Central American Leadership Development

STITCH is committed to supporting women's leadership development by providing training to women workers organizing for better work conditions and higher wages to move their families out of poverty. Over the past ten years, STITCH has provided training on diverse topics such as gender, organizing skills, and finance among other subjects suggested by the women themselves. These trainings are not solely focused on concrete skills; instead they also provide women with increased self-esteem, better analytical skills and a better understanding of the forces that impact their lives and work.

In 2004, STITCH began a process to create a collaborative women's leadership training manual to expand our training capacity and systemize our work. The group selected four modules with multiple chapters: Gender; Globalization; Women's Leadership; and New Directions in Unionism. The chapters were written by STITCH's Guatemalan staff person (an expert from the Guatemalan women's movement,) presented to the labor advisory council for their feedback, edited to incorporate the feedback, and then tested with local unions before they were finalized. STITCH began the project by training our partners on popular education techniques and improving their critical skills. The labor advisory council, which was developed during the curriculum process, has also become a formal network for advocacy for Central American labor women.

Over the past five years as STITCH continued to write and edit the curriculum, we trained women workers throughout the region.

In 2005, STITCH assisted women in the textile industry in Guatemala by bringing organizers from a successful campaign in Honduras to share strategies. In 2006, STITCH held a round of work sessions in Honduras with the technical/training team of COSIBAH (Coordination of Honduran Banana Unions.) This workshop allowed them to develop a regional workshop to build the capacity of the trainers in each banana union that is part of the Latin American Banana Union Federation (a federation that represents 45,000 workers throughout Latina America .)

In 2007, STITCH completed the three year curriculum project and spent significant time evaluating its impact. Women involved in the project reported they have used the information gained from STITCH to integrate themselves in the leadership structures (including the boards of directors) of their unions and have inserted specific clauses in the collective bargaining contracts that have benefited the thousands of other women in their unions, for example, permissions for paid time off for education, increased maternity leave, and equality of wages, salary adjustments and others.

In addition, during a training session sponsored by STITCH in 2007, two new union federations (both led by women) were founded and approved by the government in 2008 in Nicaragua . STITCH will continue implement the curriculum fully within the region during the next three years by developing women's union leadership schools and a larger regional network between women.

In 2008, we formed the Escuela de Formacion Policita ( School of Political Formation ), which is composed of the women from the original focal group as well as new participants. These women are the core of STITCH programming, and participate in the regional trainings offered several times per year. They then disseminate the information and techniques learned to their local communities and unions. In 2009, the women renamed themselves the Red de Mujeres por Justicia Social y Economica (Network of Women for Social and Economic Justice) and truly took ownership over their roles as activists. This group is an integral part of our work, and provides a platform for political statements, actions, and support to women region-wide.

In 2009, STITCH focused on issues of sexual violence in the work place and in the women's personal lives. It is an issue that has surfaced again and again, but the women were not ready to face it until now. This theme will continue throughout 2010 as the women both address their personal issues and work to create policies condemning sexual abuse and violence in the work place.

US Leadership Development

STITCH's US program is currently undergoing a shift from being workshop driven towards the establishment of long term alliances with organized groups of working women of color in key regions in the country. This shift will allow us to better utilize the proven structure of the Central American Program and effectively shape and customize the US program to the needs and realities of immigrant working women in the US .

Once we identify a program partner, which we have narrowed down to four options in the Southeastern United States , STITCH will hire a Program Coordinator from the local community who is well-versed in popular education. The Program Coordinator will train with our Central American Program Director, as well as with the Executive Director to learn STITCH methodology, and familiarize herself with our curriculum. Although some introductory sessions have been modified to fit culturally and time-wise into the US context, the Program Coordinator will have creative license to adapt them further to fit her group.

In addition to the programming component we are in the process of developing in the United States , STITCH has ongoing education and outreach programs. Each year, we bring a participant from the Red de Mujeres por Justicia Social y Economica to speak at organizations, unions, and universities throughout the Southeast. In the past, we have linked these speaking tours to our workshops. STITCH has also spoken at Union Summer Schools for Women throughout the U.S. It is a great way to reach a lot of union women with only a few presentations. Based on our new U.S. focus, we will be utilizing the speaker tours differently in the future, and focusing on large groups and STITCH's program partners. The representative from Central America will lead workshops, much like she does in her own community. This will increase our network and provide true international solidarity between working women.