Cherie Berry: Quit Breaking Our Hearts!

Send a “Broken Heart” Valentine to the NC Department of Labor Today!Let Commissioner Berry know she's breaking your heart with this ready-to-print valentine!

This Valentine’s Day, send a valentine to Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry showing your support for farmworkers and their families, and demanding that department officials take their job of protecting ALL workers in our state seriously. Sending a valentine is easy, fun, and meaningful! Here’s how!

Step 1: Make a valentine for Commissioner Berry-either by printing out the pre-made valentine here with your name included, or making your own. Scroll down for sample language and background about the Harvest of Dignity campaign messages.

Step 2: Take a picture of your creation and email it to harvestofdignity@gmail.com so that campaign organizers can share and count the cards! You also may want to show off your valentine on FAN’s facebook page.

Step 3: Mail your valentine to:

Labor Commissioner Berry

1101 Mail Service Center

Raleigh, NC 27699-1101

Step 4:  Send this action alert to friends and family, or have a Valentine’s Day party to make cards together. When spreading the word about this action opportunity, inform people about the Harvest of Dignity Campaign and the invitation to stay involved through email action alerts, events, and other opportunities in support of farmworkers.

More about your message:

We want to tell Cherie Berry that she is “breaking our heart” this Valentine’s Day with her department’s responses that fall shockingly short of addressing the concerns about enforcement of farmworker protections raised by farmworker advocates. For example, the agency brushed off an official complaint (CASPA) filed by NC attorneys with the US Department of Labor last year that cites the NCDOL’s failings.

And more recently, when concerned members of the public mailed Christmas cards to Berry’s office asking for serious examination of farmworker hazards in the fields, all they received in return was a generic letter stating that the department "is committed to enforcing the[law]", which contradicts the department's record of routinely neglecting to enforce it.

We believe the NCDOL should do more than that--lives depend on it. Read more about the NCDOL's patterns of inconsistent record-keeping and classification of law violations, 100% downward negotiation of fines, and failure to inspect the worst migrant camps here : Background and Facts.