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Student/Farmworker Alliance (SFA) is a national network of students and youth organizing in solidarity with farmworkers to end sweatshops and slavery in the fields. Our structure operates through four general mechanisms: the national network, working groups, staff, and the steering committee.

national network

Our national network is made up of any students and/or youth who are actively organizing around our campaigns. It is decentralized network, which means that there is no formal affiliation process, dues, or predetermined criteria for participants in the network. We work with autonomous local groups in dozens of communities across the country, and each organization decides their level of involvement in campaigns. Anyone within the network is able to participate in discussions regarding the general direction of campaigns through periodic conference calls and ongoing listerv discussions with others in the network. Annual conferences, tours, and mobilizations serve to build the network therefore allowing more voices in the overall decision-making process. SFA closely coordinates with several national student organizations such as United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS), Student Labor Action Project (SLAP), Movimiento Estudiantil Chicana/o de Aztlán (MEChA), and the National Latina/o Law Student Association (NLLSA). To see a listing of local contact groups and individuals in the SFA network, click here.

steering committee

After an open application process initiated at the 2005 SFA Encuentro, the Board Development Working Group finalized its selections for the 2006 Steering Committee. That marked SFA's first official steering committee, following an interim board that served from Summer 2004 through Summer 2005. After similar open processes, the 2007 and 2008 Steering Committees were selected. Since SFA is a decentralized network, a major goal of the steering committee is to facilitate communication and action within the network. For a complete description of Steering Committee duties and responsibilities, click here. The steering committee communicates via regular conference calls, listservs and face-to-face meetings. All steering committee decisions take into consideration advice from staff, but ultimately they are made autonomously based on steering committee members' experiences.

working groups

Working groups exist within the SFA network to help drive certain aspects of our work forward. Some working groups are temporary and are formed around specific short-term needs such as campaign research or organizing a conference or mobilization. Other working groups seek to address long-term issues such as fundraising and anti-oppression/collective liberation. Working groups communicate via conference calls and listservs and are a point of access where anyone in the network can become more involved in shaping the direction of SFA. The steering committee and staff help coordinate working groups to ensure continuity with SFA's campaigns, needs, and processes. To see a list of working groups and email listservs, click here.

staff

Staff and interns are based in Immokalee and are responsible for SFA's day-to-day operations such as communication with the CIW, network members and allies. Other staff responsibilities include: campaign coordination; fundraising; materials; communications; facilitating workshops; and tour/mobilization logistics. Staff are chosen by -- and accountable to -- the steering committee and the CIW. Interns are selected for each fall, spring, and summer period by the steering committee, staff, and the CIW. For more information about the internship program, click here. To learn more about SFA staff, click here.