What's New At STITCH?

Worker Tour feauturing Gladis Bustillo!

August 15 - August 30th

Many of us do not know how or by whose efforts bananas reach our table. From the banana plantations of Honduras we find a new struggle that places women's human rights at the center of global class politics. There, women banana workers - mujeres bananeras – are waging a powerful revolution by making gender equity central in Latin American Labor Organizing. Their successes are helping redefine the possibilities of international labor solidarity. 

GLADIS BUSTILLO ˜ La Lima, Honduras

SITRATERCO -  Secretary Treasurer

STITCH- Political Educator

Gladis at the "Why Are We The Way We Are" Exhibit in

Guatemala City, March 4, 2009

Forty nine years old, mother and grandmother, Gladis Bustillo is a mujer bananera , leader and organizer in charge of STITCH's political education program.  She is the first rank and file woman to be elected to represent women workers in her union's contract negotiations. 

As the liaison of SITRATERCO and COSIBAH unions at STITCH's regional gatherings, Gladis has held multiple workshops for other women that have led to the strengthening of women's work in their union, workplace and social fronts. 

As she continues her struggle for gender equity, Gladis states: “Women should take part in decisions and add clauses and demands that benefit women. And by helping women grow, we strengthen our organization.”

Click here if you are interested in hosting an event featuring Gladis!

STITCH 2009 Building Bridges Delegation

The 2009 Building Bridges delegation is postponed.  Check back in to find out when we will be going!   We will be visiting a banana plantation and having dinner in one of the worker's homes, going to an indigenous women's cooperative set up by widows and single mothers, and meeting with workers who were laid off when their factory closed and have been fighting for back pay for the last year and a half.  We will also tour an internationally acclaimed exhibit on race and ethnicity in Guatemala. Language classes through an accredited institution are available!!

Click here to view the flyer.

April 28th is Equal Pay Day!

WE NEED EQUAL PAY AND THE EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT NOW !!

This year women are still earning only 78 cents for every dollar that men earn.

The connection between Equal Pay and the Employee Free Choice Act is obvious for women.   The Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported a 32% increase in the pay of women union members vs. those who are not in unions in 2008.

This year, the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), in conjunction with the Fair Pay Coalition, is supporting the Paycheck Fairness Act   (S.182/H.R. 12) that updates the Equal Pay Act by creating stronger incentives for employers to follow the law, empower women to negotiate for equal pay and strengthen federal outreach and enforcement efforts.- for more information, see   http://www.cluw.org/EPD2009/PaycheckFairnessAct-AAUW.pdf

STITCH featured on Berger-Marks Website

STITCH is proud to receive support from the Berger-Marks Foundation, which supports union women organizing new unions and increasing their leadership in existing unions. This month, the foundation highlights the work of STITCH and how we can help unions reach out to Latina workers.

Click here to read more

Watch our Video!

Click here to see our new movie about STITCH and our work

Interested in Ethical Shopping?

Click here for more information

Building Bridges Across Borders
STITCH works on projects supporting women workers in Central America and immigrant women in the U.S. Both of these programs have had great success in their regions. But sometimes, we are most successful when workers from each project are able to work together. Read the attached article by our partners, the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee to learn more about our worker exchanges: Click here to read the article

Read more about STITCH's training programs from one of our partners at UUSC!
UUSC Human Rights Blog

  THANKS to our many Supporters!

STITCH is a network of women unionists, organizers, and activists that builds connections between Central American and US women organizing for economic justice.