Economic Justice  

Our Economic Justice team works as partners alongside Indigenous families and community members to achieve self-determination, justice and thriving communities. CBDIO invests in their leadership and ability to be advocates such as in the  “Comité de la Voz Mixteca de Santa Rita,”- a parent committee that organized and passed an anti-racist resolution in the Santa Rita School District in Salinas and the first Mixteco afterschool program in the Salinas Valley. The goal is for Indigenous communities to engage more effectively in local, state, and federal government policies. The team focuses on issues related to education, access to health care, housing, workforce development, and child care. The team partners in two regional initiatives: Salinas Inclusive Economic Development Initiative and Regions Rise Together. 

 

Salinas Inclusive Economic Development Initiative (SIEDI): 

Indigenous leaders grow their ability to make sure their voices and experiences are represented in economic development efforts in the Salinas region. 

 

Regions Rise Together: 

CBDIO is part of a collective effort that actively works to include the voices of Indigenous communities in the co-creation of economic investment plans. The goal is to uplift communities' voices and ensure their needs and ancestral knowledge are considered leaders in the Salinas Valley are creating economic development plans. 

 

Mixteco After-School 

CBDIO organizes and implements a Mixteco after-school program at Santa Rita Elementary School in Salinas, CA. The program emphasizes language revitalization and cultural appreciation. CBDIO’s team teaches students to read and write in the Mixtec language and engages students in cultural activities that highlight Indigenous music, art, and foods. As part of the program with the school district, CBDIO provides daily in-language assistance to Indigenous parents at schools in the district. While the program and services are open to all students and parents, CBDIO established this program in collaboration with the Santa Rita School District as a result of advocacy on the part of local Mixteco parents who expressed a need for in-language services and support for their children. The program at Santa Rita is modeled after our first Mixteco after-school program implemented in Fresno Unified School District.

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CWOP

CBDIO serves as both a Regional Lead and community outreach organization with the COVID Worker Outreach Project, a statewide effort to educate workers and employers in higher-risk industries on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace. As Regional Lead, CBDIO collaborates with the Mixteco Indigena Community Organizing Project and UC Davis’s Western Center for Agricultural Health and Safety to support organizations in the Central Coast engaging in community outreach and education around workers’ rights issues. 

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Labor Rights

Our Labor Rights Program trains and organizes workers.  Through trainings on labor rights, workers are able to  identify workplace violations and submit complaints to the appropriate agency to improve their working conditions and wages. Through this work, we have established worker committees in Salinas, Fresno, Madera, and Tulare, where workers have monthly meetings. Interpretation in indigenous languages such as Mixteco, Zapoteco, Triqui, Chatino, and Tlapaneco is provided during our monthly meetings.