Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of reports during Hispanic Heritage Month.
WOODBURN, Ore. (KOIN) — Woodburn sits less than an hour south of Portland, a Willamette Valley agricultural city powered by the labor of farmworkers from immigrant and refugee communities — communities historically victim to exploitation in the workforce until they get a voice.
Since 1985, PCUN (short for Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste, which means Northwest Treeplanters and Farmworkers United) has been that voice for working Latino families in Oregon.
The original organizers “were very inspired by what was happening down in Delano, California, by Cesar Chavez. And in fact, one of his organizers was up in Oregon and helped us found PCUN,” said Executive Director Reyna Lopez. “So really the vision back then was to end exploitation and all of the effects that come with that for farmworkers.”…