Farmworker Support Committee (CATA)

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cata-farmworkers.org

The Farmworker Support Committee in action.

The Farmworker Support Committee, also known as "El Comite de Apoyo a Los Trabajadores Agricolas" (CATA), introduces itself with the lines, "Non-profit organization, founded by migrant farmworkers in southern New Jersey in 1979", and, "Empowering and educating farmworkers through leadership development", and gives the following descriptive information:

CATA – The Farmworkers Support Committee – a non-profit organization, was founded by migrant farmworkers in southern New Jersey in 1979. We are a membership organization open to all farmworkers and members of the community who support our work. The Board of Directors, composed of farmworkers from our membership, evaluates our programs and determines the priorities for their development.

CATA is a non-profit, migrant farmworker organization that is governed by and comprised of farmworkers who are actively engaged in the struggle for better working and living conditions. CATA’s mission is to empower and educate farmworkers through leadership development and capacity building so that they are able to make informed decisions regarding the best course of action for their interests. CATA has advanced based on the belief that only through organizing and collective action can they achieve justice and fullness of life. CATA’s programs are based on the Popular Education Methodology, which actively involve farmworkers in the process of social change. This means that the analysis and proposed actions come directly from the farmworkers. Also inherent in CATA’s mission is the importance of analyzing the farmworker reality in terms of the food system. In doing so, projects and campaigns are undertaken with the goal of achieving meaningful and lasting improvements rather than mere reforms to a legal and economic system that is structurally biased against them.