Accomplishments
Centro Campesino is growing into a leading Latino organization in Minnesota. Centro Campesino received the 2002 Nonprofit Mission Award for Advocacy from the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits. In 2006 the organization received the Social Justice Award from the National Lawyers Guild in Minnesota. In 2009, Centro Campesino was a featured organization in a publication by the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy. In the report "Strengthening Democracy, Increasing Opportunities: Impacts of Advocacy, Organizing and Civic Engagement in Minnesota" it is documented how 15 local nonprofits and their allies leveraged foundation grants to secure nearly $138 of benefit for every dollar spent for Minnesota's citizens.
Our main accomplishments include:
In 1998-2000 Centro Campesino organized over 120 migrant workers working for the canning company Chiquita in Owatonna. The workers won a childcare facility built in their camp, hot water, new beds and appliances, divisions in the bathrooms, and the construction of a storm shelter.
In 2004, Centro Campesino began organizing approximately 750 migrant workers at Lake Side Foods in Owatonna and Seneca Foods in Montgomery. In Owatonna, the workers got the company to pay for all costs associated with the childcare unit. In Montgomery, the workers got the company to build them a community kitchen in the camp.
In 2004-2005, Centro Campesino organized migrant workers to talk to legislators to secure passage of the Improving State Protections for Migrant Workers Act. At the time, approximately 4,000 migrant workers resided in the southern area of Minnesota. The new law doubled the fines for employers who violate written recruitment agreements with migrant workers and also provide that employers who do not pay wages when due can be made to pay twice the amount a worker would have earned until payment is made. These provisions are likely recouping thousands of dollars in wages owed to migrant workers each year.
In 2004, Centro Campesino organized 13 families in Montgomery who were being displaced and evicted by the city. Centro Campesino filed suit against the city for discrimination. Montgomery reached a settlement with the families which included a public apology from the city to the community, $17,000 from the city to each family, cultural awareness training for all city officials, and anti-discriminatory signs around the city and public buildings. Additionally, the city agreed to build affordable housing and is currently working to secure state and federal funds to finance the project.
In 2007, Centro Campesino’s youth worked with allies such as the Minnesota Immigrant Freedom Network to win passage of the Flat Rate Tuition Bill, which gives thousands of students in Minnesota access to in-state tuition at seven two-year and technical colleges across the state. The dollar value of this victory cannot be verified, but it is likely hundreds of thousands of dollars per year are collected in direct tuition savings, as well as the ripple effect in earning potential for students with a post-secondary education. In 2009, after a multi-year advocacy effort, the Governor signed a bill giving the 22 MNSCU institutions $2.4 million to enable them to continue charging the same tuition rate to all in-state residents.
In 2009 we developed the first college access program tailored to at-risk Latino youth in rural Minnesota. The program will set the base to increase the number of Latino students that go college after high school graduation.
