”

The children thought about it for a minute. 

Then one child asked his grandfather,

“Which wolf will win?”

The Cherokee elder replied…

“The one you feed.”

Campesinos Alimentan el Mundo

Today is Labor Day in the United States. We all like to get the day off, and grill out with our friends. But what is Labor Day, really?

As journalist James Warren wrote in this article in the New York Daily News, it is "the day to celebrate the American worker and his sacrifices and economic and social achievements". Oooh. Now that sounds a little more interesting. According to Warren, it all started in 1894 when Pullman railroad workers had a walkout against unfair wages and poor living conditions. Federal marshals and the Army killed 30 of them. This event led to the government proclaiming an Annual Labor Day, to honor the American worker.

I began my internship at Student Action with Farmworkers. I have to say it is one of the most unique organizations I have ever learned about. Its mission is to bring students and farmworkers together to learn about each other's lives, share resources and skills, improve conditions for farmworkers, and build diverse conditions working for social change. It is a true social justice organization - I am so excited to be a part of it!

So today on Labor Day, I invite you to consider the American worker. How can you even begin to describe them? Black, white, Indian, Asian, Latino... the list goes on and on. We are a diverse workforce. And we have a long way to go before everyone receives a fair wage and safe working conditions.

Farmworkers are paid as little as 40 cents for a bucket of tomatoes they picked. Minimum wage laws only apply to workers on large farms (how is that fair?) The Fair Labor Standards Act does not provide overtime for farmworkers. The legal age for a farmworker is 12, not 16 like other jobs. (Source: United States Farmworker Fact Sheet)

Farmworker conditions are still very similar to slavery. They share rooms and substandard houses with many other workers. Many do not have transportation to leave the property. Only 10% of farmworkers have reported that their employer provides insurance. They are exposed on a daily basis to pesticides, which puts them at risk for toxic chemical injuries. 

Immigration to the United States increased greatly in 1994, when NAFTA (the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement) was signed and over 2 million Mexican farmworkers were driven out of business. This article offers an upsetting list of all the damage NAFTA has done, both in the loss of jobs in the U.S. and Mexico.

...It's interesting with farmers markets on every corner, and everyone talking about local food and concern for their diet... Very few people are talking about farmworker rights. I like this SAF fellow's take on it all. It takes a village. On this Labor Day and all days, may we take the time to educate ourselves, and may we begin and continue to take action. 

"In this day-to-day struggle, it sometimes feels like we are spinning our wheels in deep mud. So this is what I’ve really learned this summer: it takes a village. It takes Araceli and Selena lobbying in Raleigh to protect the legal rights so easily stripped from farmworkers. It takes Jessie in South Carolina helping migrant children stay in school. It takes Ramon working with Legal Aid to make sure human rights are not violated in the farmworking community. And it takes me, in Burgaw, working with one patient at a time to make sure those who produce our food stay healthy. It takes a village for this movement, no one person or organization in this fight can stand alone, and together we can move towards real, evident change. Adelante juntos, hasta la victoria!"

-Miranda Schartz, SAF Fellow

"Every time we sit at a table to enjoy the fruits and grain and vegetables from our good earth, remember that they come from the work of men and women and children who have been exploited for generations" 

-Cesar Chavez, co-founder of United Farm Workers