We are approaching the holiday season of giving. Thanks to the commitment of members like you CJM gives hope to the maquila workers and their families. 

Please do not forget to include CJM on your gift list!

Listen to the voices of maquiladora workers devastated by the NAFTA model of corporate globalization. It is heartbreaking to hear them tell about making our consumer goods in factories where demanding a living wage and safe working conditions can result in losing wages, losing your job, being threatened, assaulted or illegally detained.

Now, close your eyes and listen just to the sound of the voices. Joined to CJM’s chorus, these voices are strong with conviction and resolve, courage and hope. Since 1989, CJM has stood alongside working women and men and their families as they take a stand and demand justice and respect.

We invite you to help CJM move forward the globalization for justice agenda. We are supporting grassroots organizing in maquiladoras, like Key Systems in Valle Hermoso, Tamaulipas and Muebles Fino Buenos in Tijuana, Baja California. Our local work also includes training workers in legal advocacy, conducting strategic planning workshops, and mapping production and supply chains in the increasingly slippery, corporate global production line.

CJM has become more international. As the NAFTA model extends its reach to more countries, so does the movement opposing that model of trade and promoting a model that puts labor rights, public health, the environment and democracy first. CJM’s Board of Directors includes members from Brazil, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and the U.S. We are networking with activists in other countries including Argentina, Holland, Morocco and South Korea, who are also dedicated to the belief that another world is possible. CJM’s collective complaint with the International Labor Organization concerning violations of freedom of association among maquiladora workers during the NAFTA years uses the experience of Mexican workers to call attention to the kind of injustices that workers everywhere face.

We hope that during this season of celebration and reflection you will make a generous contribution to CJM. Together, we can build a future where a full-time job means you can feed your kids and send them to school, where workers are safe from dangerous chemicals and equipment in the workplace, and where fundamental labor rights such as freedom of association are guaranteed. Please fill out the enclosed card and join the chorus of voices raised in hope for a world where justice prevails.  Happy Holidays!

In solidarity,

Amelia Simpson CJM Board President		Susan Mika, OSB Former CJM Board President		Martha Ojeda Exec. Director