Please join ILRF, Witness for Peace, and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky for a house party featuring an inspiring Honduran labor leader on April 8^th.

This house party will be held at the home of Kim Bobo in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago. Space is limited to 50 people and will fill up. gabby [at] ilrf.org (subject: RSVP%20to%20Chicago%20House%20Party) (RSVP) earlyto hold your spot and to receive the address for the event.

In the immigration debate, we don’t often hear about how U.S. policies play a major role in exacerbating the push factors of migration, driving people from their homes to seek safety and security in the United States. In Honduras, recent U.S. policies have legitimized a violent dictatorship and implemented trade deals that exploit cheap labor. But a people’s movement has been re-born. Hondurans young and old are risking their lives to fight for a future where they can feed their families, have decent wages, and fully participate in a democratic society, without fear of reprisal. Come meet Honduran trade union leader, Tomas Membreño, and learn how people in the U.S. can hold the federal government and corporations accountable for their actions in Honduras.

Featuring:

• Tomas Membreño, STAS (Honduran Agricultural Workers Union)
• Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D - IL)
• Judy Gearhart and Gabby Rosazza, International Labor Rights Forum
• Elise Roberts and John Walsh, Witness for Peace

El Sindicato de Trabajadores/as de la Agroindustria y Similares, or STAS, is a trade union that organizes workers to fight for justice on plantations in Honduras that are exporting fruit to U.S and European markets. They represent over 800 workers in the banana, melon, sugar, and palm oil sectors, industries long plagued by poverty wages and exposure to toxic pesticides. Their efforts to seek dignity in the workplace have come at a high cost, as Honduras is one of the most dangerous countries in the world to be a trade unionist. STAS members and union leaders have received death threats and been physically attacked for organizing workers. For the past five months, 300 palm oil workers have been on strike protesting illegal firings and severe labor violations. STAS is looking for international support for their current campaigns to win collective bargaining agreements on Fyffes melon plantations and Grupo Jaremar palm oil plantations.