ovember 25, 2015

Dear Maclovia,

Thanksgiving is here, and in this spirit I want to take the opportunity to thank each and every one of you for standing in solidarity with me this past week. You've given me the strength to get through my first Thanksgiving dinner without Randy.

Last week’s Darigold tour left me breathless. A lot happened. The tour was more than delivering over 38,000 + signatures to major chains that sell Darigold products. The tour ended up being a personal journey for me. It was my first time out of Washington State. It was my first time leaving my three children. It was hard, but the purpose gave me strength. I have to do everything possible to make sure another family never endures what my kids and I have endured.

Going to the different big retailers and asking them to use their influence to get Darigold to talk to me and the UFW about resolving the safety and health issues that leave dairy workers injured at higher rates than any other industry in WA is so important. I know the pain my children and I deal with daily and I will do whatever I can to make sure someone else doesn’t have their child asking “where’s daddy” like my four year old son Yaya asks me. 

Your support during my five state national tour gave me the strength to continue hopping from one plane to the other, sharing my family story and the stories of those who labor every day in WA state dairy farms. I left my three children behind for an entire week, something I have never done before to deliver your petitions. At first I was sad and afraid, because I've never been without my children, and I have never been at the doors of America's biggest retailers’ headquarters either.

At the first stop, McDonald’s wouldn’t even open up the door to me and the supporters who joined us. This lack of response was discouraging. For a second I felt like quitting. But your messages, your hugs, and your words of encouragement and the kind words and gestures from the supporters who joined us there lifted me up to continue my journey to the doors of Target, Kroger, Wal-Mart and Albertsons/Safeway. The other chains received me in a more welcoming note. Some just accepted the petitions and some had executives who were willing to have a conversation. I hope and pray that they will be part of the solution the dairy workers so much need. Somebody's father, son, husband or uncle is out there now milking, or feeding a cow risking their lives in an unsafe work environment. That is heartbreaking. It has to stop.

This journey was not easy. I would have not made it without you. I also want to thank the organizations that joined us at these stops, including: The Fight for $15, ARISE Chicago, the National Farm Worker Ministry, the Cincinnati Interfaith Worker Center, FLOC, and the Northwest Arkansas Workers’ Justice Center.

Thank you for helping me out in this journey. May you and your family and friends have a blessed and peaceful Thanksgiving holiday.

Blessings,

Nubia Guajardo



Maclovia Perez 801-833-2793 Fundadora,Directora General Red de Peruanos en Utah*USA* E-mail:redperuenutah@gmail.com http://redperuenutah.blogspot.com Corresponsal Red Democratica del Peru (1998-2011..) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eleccion Por una política exterior democrática en el Perú