"Drought, Delays, & Developments": Excerpts from EFEN's April Newsletter

Members of El Futuro Es Nuestro are feeling frustration, insecurity, and despair as major drought, immigration delays, and unpredictable weather impact farmworkers arriving in North Carolina. The planting season may be delayed if rain does not come soon, or the harvest may be affected by such difficult conditions.

We keep our spirits up by learning, organizing, and sharing experiences with comrades in other industries, and also by planning for the El Jornalero agricultural cooperative on our plot of land in Nash County - home to our brand new (to us) tractor!

There's lots to share this labor-solidarity month, particularly several actions this week that you are invited to join, plus an update about the farm that called the Sheriff on us, a story of worker advocacy, a recent award we won from Davidson College, and a round up of recent events, so read on for more!

"Workers to Workers" Show Strength and Solidarity at Patterson Farms

You might remember a story in our October 2025 newsletter about a visit to workers at Randal Patterson's farm, where the grower called the cops on EFEN/IOF staff organizers. Since then, we have been working with the ACLU to assure that the Rowan County Sheriff's department does not violate constitutional rights. On April 18th, as part of the Workers to Workers conference in Charlotte, over two dozen union members from groups including the UAW, CWA, the nurses union, UNITE-HERE, and Labor South came together to visit those Patterson workers. They demonstrated that "Sí Se Puede", despite the workers having been told for years that they had no right to visitors.

We shared toiletries, electrolyte packets, and Know Your Rights information with the workers, but most importantly we shared solidarity. This was a powerful experience not only for the farmworker residents but also for the unions to learn more about the abuses farmworkers are facing. "There is someone in the government hurting us all; they lowered our wages, and we need to do something about it," said one of the workers.

By the end of the visit, barriers had been broken, and workers were sharing tacos and spicy salsa with the guests. Big thanks to our union brothers and sisters for standing with farmworkers.

Profile of EFEN/IOF Leader: Juan Medrano

Organized and empowered leadership creates space for advocacy wherever we go.

EFEN/IOF members learn the skills to organize and advocate not just in the fields of North Carolina, but in any situation.

Juan Medrano is one of our board members who first contacted us when he was injured in a workplace accident in 2023, the day before he was supposed to go back to Mexico. His supervisor dropped him off at the hospital door and left him there. The next day, he was picked up and packed onto the bus for Mexico, still dealing with his injuries.

He called EFEN/IOF co-coordinator Maria from the bus, feeling more alone than he had ever felt. She encouraged him to keep all his paperwork and record all the details. The following year, he was able to file a workers' comp claim and won his case.

Since that time, Juan has become a key leader in EFEN/IOF. He ran for a seat on the board because he never wanted any other worker to ever have to feel as alone as he did on that bus ride home after his accident. He has volunteered for just about every role, including getting involved in the heat stress campaign, organizing all the workers in his camp and well as the farms nearby, and has since helped other co-workers document their workers' comp claims.

Recently, he had to use his advocacy skills for a very personal case at home in Mexico, when his brother became very ill and eventually passed away, sadly. When his brother got sick and didn't show up at work (because he was at the hospital), his job fired him and cut off his health insurance, despite being entitled to those benefits. When his family learned of the insurance cut from the hospital, Juan's dad turned around to walk out the door, accepting this terrible news which would lead to expensive medical bills they had expected to be covered. But Juan wasn't giving up.

Due to his organizing experiences in the fields of North Carolina, and the advocacy skills he learned from EFEN/IOF, he was prepared to fight for those benefits. So he did, and he won. Juan succeeded in getting his brother reinstated on the medical plan the same day, and ensured that all his medical costs were covered for the remaining time that his brother lived. While nothing will bring his brother back, at least his final days were spent being well cared for. This is just one example of EFEN/IOF workers using their skills to benefit others wherever they go.

This article came from sections of the April 2026 email newsletter of El Futuro Es Nuestro.