Dear AFWH supporter:

      Each year The Alliance of Forest Workers and Harvesters (AFWH) continues to advance the cause of multicultural Forest Workers and Non Timber Forest Products Harvesters in the Pacific Northwest. Through our programs which include outreach, organizing, skills training, multiparty monitoring, policy, and workforce assessment we have seen many lives changed for the better.
Forest workers and harvesters directly affect forest ecosystem health. Government agencies, private companies, tribes and non-profit organizations depend on workers to implement their natural resource policies and management plans. Though they plant, thin, and harvest in remote areas, forest workers also serve as a link between the land and their communities. The conditions under which they labor - rates of pay, exposure to occupational risks, and treatment by supervisors are reflected on the ground and in the fabric of their social lives.

      The Alliance of Forest Workers and Harvesters recognizes the unique connection forest laborers establish between ecosystems and communities. Committed to improving the lives of forest workers and harvesters as well as forest ecosystem health, the Alliance strives to increase awareness of working conditions and promote a stewardship ethic. The AFWH believes the knowledge, experience, and perspectives of forest workers and harvesters must inform and drive community-based forestry.

      The fundamental goal of the AFWH is to integrate and honor all ways to create and use a healthy forest. We pursue this goal through four principal activities: 1) outreach and organizing, 2) developing advanced skills in ecosystem restoration, 3) monitoring and assessment of working and environmental conditions, and 4) collaborating with other community-based forestry groups, partners and agencies to inform policies which affect forest workers and harvesters. We build community among diverse ethnicities and interests by focusing on a shared objective: sustaining and restoring community and ecosystem vigor.

      As an organization, the AFWH seeks to provide sustainable natural resources for cultural and economic use. The community represented by the AFWH includes local and mobile multicultural forest workers and harvesters. The Alliance promotes stewardship ethics within its membership. The AFWH encourages actual people, with livelihoods affected by land management policies and practices, to be involved in decision-making processes. The Alliance also educates people with land management responsibilities to value input from workers.

     The AFWH asserts that forest workers and harvesters deserve respect, recognition, and just compensation for their physical and technical abilities. The Alliance also acknowledges that forest workers value training in restoration technologies and seek opportunities to enhance their skills. Since workers and harvesters are the ones who actually carry out restoration policies and plans, the work they do has a direct and immediate impact on the land. Enhancing worker and harvester knowledge of and skills in best restoration practices is thus critical to long-term ecosystem health.

     Fortunately, the AFWH was able to actively engage multicultural forest workers and harvesters throughout the year in order to hear and discuss their views, stories, experiences ideas and solutions in order to better inform policies and affect their working conditions in the woods.

     For ten years the AFWH has accomplished it’s mission thanks to hard work by members, the Board of Directors, and staff. This organization is the only forest worker and harvester organization in the nation. The communities we work with are underrepresented and must have a voice in the issues which directly affect their lives. Our success shows through the memberships desire to continue meeting and conducting trainings in order to create positive change in the forests and in our communities.

     Our success has depended on the generous support of the Ford Foundation and many other foundations and individual donors. We are now asking for your support to help us continue meeting the needs of forest workers and harvesters and build upon our accomplishments of the past ten years. We would greatly appreciate a tax-deductible contribution of any size for our work this coming year. Today, you can make an immediate difference in the life of forest workers, harvesters and their families.

With grateful appreciation,

Denise Smith      
AFWH Executive Director