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STITCH Delegation to Learn Firsthand the Impact of CAFTA |
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Nearly one year after the passage of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), trade union women from the United States will have the opportunity to see firsthand the trade deal’s impact on working conditions for women in Central America.
STITCH, a network of women unionists and activists in Central America and the United States, is sponsoring its annual STITCH Spring Delegation to Guatemala from May 26-June 3.
Members of the delegation will have the opportunity to learn or improve their Spanish while meeting with Guatemalan women workers in the maquila and banana sectors to hear from them about the effects of global trade and to see how they and their unions are organizing for change. In Guatemala and throughout Central America, low-wage women workers face a daily battle against global corporate practices that result in below-poverty wages for more than full-time work.
Previous participants have said the trip inspired them to become more active. Nina Lessin-Joseph, a student at the University of Massachusetts, took the trip two years ago. She was working with the union movement on anti-sweatshop efforts and was interning and felt she had “an obligation to learn more.” She says:
…Workers just want what they’re supposed to get. A year ago if I had come here, I’d be so sad. Now I’m mad. How often can you cry? It’s more effective to be angry about a situation and do something about it.
The STITCH delegation is open to women unionists at a cost of $850, which includes housing, all meals, language instruction and travel inside Guatemala. Participants must pay their own way to Guatemala City and cover incidental costs such as snacks and tips. Limited scholarships may be available.
For more information or an application, contact STITCH, 1525 Newton St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20010; call 202-265-3790; or e-mail stitch@stitchonline.org. Applications are due April 13.
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