STITCH Women's Language School Delegations in Guatemala

A May 2004 language school delegation outside of the SITRABI Union Hall in Guatemala. These activists met with pioneering women union organizers before their trip to the banana fields and processing plants to see first hand the lives of workers on the fincas. Photo: Janine Brown.

Connect with union and community organizers from the US and Guatemala. Study Spanish. Meet pioneering women leaders and learn how you can take part in the struggle for global economic justice. Join us on the next STITCH Women's Language School Delegation! The STITCH women's delegation combines excellent Spanish instruction with an in-depth look at the economic situation facing women workers in the Guatemalan maquila and banana sectors, and how they and their unions are organizing for change.

Join Us on Our Delegation to Guatemala in October of 2005!

What are the true costs of lower prices?

Corporations are rolling back gains made by unions over the past hundred years and eroding basic human rights. The demand for lower prices comes at a huge cost, especially for the world’s women. As companies like Wal-Mart lead the race to the bottom, women workers in Central America are fighting corporate practices of more work for less pay.

Come witness their reality and join together in struggle to return dignity to the workplace in the U.S. and Central America!

Women, Workers, and Confronting the Wal-Mart Model:
Women Organizing for Labor Justice
STITCH Women’s Language School Delegation
October 22-30, 2005 • Guatemala




The STITCH women’s delegation combines excellent Spanish instruction with an in-depth look at the effects of corporate-led globalization on women workers and unionists. This exciting delegation will give you the opportunity to:

• Connect with US and Guatemalan women activists.
• Study Spanish and learn more about Central America.
• Understand what corporations’ lower prices really mean for Latin American workers.
• Meet pioneering organizers and take part in the struggle for global economic justice.
  
  

You will spend five mornings learning Spanish with one-on-one instruction at a well-respected school in the colonial town of Antigua, Guatemala. In the afternoons, you will meet with women fighting for better conditions in the booming textile industry, globalization activists, and local union leaders. In the final days of the delegation, we will travel to the banana plantations in Eastern Guatemala to hear from workers affected by U.S. corporate policies and to explore our own roles as consumers and activists. The delegation will broaden your understanding of globalization; give you new insights from activists in Central America; and strengthen your ability to connect worker struggles at home and abroad.

To request more information or an application, please contact:
STITCH- 1525 Newton St, NW, Washington, DC 20010
by phone: (202) 265-3790
by email: stitch@stitchonline.org

This delegation is open to women only. The cost of the delegation is $800 and includes housing, all meals, language instruction, and travel inside Guatemala. Participants must pay their own way to Guatemala City and cover incidental costs such as snacks and tips. STITCH is interested in bringing groups of unionists from one area or one union, discounts are available for groups. Additional limited scholarships are available.

Applications are due by September 13, 2005.

Click here to See a Sample Delegation Program

Many past members of the STITCH language school delegation take action upon their return to the United States. Below are some links to their stories and activism over the past few years.

Links:

• CWA News Story on the Delegation
• Audio Documentary Project of the STITCH Delegation