PCUN Successes

Tenth Anniversary Campaign

On the tenth anniversary of PCUN in 1995, a campaign was organized to raise wages in the strawberry harvest. Through a series of strikes and organizing actions, the wage paid per pound increased two to three cents—25% to 33%—on most area farms, after nearly ten years of stagnant wages. Total pay in the 1995 strawberry harvest increased to an estimated $1,000,000.

Collective Bargaining

In 1998 Oregon’s first farmworker collective bargaining agreement was signed between PCUN and Nature’s Fountain farm. The contract included protections unheard of on most farms, such as seniority, grievance procedures, overtime, paid breaks, and union recognition.

KPCN Radio

In May 2005, the Federal Communications Commission granted PCUN’s application to construct and operate a “low power,” 100-Watt FM radio station in Woodburn. The radio station broadcasts 24/7 to thousands of Latinos in a ten-mile radius around Woodburn. PCUN reserved the call letters KPCN-LP (for “low power”) for its frequency.

After a competition to name the station, PCUN named the station “Radio Movimiento” (Movement Radio) with the slogan “La Voz del Pueblo” (The Voice of the People). KPCN became broadcast-capable on August 20, 2006. Full-time permanent broadcasting started in mid-November, and kicked-off public promotion of that programming on November 20th, the anniversary of the Mexican Revolution.

After an encroachment fight, Radio Movimiento is now 95.9 FM. KPCN-LP is exponentially expanding the diversity of voices participating in the Latino media in the Woodburn area.

Many are voices never heard on commercial Spanish-language radio or by a mass audience. They include youth, indigenous people (speaking in their own dialects), women, workers, plus progressive leaders from Latino communities around the corner and around Latin America.

Simply giving voice combats oppression and discrimination by lending legitimacy and breaking the silence, while building self-confidence, self-esteem and developing valuable skills.

CAPACES

PCUN works collaboratively with a wide variety of other local organizations, including eight “sister organizations” brought together under the umbrella of “CAPACES.” CAPACES is a movement-building collaborative that fosters relationships among various groups, cross-training of workers, and a shared sense of vision.

Three CAPACES network organizations are based in Woodburn: Farmworker Housing Development Corporation, which runs the farmworker housing units in Woodburn; Voz Hispana Causa Chavista, which organizes Latino voters and educates community members about the legacy of Cesar Chavez; and Mujeres Luchadoras Progresistas, which promotes economic and leadership development for farmworker women.

Four other CAPACES network organizations are based in Salem: CAUSA, Oregon’s statewide immigrant rights coalition; Latinos Unidos Siempre (LUS), which develops Latino youth leadership; Mano a Mano Family Center, which offers basic social services; and Salem-Keizer Coalition for Equality, which empowers Latino families to take an active role in their children’s education and to advocate for equity in the public education system.

CAPACES Leadership Institute

PCUN formally launched its campaign to establish the CAPACES Leadership Institute (CLI) in 2009. The mission of CLI is to educate current and emerging movement leaders about values and engage them in big strategic ideas, then to help them develop the skills to put these ideas to use. The Institute will offer a fast and sure route for participants to develop leadership skills.

The Institute will serve, first and foremost, the one hundred individuals who are staff or board members of PCUN or one of PCUN’s eight sister organizations:

  • CAUSA (immigrants’ rights)
  • Farmworker Housing Development Corporation (farmworker housing)
  • Latinos Unidos Siempre (youth leadership)
  • Mano a Mano Family Center (social service)
  • Mujeres Luchadoras Progresistas (women’s economic development)
  • Oregon Farmworker Ministry (faith-based solidarity)
  • Salem-Keizer Coalition for Equality (education reform)
  • Voz Hispana Causa Chavista (voter organizing and civic engagement).

The CLI will build on the lessons and successes of the “CAPACES” process begun by the eight organizations in 2003. CAPACES brings together the organizations’ staffs at monthly round-table meetings and quarterly “mass gatherings” to forge stronger peer relationships, promote common values, and share expertise.

The CLI will continue the CAPACES approach but the CLI will work more consistently, methodically, and in greater depth. The CLI will conduct an assessment with every participant, then set goals and create plans for their leadership development.

Beyond courses, classes, and one-on-one work, the CLI will facilitate structured conversations on generational leadership shift and on pressing issues that arise. The CLI will also convene an annual gathering, an occasion for all involved in the Institute to evaluate, sum up, look ahead, sound new themes, and make adjustments.

With the CLI’s training and support, the movement’s current and future leaders will improve stewardship of PCUN’s organizations, programs, and assets. Their work will transmit the values, ideas, and lessons that drive social change, and they will develop strategies for guiding PCUN’s growth.

The leadership developed through the CLI will fuel PCUN’s drive to institute collective bargaining on a major scale in Oregon agriculture. CLI-trained leaders will organize and mobilize thousands of young Latinos eligible to vote—the fast-growing electoral demographic—and educate and engage them to support progressive positions. These two advances alone will significantly close the gap between the Latinos’ marginal political and labor power and their immense contributions as workers and consumers.

By 2010, the CAPACES Leadership Institute campaign made major headway toward building the Institute’s permanent home next to PCUN headquarters, mobilizing hundreds of volunteers and attracting pro-bono services worth tens of thousands of dollars. The fundraising campaign to construct the building with no debt and raise the Institute’s first year operating budget—a total of $750,000—surpassed the $600,000 mark by year’s end.

The CLI anticipates reaching its financial goals soon and looks forward with excitement and purpose to establishing strong leadership among Latinos in Oregon. These men and women will be at the forefront of change and accomplishment, for the benefit of Latinos and all Oregonians.

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