Transforming Lives through Legislative Action
Joining the National Consumer League (NCL) and working alongside Reid Maki with the Child Labor Coalition (CLC) excites me every day! The first couple of days, Reid Maki the director of child labor issues and Sally Greenberg the Executive Director of NCL, my colleagues, and the entire NCL team welcomed me with open arms. Meeting them all really showed me how passionate this non-profit organization focuses on key priority areas including fraud, child labor, health care and use of medications. I have gotten the chance to meet them all over lunch and at our recent team building bowling event that happened last Tuesday. During my time with NCL I will be doing advocacy work surrounding child labor bills to increase companies' fines that take part in child labor and outreach work to get cosponsors to support similar bills like the Children Don’t Belong on Tobacco Farms Act, H.R. 4020. I will also continue sharing my story by doing interviews, writing blogs and research related to topics on farmworkers.
As of right now, I feel very intrigued because I am learning to understand a new perspective of how my background is perceived and how being a farmworker from a young age was and continues to be a significant issue. Growing up, with my background all I knew was that going to work into the fields for very long hours was not a choice we had but my family like so many others financially could not afford to have children stay in after school programs or pay babysitters so instead they had to bring them to work.
Another feeling I have is being grateful and lucky to be part of the small percent of farmworker children who are currently pursuing higher education. Which brings me to today, being in DC, meeting professionals, attending Capitol Hill meetings, and networking is nerve wracking but a huge step for me, my family, and my career. It still feels unbelievable to be working in a city that carries so much history and where changes in policies continue to happen daily affecting everyone differently. Knowing this and being close to policymakers and connecting with people is where I want to be in the future.