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International Project

People-to -people exchanges
The mission of the International Project of the Labor-Religion Coalition of New York State is to build the global solidarity that both religious and labor traditions have long valued and encouraged.

At the Project's core are two kinds of people-to-people exchanges. In addition to Border Witness delegations described below, the Coaliton began offering Fair Trade Eyewitness Delegations in 2009. In conjunction with the LRC Fair Trade Project, Fair Trade Eyewitness Delegations invite participants to learn about an economic model that replaces exploitation with justice. The next delegation will visit coffee cooperatives in Nicaragua in the winter of 2011.

Labor-Religion Border Witness Delegations continue to bring New Yorkers to speak with Mexican workers, some of whome work in the maquiladoras (factories where clothing and computers and consumer goods are assembled for export) of northern Mexico. Free trade zones were established along the Mexican border in the mid-1960s, multiplying after NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement) was implemented in 1994.

Many communities in New York State had seen factories close and move to Mexico to take advantage of unjust wages and unenforced environmental laws. The Labor-Religion Coalition believes it is important to bring these workers together--those who lost jobs and those who gained them--to analyze the economic system that is devastating individuals and communities on its "race to the bottom." This learning provides a microscopic experience by which the present corporate model of the global trade system can be examined as a whole.

The strategy chosen is to organize delegations, usually two each year, of about a dozen New Yorkers to travel to communities in northern Mexico for five days of intensive interaction with community leaders and workers. The next delegation will travel to the El Paso region and to the Mexican community of Palomas from October 28- November 3, 2010. Also view a special update from Maureen about travel in Juarez.

As of June 2008, 333 persons have traveled on 23 very special “border witness” journeys. Participants return home to educate others about their experience and continue building cross-border partnerships.

Youth changed for life
Youth began traveling on these Labor-Religion trips in 2001. One-hundred-six students, from middle-school through college, have become “border witnesses,” frequently returning “changed for life.”

Project Puente
Border Witness delegations partner with a new border immersion program called Project Puente (the Bridge Project), led by long-time delegation host West Cosgrove. It is centered in a warm, welcoming home in the Rio Grande neighborhood of El Paso and is able to offer meeting space and overnight accommodations for small groups that want to go deeper into the border experience.

Last Updated:05/13/2010
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