MEChA supports farmworkers with fundraiser
MEChA will hold a fundraising dinner tonight at 6 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church at 13th Avenue and Olive Street. The group hopes to raise money for 162 farmworkers who have been displaced from PictSweet, a mushroom farm in Salem.
Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN), an Oregon farmworkers union, tried to organize the farmworkers into a union over the summer, and the farm refused to negotiate for a union contract, MEChA director David Jaimes said. Workers have also complained about safety and health issues, according to PCUN’s Web site.
PictSweet employee Enrique Diaz, who lost his arm while working, will attend the dinner, along with two other farmworkers. The salsa band “Lo Nuestro” will perform.
Biology student Jacob Meyer, who is assisting in organizing the event, said several companies across Oregon have boycotted PictSweet mushrooms, including Fred Meyer, Safeway, Costco and Nature’s Northwest. He encourages students to come to the fundraiser and support farmworkers.
“It is a great opportunity for people to come together as a community and promote justice,” he said.
There is a minimum $10 donation to attend the dinner.
— Diane Huber
Lorax to host benefit concert
Local bands Chevron, The Free Radicals and Courtesy Clerks will play at a concert tonight benefiting Justice Not War, Students For Peace and Partners in Solidarity.
The bands will play at the Lorax Student Manor Co-op at 1648 Alder St. from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. Cost is $4.
