STITCH

Located in Guatemala City, Guatemala, STITCH is a network of women unionists, activists, and organizers that connects women in Central America and the United States so that together they are empowered to organize for economic justice.

STITCH supports and raises awareness about the rights of women workers by leading workshops on rights and leadership, conducting training exchanges and educational delegations to Central America, and documenting the voices and experiences of Central American laborers in the United States.

STITCH connects the struggles of union women across the United States and Central America, and strengthens ties of solidarity between them. With UUSC’s support, STITCH is developing a Womens’ Labor and Leadership Curriculum Project that:

• Addresses the unique challenges faced by women workers in the informal economy
• Builds skills, strategies, power analyses, and critical thinking
• Improves women workers' capacity to recognize, address, and overcome rights violations
• Empowers women workers to take on positions of leadership

The project is a collaborative effort of 11 women who represent different Central American agricultural unions and maquila organizations. Through this curriculum, STITCH will be able to extend its work to encourage unionization and uphold human rights of and among more vulnerable workers than ever before, across both Central and North America. UUSC will help facilitate the distribution of this curriculum with allied Spanish-speaking worker partners in the United States.

In late July 2011, STITCH hosted an all women's labor solidarity delegation to Honduras to assess the impact of the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) on women in the region. Drawing links between economic changes and their everyday lives, women workers shared their stories oh how CAFTA has led to an increase in labor flexibilization, unemployment, violations of worker rights, and discrimination against women.