Episode 100: Magaly Licolli On Organizing Poultry Workers

The Checkout speaks with Magaly Licolli of Venceremos, an organization building power among poultry workers in the heart of the Big Chicken industry in Arkansas.

Magaly Licolli was born in Mexico, she has lived in Arkansas since 2004. In 2015, Licolli became the Executive Director of the Northwest Arkansas Workers' Justice Center. Magaly led the poultry campaign in Arkansas which gained notoriety around the nation. Throughout her work, Licolli has participated as Steering Council Member of HEAL Food Alliance and and co-chair at the National Steering Council of Interfaith Worker Justice. Licolli currently serves as a member of the Labor Research and Action Network (LRAN) advisory committee. Her vision to ensure the dignity of poultry workers led her to collaborate with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) to expand the Worker-driven Social Responsibility model to the poultry industry. In 2019, Licolli became the Executive Director and co-founder of Venceremos, a human rights worker-based organization that works to ensure the dignity of poultry workers.

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Magaly Licolli:

1:00 – What got you interested in organizing foodworkers in meat processing?

5:00 – What is it like to work in a meat processing plant?

8:00 – How are meat processor workers treated by their employers?

10:30 – How has COVID impacted the lives and work of workers in meat processing plants?

14:30 – What role should OSHA play in regulating working conditions?

16:15 – How have workers responded to poor working conditions during COVID?

20:00 – How has COVID impacted the families and communities of their workers?

22:00 – What should the government do to balance meat processor power?

24:30 – What is your vision for organizing?

29:00 – What does a fair and just food system look like to you?

31:00 – How to support and additional resources.