Alianza Poder
Established in 2003, AP (Formerly the CAPACES Network) is a collaborative of nine sister organizations, hosted and coordinated by the CAPACES Leadership Institute (CLI), whose serving, organizing, and building the leadership of our comunidades Latinas, indigenas, y Afro-descendientes in Oregon to improve the quality of life for all, especially working families. The nine organizations include: PCUN, Farmworker Housing Development Corporation, Mano a Mano Family Center, Latinos Unidos Siempre, Centro de Servicios Para Campesinos, Mujeres Luchadoras Progresistas, Salem-Keizer Coalition for Equality, EVOLVE Property Management and Workforce Development and CLI.
We envision a Latino, indigena, y Afrodescendiente comunidad in Oregon that has political and economic power, rooted in our cultural assets, to improve the quality of life for all, especially working families.
AP Members:
The CLI is a non-profit organization based in Woodburn, Oregon that strengthens the wellness, capacity, and political consciousness of individuals, organizations, movements, and community to eliminate social disparities.
- Engage the values and big ideas of social and economic equity
- Increase their knowledge and appreciation of social change history—their own and the history of struggles which have shaped theirs
- Gain the skills to advance workers’ struggles—in agriculture and allied industries, for farmworkers collective bargaining, and for Latino community well—being
- Foster greater unity and collaboration
Since 1985, PCUN has advocated for Oregon farmworkers and working Latinx families, working tirelessly to empower these communities to understand and take action against systematic exploitation and its harmful effects. PCUN’s efforts are divided among these entities and programs:
- Building Community: Through our 501(c)3 organization, we focus on public education and on building empowering community spaces. This work is done in a culturally responsive, and culturally relevant way – by strengthening our cultural connections to eachother.
- Political Action and Grassroots Policy Advocacy: Through our 501(c) 4 organization, we will build political power, focusing on candidates, issues, and policy change at the state and national levels.
- The Labor Union: Through our 501 C(5) organization, we focus on workers rights, collective-bargaining, and fostering equitable employee-employer relationship
Farmworker Housing Development Corporation (FHDC), located in Woodburn, is a community-based non-profit organization focused on developing housing for farmworker and workforce families in the Mid-Willamette Valley. Founded in 1991 by PCUN, Oregon Legal Services, and Salud Medical Clinic, FHDC initiated its first housing project, Nuevo Amanecer, in 1992. This effort faced significant opposition from some community leaders who preferred to see farmworkers housed in remote labor camps. The Governor at the time, Barbara Roberts, played a crucial role in overcoming this opposition. In 1994, FHDC welcomed 50 families to the Nuevo Amanecer community.
Over 30 years later, FHDC now provides housing and supportive services to 2,500+ individuals annually in seven cities — Woodburn, Salem, Stayton, Silverton, Sublimity and Independence — and soon will expand to the community of Albany. FHDC leads with the motto, “A Home is Just the Beginning.” Their work is largely possible through support from community members, organization partnerships, and area businesses.
Based in Salem, SKCE promotes educational accountability and equity in the Salem-Keizer School District and in the district’s programs serving low-income and minority children. Founded in 1999 and incorporated in 2003, the Coalition has given the achievement gap, accountability, and transparency a high profile and made them enduring issues regarding the District’s treatment of low-income students and students of color. Even while demanding and advancing institutional accountability, the Coalition has forged solid working relationships with top leaders of the Oregon Department of Education and the Salem-Keizer School District and has developed a model of training for Latino and immigrant parents
Mano a Mano (Hand in Hand) is based in Salem. MaM was originally established in the summer of 1988 in response to the emergency needs of migrant farm workers and their families, as a result of acute crop failures and an over-supply of workers. Our mission is to provide opportunities for our clients to gain knowledge and skills for self-sufficiency; and to increase access to education and health care. We see ourselves not as service providers, but as being in service to the community. Our vision is for our region to be a community of justice where families are strong, safe, and nurturing, and where children thrive
Based in Woodburn, MLP is an organization of farmworker women developing their leadership through an economic micro-enterprise and mutual support. It began in 1997 as a PCUN project and incorporated as an independent non-profit in 2001. Each year, about two-dozen MLP members manufacture and sell holiday wreaths, gaining skills and earning income for their families. Sales have totaled more than $200,000 in recent years. MLP organizes educational and mutual support gatherings for farmworker women and participates actively in campaigns of other Alianza Poder organizations.
Founded in 1996 and based in Salem, LUS develops Latino youth leadership. LUS has conducted numerous campaigns to counter discrimination especially by law enforcement and school officials. LUS has led the campaigns in Oregon to prevent minimum wage rollbacks aimed at youth, and to enact legalization and in-state tuition for undocumented high school graduates.
Radio Poder, “La Voz del Pueblo” is Oregon’s mass media activism platform for social change that raises awareness for important local causes and connects families to opportunities to transform their communities for the well-being of all, especially Latino/a/e/x, Indigenas, y Afro-descendientes working families with trusted, vital, and timely information. Radio Poder’s mission is to entertain, educate and to organize Oregon’s Latin community in Spanish and Indigenous Latin-American Languages. They reach over 350,000 Latin people in Oregon, in eight counties and 27 municipalities, from Coburg to Tualatin.
Centro de Servicios Para Campesinos (CSPC)
Founded in 1977, the CSPC mission to provide immigration integration services to immigrants and farmworkers to improve their quality of life. The CSPC serves over a thousand people annual and provides a variety of services including: legal representation for immigrant matters, referral services, translations, assistance filling various forms (i.e medical, work, school related), and public notary services. These services are vital because they provide an entry point to better economic and health stability for Oregon’s most vulnerable workforce.
Evolve Workforce and Multifamily Housing Services is a nonprofit organization that specializes in affordable housing property management and career development. Evolve helps families access safe, stable, and affordable housing while assisting individuals with career exploration and development. The Evolve team proudly serves communities in Marion, Polk, and Linn counties. It is a sister organization to Farmworker Housing Development Corporation (FHDC), which was founded in 1991 and aims to improve the lives of farmworkers and workforce families through affordable housing, social services, education, and economic development.