Throughout Hispanic Heritage Month, the AFL-CIO will be profiling leaders and activists to spotlight the diverse contributions Hispanics and Latinos have made to the labor movement. Today's profile features Juan Rivera of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC).
Juan Rivera from Sinaloa, Mexico, comes to the U.S. through the H-2A program to harvest and plant crops. He's been doing it since the 1990s and has been a member of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) since the Mount Olive boycott in 2004. He harvests Christmas trees, sweet potatoes and strawberries. Throughout the years, he has leaned on the union to resolve various grievances with his growers, and this year he became part of the Union Advisory Council, where he offers input and guidance to union leadership.