Mario Vargas is the Lead Organizing Development Coordinator Covering OH, NC, VA, KY, and
Mexico for the Campaign for Migrant worker Justice (the 501c3 of FLOC) based in our Dudley, North
Carolina office. Vargas was born in Harlingen, Texas as one of nine children. Starting at the age of 12, he
began working in the fields with his family as migrant workers. They started the year in southern Florida,
then traveled throughout the United States following different harvests, all through word of mouth.
With his parents and siblings, he picked tobacco in the Carolinas, blueberries in Michigan, tomatoes in
Florida, and everything in between. After dropping out of school at the age of 14 due to his need to
work and help support his family, he returned to school through a diploma program specifically aimed at
low-income, farmworker children. He was the first in his family to get his high school diploma. As he
grew older, he settled in Florida, continuing to work in some capacity in agriculture. After hurricane
Andrew destroyed his home; he moved up north to Michigan. In Michigan, Vargas transitioned to factory work where he was introduced to the labor movement and the power of collective action. After joining his workplace union, Vargas quickly became an organizer. He became a safety coordinator and eventually interim safety director at a large steel company in Toledo, Ohio. After working here for five years, Vargas became an international organizer for the Ironworkers International (IW), utilizing his bilingual skills. At IW, he received various awards,
including the Community Organizer Achievement Award and being named the Lead Organizer, and
underwent numerous organizing trainings. At FLOC and CMWJ, Vargas brings his lived experience as a migrant worker together with his training as an international union organizer. He currently oversees FLOC and CMWJ's organizing strategy where he focuses on meeting community needs, strengthening coalitions and partnerships, and carrying out the organization’s mission to build worker power in the region. Vargas is the proud father of 9 children and is motivated every day to bring changes to the fields and to his community that he would have wanted for his family growing up.