by James Parks, May 3, 2011
Today’s the deadline to show your solidarity with working mothers who cut and process the flowers we send on Mother’s Day.
Some 80 percent of the fresh-cut flowers sold in the United States come from Colombia, where most flower workers are women, who work long hours, especially before holidays like Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day. They are paid poverty-level wages and face hazardous working conditions.
You can help these women by making a $35 donation ($20 student or low income) to U.S. Labor Education in the Americas Project’s (USLEAP’s) Flower Worker Economic Justice Project. USLEAP will send a card to the mother of your choice with a personalized message inside, letting her know that you made a donation in her honor.
Choose between two card designs, each featuring a photo of a Colombian flower worker with her child on the front, and a short paragraph about the pictured worker on the back of the card.
Orders for delivery by Mother’s Day must be submitted today, May 3.
To learn more about the ways you can help the flower workers in Colombia, check out USLEAP’s Toolkit: Flower Workers and Economic Justice. USLEAP is a an independent, non-partisan, non-profit organization that promotes full respect for the rights of workers in Latin America.
