Stephanie recently graduated from UW after completing her degree through the Program on the Environment. But before graduation, she embarked on a year-long senior Capstone project to examine the links between sustainable agriculture, environmental justice, and farmworker rights. Read more to learn about her partnership with UW Labor Studies, and the grant she received to help fund her research.

Coming from a working class background, the labor movement is at the heart of my capstone project. My research employed interdisciplinary research methodologies that position farmworkers to share their experiences to create recommendations for a justice-oriented agricultural system. This project aligned with the Labor Studies department by employing participatory methodologies that positioned farmworkers as knowledge producers rather than research subjects. I documented how climate change intersects with labor exploitation, examined environmental and labor regulatory gaps and looked at how immigration policies prevent workers from advocating for safer conditions. My capstone used oral histories of farm workers as the primary methodology to showcase the complexities of their roles within the agricultural system. The Harry Bridges undergraduate research grant funded my travels for in-person interviews with fellow farm workers in my community. 

To accompany my research, I also interned with the United Farm Workers Foundation (UFWF); a sister organization of the United Farm Workers of America labor union. The UFWF is a non-profit organization that serves immigrant and farm workers through advocacy, community resources, and legal representation for individuals and communities. My internship with the UFW Foundation granted me the opportunity to be a part of this movement and further my understanding through non-profit organizing. As a fundraising intern under the Major Gifts and Donations team, I supported the organization’s fundraising efforts by assisting with donor communications projects like newsletter writing.

As a grant recipient for the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies, I attended their annual celebration banquet last November to showcase a research poster highlighting my capstone project. This experience served as a practice-run for my capstone presentation (watch here). 

If you are a student conducting labor-centered research, consider applying for funding here.

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