Georgia Poultry Justice Alliance Inc

Our major operating programs are OUR WORKER'S SPEAKING TOURS - provides consumers the unique opportunity to see the faces of the people who have a hand in preparing the chicken that they buy to feed their family. GPJA travels to different locations throughout Southeast Georgia speaking at universities, churches, community meetings, etc. Workers share their personal stories of the grueling process of producing chicken and the struggles of being in the production cycle of the poultry industry. Then we inform the audience of the varies actions they can take to help the growers and workers (calling their legislature regarding an upcoming workers? rights bill or fair contract bill, writing the company telling them you have heard of the injustices going on in their poultry plant and AS A CONSUMER you are unhappy, etc.);
OUR HEALTH FAIRS (Our health fairs serve two purposes :)
1) The health fairs provide a safe place for the poultry growers and workers. We have been informed several times by poultry growers that they would love to come to our meetings, but they are afraid if the company found out it could cause problems for the grower and result in losing their contracts. The fears are identical for the workers. They do not want to be singled out as the persons that are planning to cause trouble for the poultry industry. Therefore, we decided to hold health fairs as an event the poultry growers and workers could attend and not be singled out as a troublemaker, or someone who is trying to ?rock the boat?. From outside looking in, it seems as though the growers and workers are simply attending a community health fair. But from the inside, we are also educating the growers and workers on legislation that may affect them and informing them of what actions we would like for them to take. At times we are also informed about the mistreatment and discrimination that is going on in a particular plant.
2) The health fairs also provide a service to the community. We offer several health checks, flu shots, and have a Deputy Registrar onsite to register anyone that is eligible to vote. Our Deputy Registrar is our board member Carmen Vega, who also speaks Spanish, so no eligible person is excluded from being able to register to vote. We also have the following booths set-up at the health fair: nutritionist, representative from peach care, union representative, workers? compensation law representative, legislative booth (information about upcoming legislation that may affect poultry growers/plant workers and the environment), representatives from our constituents, representatives from the Georgia Poultry Justice Alliance, etc. The Georgia Poultry Justice Alliance believes that as a community partner it is our duty to take every chance we have to supply viable information to communities that are socially as well as economically at a disadvantage of getting or even knowing where to get information that concerns them.