Come celebrate the kick-off of Free School 4 Farm Workers by joining us for this two-part online workshop where we take a deep dive into farm employment contracts and negotiation skills. This registration includes both sessions. The second session builds off of the first, and we encourage you to attend both.

• Employment Contracts 101: Tuesday, February 13 4pm PT / 5pm MT / 6pm CT / 7pm ET / 8pm AT
• Negotiating 101: Tuesday, February 20 4pm PT / 5pm MT / 6pm CT / 7pm ET / 8pm AT

We’ll open this series by exploring what qualifies as an employment contract and what purpose these documents can play in the farming landscape. Next, we’ll consider common techniques you can use when negotiating – whether as part of a formal contract or for other benefits like a pay raise or a new title. Because negotiating often means putting yourself in a highly vulnerable position, we will emphasize self-care and collective action within this discussion. In addition to assessing when it is appropriate and safe to negotiate, we will discuss how to prepare for and recover from what may be an emotionally charged experience. Space for success stories and open discussion will center the worker experience.

During both sessions, we will be joined by experts in agricultural labor standards, employment law, worker-led organizing, and coping strategies and self-care. Expertise spans both the U.S. and Canadian contexts.

• Alexia Kulwiec, J.D., School for Workers. Alexia holds expertise in labor standards, employment law, and grievance arbitration within the U.S. agricultural context and is based in Wisconsin, U.S.
• Kevin Shimmin, UFCW Canada. Kevin has been a union organizer with UFCW Canada for 20 years.
• Sheila Ciminera, LCSW, CADS, To Bear Witness Therapy. Sheila is a social worker based in New Mexico, U.S., with more than 15 years of experience specializing in coping strategies, anxiety, racial identity, and more. https://www.bearwitnesstherapy.com/
• Kit Andres, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change

Please note that Free School 4 Farm Workers sessions are for hired farm workers only. We define a farm worker as someone working on a farm they do not own, for or without pay, including interns, apprentices, and aspiring farm workers. If you have questions about whether you are eligible to participate, please contact Anita Adalja at anita@notourfarm.org. Sessions will be recorded and shared with registrants. Simultaneous interpretation into both French and Spanish is available upon request.

REGISTER HERE

About FS4FW: Free School 4 Farm Workers is an international, community-driven experiment in popular education by and for farm workers. FS4FW aims to offer farm workers tools to create safer, more just, and sustainable living and working conditions. Drawing on the long and remarkable history of the global Free School movement, FS4FW is the first of its kind to offer free, interactive and educational workshops to connect farm workers across North America as we build skill, build knowledge, and build power together.

Co-hosted by Not Our Farm, National Farmers Union – Canada, Young Agrarians, and FairShare CSA Coalition.