August 18, 2010
| The Modern-Dady Slavery Museum was featured on Democracy Now! on August 11th. |
Modern-Day Slavery Museum barnstorms New England!
Check out the photo report from Days Twelve & Thirteen plus the media round-up!
Following last week's exciting Ahold actions, the Northeast Tour crew continued to raise awareness about farmworker exploitation in the supermarket industry's tomato supply chain with four New England stops in just two days!
Click here to see the photo report from Days Twelve & Thirteen in New England!
Meanwhile, in addition to the Democracy Now story, media coverage of the Modern-Day Slavery Museum continues to pour in. Here's a quick round-up:
- Gay City News (8/11/10): "Protest questions human cost of Trader Joe's cheap tomatoes"
- Video: GritTV (8/13/10): "Bringing food justice to Trader Joe's"
- Audio: KYW Newsradio 1060 (7/29/10): "Traveling modern-day slavery exhibit stops in Philadelphia"
For more on the museum, including the Tour Itinerary and the Media Advisory, click here.
August 11, 2010
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| Dutch Fair Food allies in Amsterdam rallied last week outside an Ahold-owned supermarket in the heart of the city at the start of a march on Ahold's corporate headquarters. The marchers demanded that the supermarket giant join in partnership with the CIW to improve farmworker wages and working conditions. Above, the protesters are led by the inimitable Reverend Billy (right, with bullhorn), visiting Amsterdam from the US for the premier of a major new musical based on his life's work calling for ethical consumerism. |
Pressure on supermarket giant Ahold goes bi-continental, with same-day actions in Amsterdam and New Amsterdam (well, almost...)!
Check out the photo report from Day Eleven with all the action in Amsterdam (Holland) and Quincy, MA!
Two exciting actions on two continents marked a notable escalation in the Ahold campaign last Friday as the Northeast Tour crew paid a visit to Ahold USA headquarters in Quincy, MA while Dutch allies protested at the company's global headquarters in Amsterdam. Ahold owns US grocery chains Giant and Stop and Shop.
Click here to see the photo report from the actions in Quincy, MA and Amsterdam!
While the U.S. action -- a delegation of five people delivering nearly 1,000 postcards collected in the course of the first half of the Slavery Museum's Northeast Tour -- was received wth extra hired security, the Netherlands action was made all the more inspiring by the presence of the one and only Rev. Billy of the Church of Life after Shopping.
The protest in Amsterdam was picked up by the Holland AP (AT5 Nieuws, "Demonstratie tegen Ahold," 8/6/10) as well as Belgian radio (Redactie Radio Centraal: "Het Kwade bestaat. AHOLD is de naam," 8/9/10) and several more news outlets and blogs.
August 9, 2010
Video short with reactions by museum goers from
New York. |
Manhattan hosts the Modern-Day Slavery Museum!
Check out the photo report from Days Eight, Nine & Ten in New York City...
Last week, the CIW's Modern-Day Slavery Museum spent three very busy days in New York City, and the event made quite a splash! Here's a quick media round-up:
- The New York Times, "Rolling Museum Casts Spotlight on Current-Day Forced Labor" (8/4/10)
- Labor Notes, "In Florida, Slavery Still Haunts the Fields," (8/5/10)
- NY1, "Traveling Exhibit Sheds Light on Modern Day Slavery," (8/3/10)
- Free Speech Radio News, "Slavery Museum Brings Attention to Modern-Day Practice," (8/3/10)
- Pursue, "Let's Have a Jubilee: The Torah's Fix for Modern-Day Slavery," (8/5/10)
- WBAI, "Evening News," (8/5/10)
Click here to see the photo report from Days Eight, Nine & Ten in New York City!
August 4, 2010
Modern-Day Slavery Museum rolls into the Garden State!
View the photo report from Days Six & Seven in New Jersey...
To round out the first week of its Northeast Tour, the Modern-Day Slavery Museum spent two days in two different New Jersey cities, a state that is itself no stranger to migrant farmworkers and fruit and vegetable truck farms.
And as throughout the tour, consumers in Princeton and Paterson (including the family above), continue to show their support for the Campaign for Fair Food by signing postcards that will soon be delivered to Stop & Shop corporate headquarters in Quincy, MA.
Click here to see the photo report from Days Six and Seven in New Jersey!
August 2, 2010
Video short with reactions by museum goers from
Philadelphia. |
Modern-Day Slavery Museum visits Philly!
Don't miss the photo report from Days Three, Four & Five in the City of Brotherly Love...
The CIW's Modern-Day Slavery Museum spent two hot days on Philadelphia's historic Independence Mall last week, providing an opportunity to reflect on the themes of freedom and bondage throughout American history.
In addition to drawing notice from hundreds of tourists and passers-by, the museum also garnered the attention of Philly's news media, including coverage by the local NPR affiliate, "Traveling exhibit spotlights agricultural slavery" (WHYY, 7/29/10).
Click here to see the photo report from Days Three, Four & Five in Philadelphia!
July 27, 2010
Video short with reactions by museum goers from Washington, DC, and Charlottesville, VA |
The Nation's Capital hosts the Modern-Day Slavery Museum... Again!
Check out the photo report from Day Two in Washington, DC...
Last time the CIW's Modern-Day Slavery Museum was in DC, it stood shoulder to shoulder with the country's most august museums on the National Mall.
This time, we left the monuments for the slightly more down to earth surroundings of DC's Dupont Circle neighborhood and the Church of the Pilgrims, who kindly hosted the museum on its second stop along the Northeast Tour.
You can find also the report from Day One in Charlottesville, VA, by clicking here!
Blog coverage of the museum has been strong, with posts by Barry Estabrook in The Atlantic, an "Act Now" post on The Nation's website, and innumerable blog posts by museum goers, like this great piece here.
July 26, 2010
Northeast Tour begins!
Check out the photo report from Day One in Charlottesville, VA...
The thermometer hit 102 in the shade yesterday in Charlottesville on Day One of the Northeast Tour, but that didn't stop hundreds of poeple from making it out to see the CIW's Modern-Day Slavery Museum!
Everyone from a former Freedom Rider and current member of Congress to the Mayor of Charlottesville and a delegation from Charlottesville's sister city of Winneba, Ghana, came by to learn about the exploitation behind the food we eat and what can be done to stop it.
And you can see the exclusive photo report from Day One by clicking here!
July 20, 2010
Final touches being put on Modern-Day Slavery Museum Northeast Tour!
Tour itinerary -- including a visit
to the home of Ahold's US headquarters -- now online...
If you live along the east coast anywhere from Charlottesville, VA, to Salem, MA, your chance to check out the CIW's Modern-Day Slavery Museum is just around the corner!
July 16, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, contact:
Julia Perkins, CIW, (239) 986-0891
Romeo Ramirez, CIW, (239) 503-0605
Or visit: http://www.ciw-online.org/museum/
Modern-Day Slavery Museum to Tour Northeast, Explore Connections Between Past and Present, and Offer Solutions to Human Rights Crisis in the Fields
Museum to visit historic landmarks, places of worship, and community centers from July 25 to August 16
Immokalee, FL (July 16, 2010) – The Florida Modern-Day Slavery Museum consists of a cargo truck outfitted as a replica of the trucks involved in a recent slavery operation (U.S. v. Navarrete, 2008), accompanied by displays on the history and evolution of slavery in Florida agriculture. The museum's central focus is on the phenomenon of modern-day slavery – its roots, the reasons it persists, and its solutions.
The exhibits were developed in consultation with workers who have escaped from forced labor operations as well as leading academic authorities on slavery and labor history in Florida. The museum is endorsed by many leading human rights and anti-slavery organizations, including Amnesty International and Anti-Slavery International, respectively the largest human rights organization and the oldest human rights organization in the world. It has recently been hosted at the U.S. State Department building and the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
July 10, 2010
The call for supply chain responsibility reaches ever higher heights!
Britain's Prince Charles makes forceful case for "Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability" at meeting of the Consumer Goods Forum, an association of the world's leading retailers...
News of the latest prosecution for forced labor in Florida's fields -- the eighth since 1997 -- made hardly a ripple when it broke last week.
Only a handful of Florida papers ran short, backpage stories on the unsealing of the indictment in federal court. Florida's agricultural industry, for its part, took no responsibility. For industry leaders, every new case of slavery comes, afresh, as its own shocking and lamentable aberration -- isolated anomalies without any underlying systemic explanation. Rogue farm bosses, one and all.
And, of course, retail food companies that buy Florida produce said not a word.
But despite press indifference, and the agricultural industry's unending claims of ignorance, the call for retailers to take real responsibility for inhumane conditions in their supply chains is rising by the day.
July 7, 2010
Eight, and counting...
DOJ officials announce yet another prosecution for forced labor in Florida fields, eighth since 1997;
Gainesville Sun: "... dozens of Haitian nationals were the victims of human trafficking... when they were delivered to rural Alachua County and forced to work on area farms."
From yesterday's Gainesville Sun ("Three charged with human trafficking on Alachua County farms," 7/6/10):
"... Federal prosecutors allege in the indictment that once the Haitian workers arrived in Miami they were denied access to their own passports and visas, effectively preventing them from going anywhere other than the farms where they were to work. The indictment also alleges that the workers were underfed, "supplied substandard housing and few beds, and denied necessary medical care, causing the workers to suffer chronic hunger, weight loss, illnesses and fatigue." At least one worker told investigators about being forced to work in fields recently sprayed with chemicals so harsh they left her with permanent scars. According to the indictment, those who complained about the conditions were threatened with being deported and became fearful of the three co-conspirators." read more |
July 1, 2010
Amsterdam allies step into the
ring in Ahold campaign!
In open letter to Amsterdam-based Ahold, Dutch unions, faith groups, NGO's say CIW struggle "important for the Netherlands," pledge to "closely follow" campaign and "give active support"...
Ahold, the Amsterdam-based supermarket giant that owns eleven major chains globally (including its flagship brand, Albert Heijn, pictured above, and US chains Giant and Stop and Shop), has been served formal notice.
June 30, 2010
 |
| This past spring, New College students in Sarasota, Florida, joined with CIW and Interfaith Action representatives to deliver a petition containing hundreds of student signatures to the campus foodservice company, Sodexo, calling on Sodexo to follow the example of other foodservice leaders and join in partnership with the CIW to improve farm labor wages and working conditions. |
And then there was one...
Sodexo -- "lone holdout" among major foodservice companies -- under attack on campus for failing to reach Fair Food agreement with CIW...
By almost any measure, the Student/Farmworker Alliance's "Dine with Dignity" campaign has been a tremendous success.
Since just April of last year, the SFA has helped the CIW secure Fair Food agreements with three of the foodservice industry's four leading companies -- Bon Appetit, Compass, and Aramark. Each of those agreements has helped raise the bar toward ever stronger, more enduring human rights standards for farmworkers in Florida's tomato fields.
But there is one foodservice company -- Paris-based Sodexo -- that remains, stubborn and alone, standing against the tide of change.
June 26, 2010
Et tu, Kroger?
Country's largest grocery store chain still purchasing from grower tainted by latest slavery prosecution (right);
Rejects partnership with CIW, tells shareholders "we can make more progress... working directly with the growers than we can by working with a third party"...
Wow. It must be something about the supermarket industry that makes saying patently ludicrous things seem perfectly reasonable.
June 23, 2010
 |
 |
| On left, Bert Perry (right) of National Farm Worker Ministry hands Publix representative (blue shirt) a copy of the State Department TIP report. On right, the Publix representative walks away after brief exchange. | |
Secretary Clinton: Fighting slavery "is everyone’s responsibility. Businesses that knowingly profit or exhibit reckless disregard about their supply chains… all of us have to speak out and act forcefully.”
Publix: Meh...
Yesterday, the CIW, allies from Interfaith Action and National Farm Worker Ministry, and a reporter and photographer from the Florida Catholic traveled to Publix corporate headquarters in Lakeland to deliver a copy of the State Department's recently released "Trafficking in Persons" (TIP) report. The delegation had hoped to get a meeting with Publix representatives to discuss Secretary Clinton's forceful remarks on the urgent need for corporations to take responsibility for cleaning up human rights abuses in their supply chains.
Instead what they got is pictured above.
June 22, 2010
NEWS SUMMARY: Campaign for Fair Food spends a whirlwind week in Washington!
As the Campaign for Fair Food prepares for a summer season sure to be full of big news -- including more Publix action and a Northeast Slavery Museum Tour that is currently in the works and will focus on Ahold properties Giant and Stop and Shop -- now is a good time to post a quick summary of the CIW's whirlwind tour of Washington, D.C.
As most visitors to this site know, the CIW's own Laura Germino was honored last week -- along with eight other international anti-slavery activists -- by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her exemplary efforts in the fight against modern-day slavery in the United States.
Following that standing-room-only ceremony in the State Department's storied Benjamin Franklin Room (right), the CIW's Modern-Day Slavery Museum spent three days on exhibit in the Nation's Capital, one day outside the States Department and two days on the National Mall. All the while, CIW representatives met with Administration officials on important new initiatives to secure long-overdue justice for Florida's farmworkers.
June 18, 2010
Congress, CIW celebrate "Freedom," freedom...
Final day for CIW slavery museum on the National Mall coincides with first formal recognition by Congress of slave labor that built the Capitol...
The CIW's Modern-Day Slavery Museum wrapped up its two-day stay on the National Mall, and the photo report is now online -- and this time, we throw in a free history lesson!
Go inside to learn about the history of "Freedom" (pictured above) on Capitol Hill, and to see the final report from the CIW's whirlwind three-day visit to the Nation's Capital.
And, though we don't usually do this, we're going to give one more plug for the terrific article in the Nation on Monday's emotional ceremony at the State Department. So, if you haven't read it yet, take a few minutes to do so today: "Human Trafficking, a U.S. Problem Too". Here's an excerpt:
"... With a nod to the Secretary, Germino offered that 'it takes a village to raise a child; it takes a whole community to fight slavery.' Germino recognized her colleagues at CIW — and that wasn't just lip service. In many years of working for and covering NGOs, I've never seen one that operates so efficiently as a collective — in the decisions they make, the actions they take, the wages they earn, and the shared credit for victories. CIW simply doesn't distinguish its parts from the whole. I think that's a key reason this community-based organization in tiny Immokalee, Florida is able to have such a powerful national impact. It's why parked outside of the State Department during the ceremony — and on the National Mall today and tomorrow — was CIW's Modern Day Slavery Museum. And it's why one of CIW's many heroes found herself standing in the Benjamin Franklin State Dining Room, hearing the central tenets of CIW's fight against slavery echoed by the US Secretary of State." read more |
photo by Fritz Myer
Day Two for the CIW Modern-Day Slavery Museum on the National Mall!
While we work on a report, check out these two great stories from Monday's ceremony at the State Department:
From The Nation (also CBS News and Common Dreams), "Human Trafficking: Not Someone Else's Problem," 6/15/10:
"... Holding companies accountable was a theme not only voiced by CdeBaca but also Clinton—and not just the primary perpetrators of slavery but the corporations that use those companies in their supply chains. That concept has been the driving force behind CIW’s Campaign for Fair Food, demanding that companies take responsibility for the conditions of their supply chain in order to alleviate the poverty and powerlessness at the root of the agriculture industry. It is the central argument CIW has waged in successfully obtaining pay raises and enforceable code of conduct agreements from the four largest fast food companies in the world, the two largest food service companies, and the largest organic grocer. (Watch out Publix and other grocers, you’re next.) So when the Secretary spoke these words—"It is everyone’s responsibility. Businesses that knowingly profit or exhibit reckless disregard about their supply chains…all of us have to speak out and act forcefully”—you could almost feel the chills traveling up the spines of the hundreds of activists from all over the world who packed the room. Some broke into grins, cameras flashed..." read more |
And from National Public Radio, "A First: US Included in Human Trafficking Report," 6/15/10
June 15, 2010
CIW Modern-Day Slavery Museum (top) begins two-day stay on the National Mall!
Read the Press Release, issued by the Helsinki Commission, here...
Plus!... Must-see photo report from yesterday's ceremony now online!
Click here to see the report...
June 14, 2010
CIW's Germino (right) recognized in standing-room only ceremony at State Department!
Sec. Clinton: "All of us have a responsibility to bring this practice to an end," including "businesses that knowingly profit or exhibit reckless disregard about their supply chains..."
Germino: CIW, overseas TIP Heroes pledge to continue "collective fight to wipe slavery off the face of this earth."
In an unforgettable ceremony held in a storied room on the top floor of the U.S. State Department, leaders of the the global anti-slavery movement, political dignitaries, and members of the international press gathered for the release of the U.S. State Department's annual "Trafficking in Persons" report.
They also gathered to celebrate the contributions of nine individuals who have "devoted their lives to the fight against human trafficking," recognizing them, in the words of Trafficking in Persons Ambassador Luis CdeBaca, "for their tireless efforts, despite resistance, opposition, and threats to their lives as they protect victims, punish offenders, and raise awareness of the ongoing criminal practices in their countries." The coordinator of the CIW's Anti-Slavery Campaign, Laura Germino, was among them. She was also chosen to speak on behalf of the entire group of TIP "Heroes".
Here below is a quick collection of links to stories on today's ceremony, and an excerpt from the Business Week report. Check back soon for more, including the CIW's excusive photo report (all photos here and in the coming report by Fritz Myer)!
- "Human Trafficking ‘Serious’ in U.S., Report Says," Business Week, 6/14/10
- "Southwest Florida woman honored for fight against slavery," Ft. Myers News-Press, 6/14/10
- Remarks on the Release of the 10th Annual Trafficking in Persons Report, U.S. State Department, 6/14/10
From the Business Week story:
“All of us have to speak out and act forcefully,” Clinton said... The American recipient, Laura Germino, coordinates the Anti-Slavery Campaign for the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a Florida community organization of more than 4,000 migrant workers. In remarks to the crowd, Germino said that “we are fighting for tier zero.” Seated behind Germino on the stage, Clinton broke in with one word that prompted cheers and applause. “Yes,” the secretary said. |
NB - By way of explanation of the term "tier zero," from the Gannett wire story: "The State Department ranks countries in tiers for their actions to protect people from slavery and prosecuting traffickers. Germino called for wiping out the crime entirely, in what she called 'tier zero.'”
Check back soon for more!
June 12, 2010
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| Click here to download the museum's accompanying PDF booklet on the history and evolution of slavery in Florida agriculture. Also, click here for a link to a great video about the museum. |
Spotlight starts to shine on modern-day slavery...
As Monday's ceremony at the State Department nears, the CIW slavery museum (pictured on right -- complete with new graphic wrap -- at a truckstop somewhere in North Carolina) makes its way up the coast... and the press starts to take notice!
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is set to release the State Department's annual "Trafficking in Persons" (TIP) report in Washington, DC, the "most comprehensive worldwide report on the efforts of governments to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons, a modern form of slavery," according to the State Department press release issued yesterday for Monday's event.
But this year's ceremony will be different. For the first time in the ten-year history of the report, the United States itself will be included in the rankings. From the release:
"To highlight the first-ever U.S. ranking, the Department will host the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ Modern Slavery Museum, which will be available for free tours to the public from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Monday, June 14 at the C Street entrance." read more |
Of course, this year's report is different for one other important reason, as well. From the Ft. Myers News-Press, "Immokalee anti-trafficking hero gets honor for fighting slavery," (6/11/10):
"For almost 20 years, Laura Germino has spent her days doing a job most would find unimaginable in 21st-century Florida: fighting slavery. Germino, 47, has listened to bleeding escapees tell of being chained and beaten. She has traveled thousands of miles on rutted roads to isolated farm fields. She has sweltered in dented labor camp trailers, gathering workers' stories. And then she has put on business skirts and strode into federal courthouses to help the government prosecute captors of those exploited. For that work, Germino has been named a 2010 "Anti-Trafficking Hero" by the U.S. State Department. She's the first U.S. recipient of the recognition." |
The News-Press story includes an excerpt from "The Slave Next Door," a book on modern-day slavery that is particularly helpful for putting Laura's -- and the CIW's -- work in an appropriate historical context:
In 1997, Miguel Flores and Sebastian Gomez were sentenced to 15 years each in federal prison on slavery, extortion and firearms charges. They had a workforce of more than 400 men and women in Florida and South Carolina, harvesting vegetables and citrus. They were forced to work 10-12 hour days, six days per week, for as little as $20 per week, under armed guard. Those who attempted to escape were assaulted, pistol-whipped and even shot. The case was brought to federal authorities after five years of investigation by escaped workers and coalition members. In “The Slave Next Door,” Kevin Bales and Ron Soodalter describe the work of Laura Germino and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers in the U.S. vs. Flores case. This is an excerpt: “The conviction of Flores was a landmark case and instrumental in bringing about the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act in 2000, with its set of definitions, charges, and penalties for dealing specifically with cases of sex and labor slavery in the United States. “And from a time when, in the words of Mike Baron (then a federal Border Patrol Agent) ‘you could fit the whole antislavery movement in the back of my patrol truck,’ it helped spark the anti-human trafficking effort in the country today. “Baron is lavish in his praise of the coalition's (Coalition of Immokalee Workers) efforts: ‘If law enforcement had the same dedication and tenacity as the CIW, and weren't bound by our restrictions, there wouldn't be a place for the criminals to hide. They maintained contact with the workers and tracked the movements of the crew leaders. “ ‘Without the CIW, we wouldn't have had any witnesses; we never would have found the victims. ‘" |
BOOK EXCERPTChief Assistant US Attorney Doug Molloy -- who worked with Laura and the CIW on the 2008 Navarrete prosecution -- is also quoted in the article, and the quote is so nice that we will close with it here:
".... The Navarrete case - which Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Molloy called one of Southwest Florida's "biggest, ugliest slavery cases ever" - was the seventh such federal slavery prosecution in Florida over the last 13 years. In all, the U.S. government has freed more than 1,000 slaves in Florida since 1997. Molloy, who has worked closely with Germino over the years, calls her an inspiration - "and that comes from the heart," Molloy said. "The coolest thing about Laura is that she worked for a very long time without the spotlight, and she'll work a very long time when the spotlight is not so bright. "That's one of the things that makes her a true hero." |
More to come... Check back soon for more on Monday's ceremony and the museum's big trip to the Nation's Capital!
June 9, 2010
Great news out of Washington, DC: U.S. State Department to recognize CIW Anti-Slavery Coordinator Laura Germino as 2010 "Anti-Trafficking Hero"!
CIW Modern-Day Slavery Museum headed to DC to serve as backdrop for ceremony...
Germino (above, right, leading Sec. of Labor Solis on recent tour of museum) to be first US recipient of State Department "Hero" recognition...
Ten years ago, with the passage in Congress of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (the law used to bring criminal charges of slavery against employers in the U.S. today), the U.S. State Department began issuing a yearly report on trends in international slavery and efforts to combat it, called the "Trafficking in Persons" (TIP) report.
In the words of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, spoken during the unveiling of the 2009 report, "With this report, we hope to shine the light brightly on the scope and scale of modern slavery so all governments can see where progress has been made and where more is needed." Sec. Clinton went on to say:
This is modern slavery, a crime that spans the globe, providing ruthless employers with an endless supply of people to abuse for financial gain. Human trafficking is a crime with many victims: not only those who are trafficked, but also the families they leave behind, some of whom never see their loved ones again... Today, the State Department releases our annual report on trafficking in persons. It underscores the need to address the root causes of trafficking, including poverty, lax law enforcement, and the exploitation of women..." read more |
"... Around the world, millions of people are living in bondage. They labor in fields and factories under brutal employers who threaten them with violence if they try to escape. They work in homes for families that keep them virtually imprisoned. They are forced to work as prostitutes or to beg in the streets, fearful of the consequences if they fail to earn their daily quota. They are women, men, and children of all ages, and they are often held far from home with no money, no connections, and no way to ask for help. As part of the annual TIP report release, the State Department recognizes the efforts of a handful of individuals from around the world who have shown extraordinary commitment and leadership in the fight against slavery, TIP "Heroes" as the State Department calls them.
This year, Laura Germino, the CIW's Anti-Slavery Campaign Coordinator, has been chosen to receive this terrific distinction, and when she does, she will be the first U.S.-based recipient to receive the recognition.
We are extremely proud of Laura, whose untiring work fighting forced labor in Florida -- beginning in the early 1990's -- helped launch today's anti-slavery movement in the U.S. Nearly twenty years later, Laura continues to investigate slavery operations, work in partnership with the Department of Justice to prosecute slavers, and train state and local law enforcement, community service organizations, and FBI personnel in how to identify and combat forced labor across the Southeast.
We are also very proud that the State Department has requested that the CIW's Modern-Day Slavery Museum serve as the backdrop for the 2010 TIP report ceremony. The museum will begin its way up 95 tomorrow with the goal of making it there in one piece for Monday's ceremony in Washington, DC!
The museum, housed in an actual cargo truck outfitted as a replica of the trucks involved in a recent slavery operation (U.S. v. Navarrete, 2008), may or may not make it there for the ceremony, so, just in case it doesn't, we're including here a great video on the museum and its tour earlier this year across the state of Florida. The video is set to, "Captain, Don't You Kill Old Bob," a work song performed by Fred Lee Fox, a 20-year-old turpentine worker, in 1939. The song was recorded by Stetson Kennedy, Florida's foremost folklorist and a renown human rights activist, at a labor camp outside Cross City, Dixie County, Florida.
Enjoy, and check back soon for more details on Monday's ceremony in Washington!
June 7, 2010
Domestic Workers: Looks like change is on the way in New York State!
For the most part, we try to keep updates on this site confined to news from the front lines in the Campaign for Fair Food. But, every now and then, "off-topic" news comes along that is so good that we just have to share it, and the recent news out of New York State for domestic workers is just that good!
From today's New York Times (editorial, "Domestic Workers' Rights", 6/7/10):
"New York State has the chance to lead the nation in extending basic workplace protections to domestic workers -- the nannies, housekeepers and caregivers for the elderly who are as essential to the economy as they are overlooked and unprotected. The State Senate has just passed a domestic workers' bill of rights, with an array of guarantees that most workers take for granted, like paid holidays, sick days, vacation days and the right to overtime pay and collective bargaining. The Assembly passed its version last year. The Legislature should swiftly reconcile the bills and send a measure to Gov. David Paterson for his signature. Domestic workers, like farm workers, have long struggled for equality in the workplace. Labor protections drafted in the New Deal specifically excluded both groups of workers, who remain highly vulnerable to exploitation..." read more |
Congratulations go out to our friends at Domestic Workers United and the National Domestic Workers' Alliance, whose hard work and unflagging commitment have brought hundreds of thousands of domestic workers in NY State to the threshold of their own, long-overdue "New Deal."
While such progressive legislation may be a distant dream for farmworkers or domestic workers in the southern states, it is nonetheless heartening to see that the example is being set somewhere in this country, because social change has a way of catching on once it is achieved and the world doesn't, in fact, stop spinning.
June 4, 2010
Wendy's/Arby's shareholders, board of directors receive a visit from Fair Food NYC!...
According to a report from the growing organization of Campaign for Fair Food allies in the New York area known as Fair Food NYC, a "small but hearty band" got together to "hold banners and hand out flyers" outside the hotel in New York where Wendy's/Arby's was holding its annual shareholder meeting last week (for those of you who don't keep tabs on this sort of thing, Wendy's and Arby's recently merged, creating a very awkward hybrid moniker in the process...).
In the wake of news that Quiznos appears to be taking serious steps to enter into a partnership with the CIW for fairer wages and working conditions for the Florida farmworkers who pick its tomatoes, Wendy's/Arby's has apparently decided to remain the last fast-food giant standing in opposition to the principles of Fair Food. According to Fair Food NYC -- which was able to obtain a proxy allowing a member to attend the shareholder meeting -- the company's general counsel gave a non-answer to the question of why Wendy's/Arby's has thus far refused to join the Campaign for Fair Food, saying only the company would take the question "into consideration."
What, exactly, there is to consider about the urgent need to reform an agricultural industry marred by a documented, decades-long history of grave human rights violations escapes us, frankly, especially after all of Wendy's/Arby's main competitors have already committed to do their part to improve farm labor conditions in Florida's tomato fields.
The Taco Bell campaign began in 2001. For nearly 10 years, now, fast-food industry leaders have been on notice that their companies have been buying tomatoes from some of the very worst, most abusive, labor conditions this country has to offer. Let's hope Wendy's/Arby's doesn't take yet another decade before they decide to join the growing partnership for ethical labor practices in Florida's fields.
June 3, 2010
Slavery stories...
Stories in St. Petersburg Times, the Nation focus on the human rights crisis in Florida's fields
Jewel Goodman (pictured on right, photo by John Pendygraft), a farmworker who harvested potatoes and cabbage for farm labor contractor Ronald Evans in Hastings, Florida, is quoted in last week's St. Petersburg Times story entitled, simply, "Modern day slavery":
"I had to scrap with the devil for my living. And by the devil, I mean contractors," he says. "All the camps I been in, some of them was good and some of them wasn't, but Evans . . . that was slavery time. No playing around." read more |
May 27, 2010
Quiznos gets serious about Fair Food, starts talks with CIW!
Denver Fair Food crew to Quiznos: "We will not rest," until it's over...
In an abrupt about-face, Denver-based Quiznos (the second-largest sandwich restaurant in North America, after Subway), has gone from being one of the last fast-food holdouts against the Campaign for Fair Food to being on the verge of throwing its considerable weight in tomato purchases behind a partnership with the CIW for better wages and fairer conditions in Florida's tomato fields.
This encouraging news was first reported yesterday on the food blog "Slashfood", in the wake of a spirited -- and positive -- action by the Denver Fair Food Committee the day before (the picture above, taken outside Quiznos downtown Denver headquarters, is from the Tuesday action). Here's an excerpt from the Slashfood article, entitled "Quiznos Seeks Fair Wage for Tomato Pickers Amid Protest," 5/26/10:
"... Specifically, Quiznos will pay an additional penny per pound of Florida round tomatoes it buys, starting with the 2010 growing season, and it is asking suppliers to ensure that additional penny be paid to the farm workers. Workers are currently paid between 40 and 50 cents per 32-pound bucket of tomatoes, according to Denver Fair Food. "We care very much about the end result of this which is the humane treatment of the workers," Quiznos spokeswoman Ellen Kramer told Slashfood. [CIW] also wanted to ensure that our code was being complied with, so they're trying to set up a verification system on their end and want us to support their verification system. It doesn't appear to be like there are differences between what they want to accomplish and what we want to accomplish," Kramer said. Quiznos is asking produce suppliers to work with the CIW on increasing farm worker participation in monitoring supplier compliance, investigating complaints and resolving disputes. Kramer said the company did not have an official agreement with the Coalition because the group's lawyers had not yet approved one, but that they organizations were talking..." read more |
Denver Fair Food did their usual excellent work on their own blog to capture the energy and spirit of the action. Don't miss their great write-up.
Here at the CIW, we are heartened by the latest developments at Quiznos. But at this particular juncture, we would sound one important note of caution. If there's one lesson we have have learned from this first season of implementation of the Fair Food agreements, it's this: The most important ingredient in Fair Food is partnership.
There are a million and one challenges to effecting justice in the agricultural industry. Food industry supply chains are infinitely complex (just look at how difficult it is to trace produce when there are people dying from a food-borne illness outbreak). And old habits -- habits that created the human rights crisis in the fields today -- are hard to break, from the farm to the boardroom.
The only way it is possible to overcome all those challenges is if the partnership with the end buyer is real, and that starts with a signed agreement coupled with an enforceable code of conduct.
There is no golden road to a fairer food industry for farmworkers, but to the degree that buyers and farmworkers are entered into a true partnership, it is possible to make your way over, under, or around the obstacles along the way.
All of Quiznos' recent moves are in the right direction, no doubt. But there's still some important ground to be covered, and that ground is best traveled together. We look forward to working with Quiznos towards forging a true partnership for change.
May 24, 2010
NPR's "Latino USA" runs a hard-hitting, national story on Publix, slavery museum!
Maria Hinojosa: "Tracing back just where our tomatoes come from, and finding something disturbing"...
Check out what just might be the definitive radio story on the Publix campaign, a six-minute piece that ran this weekend on NPR's "Latino USA" program. Here's an excerpt:
NPR reporter: "Why do you think it (slavery) is still happening?" Student: "Why? Because we're ignorant. We ignore the situation. Because a lot of us choose to remain ignorant to things like this and, I guess, until we actually get a glimpse of what is going on then nobody is really going to stand up for it." |
Click here to go the Latino USA website to hear the story and see a multimedia package on the report. Click here to listen to the story. PLUS!... The Department of Labor has posted a great photo gallery of pics from Secretary Hilda Solis' visit to the CIW last week! Check out the gallery at the DOL website here.
May 17, 2010
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| Secretary Solis addresses the press at the CIW community center following her tour of the Modern-Day Slavery Museum. See a complete photo report here. |
Photo report of U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis' visit to CIW now online!
Sec. Solis to News-Press: Visit intended to "show the (Obama) administration's support for the farmworker community and in the fight against labor abuses.".... See the photo report here!
In a visit aimed at casting light on the urgent need to improve labor conditions for America's farmworkers, US Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis traveled to Immokalee today and met with CIW members and staff.
Sec. Solis made it clear that her visit reflected support at the highest levels of government for greater farmworker justice, telling the Ft. Myers News-Press that the trip was intended to "show the (Obama) administration's support for the farmworker community and in the fight against labor abuses." The Naples Daily News put the reason for the visit this way:
"Solis told Immokalee farm workers and community leaders that she is here on behalf of her boss, the President. 'Part of why I came is because he agreed that I could,' she said. 'He is very supportive of workers rights.'" read more |
We captured the visit to the CIW -- during which Sec. Solis introduced a new initiative entitled "Podemos Ayudar" ("We Can Help"), designed to significantly increase the enforcement of labor protections across the country -- in a short photo report, which you can see by clicking here. In the meantime, check out this video interview of Sec. Solis in the Naples Daily News.
May 13, 2010
CIW delegation visits supermarket giant Ahold (owner of Giant, Stop and Shop) on home turf in Amsterdam, Holland!
Next meeting set for early June with US branch...
Campaign for Fair Food business on the other side of the Atlantic last week brought a small delegation from the CIW (pictured above are Laura Germino, Coordinator of the CIW's Anti-Slavery Campaign, and Lucas Benitez, CIW co-founder) to the corporate headquarters of the international supermarket giant Ahold in Amsterdam, Holland.
The CIW delegation requested a meeting with Amsterdam-based executives at Ahold's home office to ensure that the company's key decision makers heard directly from CIW representatives about the urgency of the human rights crisis in the fields, and about the opportunity that exists for Ahold to address human rights violations in its supply chain through the Campaign for Fair Food.
The meeting was positive and helped lay the groundwork for what Ahold representatives promised would be a constructive meeting with the US branch in early June. Later that evening, the CIW delegation met with an exciting and diverse group of Amsterdam-based allies, who decided to begin a local postcard campaign in support of the Campaign for Fair Food.
Earlier this year, we posted pictures of tomatoes for sale at one of Ahold's stores here in the US that came from Six L's, one of the Immokalee-based farms that used enslaved workers in the 2008 Navarrete case to pick tomatoes. It seems appropriate to post those pictures again, and to include the accompanying reflection as a timely recap. Check back in early June for more on Ahold and, in the meantime, check out the recap below, from March 17th, 2010:
***
"And speaking of slavery... Amsterdam-based supermarket leader Ahold (owner of two of this country's best-known grocery chains, Giant and Stop and Shop) has a situation on its hands.
With its annual shareholders meeting just around the corner -- and growing shareholder awareness of Ahold's refusal to work with the CIW sure to make itself an issue at the meeting -- news comes in the form of fresh photographic evidence that Ahold continues to purchase tomatoes from Six L's, one of the growers that used the enslaved workers from the Navarrete case to pick tomatoes.
The picture above was taken yesterday at a Giant store in Plymouth Meeting, PA.
Representatives of the CIW were in the area thanks to Villanova University, which recognized the CIW with its 2010 Adela Dwyer-St. Thomas of Villanova Peace Award. As part of the national Supermarket Week of Action, a delegation of local Fair Food activists and the CIW representatives visited the Giant store and found Six L's brand "Cherry Berries" tomatoes prominently displayed in the produce section. They even bought a couple of boxes to share the news with the audience at the award presentation later that day at Villanova.
The picture graphically underscores one of the most vexing truths of this country's food industry unearthed by the Campaign for Fair Food: The vast majority of retail food companies are astonishingly unwilling to change suppliers, even when those suppliers are found to be using slave labor. 
It doesn't matter what they say to the public about social responsibility -- virtually every company has a "zero tolerance" policy for forced labor -- retail food companies are, with very few exceptions, hypocritical in their purchasing practices and resistant to change even when presented with indisputable factual evidence of abuse in their suppliers' fields.
That's not an attack, it's just a fact.
Ahold, it seems, is no exception. But it's one thing for a company like Publix to take a stand against consumers who are calling for it to cut off purchases from growers tainted by slavery. The market for sustainable food is still in its infancy in this country and consumers are just now learning about the human rights violations that are so commonplace behind the fruits and vegetable they eat.
But Europe is a different story. In the Netherlands where Ahold's headquarters is located, the demand for social responsibility and the market for fair trade products are well-established and growing. Ahold will have to answer for its purchasing practices to a different audience at its upcoming shareholder meeting, and stonewalling its consumers on slavery won't be an option.
If Ahold doesn't make a change soon, things should be even more interesting than usual in Amsterdam this coming April. Stay tuned..."
April 30, 2010
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Really?... Then why not stand behind your ingredients and accept the Chipotle Challenge? |
Still Waiting...
Chipotle CEO Ells continues to duck Chipotle Challenge...
While supermarket industry leaders like Publix, Ahold, and Kroger continue to bear the brunt of public pressure from the growing Campaign for Fair Food, sustainable food darling Chipotle and its celebrity CEO Steve Ells continue to duck the Campaign for Fair Food's challenge to a public debate.
A quick refresh: Way back in December of last year, Food and Society Fellow Sean Sellers issued a direct, public challenge to Ells by means of an article ("Chipotle Challenge: time to back up ‘food with integrity’," 12/11/09) in the sustainable food blog grist.org. He concluded the article thusly:
April 25, 2010
CIW women's group, youth star in new Freedom March video!
Plus... see the latest media round-up...
For a slightly different cut on last weekend's inspirational Farmworker Freedom March, check out the video above, featuring photos of CIW's women's group members and young people from Immokalee.
The video is set to a rendition of the anti-slavery hymn "Amazing Grace" sung by the incomparable Mahalia Jackson. Now, for people of a certain age, Mahalia Jackson needs no introduction. But for those of you who aren't familiar with the finer details of the Civil Rights movement, here's a wikipedia link on one of the greatest gospel singers, and quiet activists, of the 20th century.
Click on the links below for the complete round-up of march reports and media:
Daily Updates from the March |
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| Day 1 | ||
April 16, 2010
Farmworker Freedom March begins!
The long wait is over. The paint is dry on the signs and banners, shelter and food along the route are set, even the port-a-potties are lined up and ready to go...
This morning, hundreds of workers from Immokalee and their Fair Food allies are gathering in downtown Tampa for the launch of the long-anticipated Farmworker Freedom March!
We will have complete coverage of the march -- photos, video, and first-hand reports -- later this evening. We'll also be tweeting throughout the day, so check on us on twitter here. And in the meantime, check out some of the pre-march press for a sense of the excitement that around the state this morning:
"TAMPA — The Coalition of Immokalee Workers doesn't give up. Since it organized a national boycott against Taco Bell in 2001, each company it has asked to pay tomato pickers a penny more per pound has agreed to do so. The group often has to march and picket. It took them four years to persuade Taco Bell. But they've won every battle, including campaigns aimed at McDonald's and Burger King. Now the coalition has its sights set on Publix..." "Farm workers coalition targeting Publix over pay for pickers" ***** "Thirty-year-old Romeo Ramirez has worked on Florida farms for his 'whole life,' he says. And despite the conditions he's seen -- stagnant wages, no benefits, and even migrant farm workers forced to work against their will -- he still seems to see the state he lives in as a vast community, where neighbors should be pitching in to help neighbors..." "Immokalee Workers Plan Major Push on Publix This Weekend" ***** "... 'We wanted to have a large and strong and visible action over the course of a number of days,' said Marc Rodrigues, with the Student Farmworker Alliance, a group that is participating in the event... He said the campaign to increase the price of tomatoes by a penny a pound began in 2001 and has largely been successful, with Publix being the exception among large grocers, food distributors and restaurants. 'I don't know why,' Rodrigues said. 'We would think that Publix, based here in Florida, would jump at this opportunity. It's baffling why they are not.'" "Tomato pickers plan march to Publix to protest prices" |
Check back soon for the full update from Day One of the 2010 Farmworker Freedom March!
April 15, 2010
Tomorrow we march!
Farmworker Freedom March set to begin Friday with 9:00 am kick-off rally, 10:00 am press conference in downtown Tampa...
In less than 24 hours, we will begin a three-day trek that will take us from Tampa to Lakeland, home of Publix. But more than that, the march will take us one step closer to our ultimate goal: To bring about an agricultural industry in Florida based on the respect for human rights, not the exploitation of human beings.
"Why we march" is the title of a flyer we will be handing out along the march route starting tomorrow. Here below is what thousands of people between Tampa and Lakeland will be reading as they watch farmworkers and consumers file by, marching behind the Modern-Day Slavery Museum, on their way to Publix headquarters to deliver a simple, but urgent, demand -- freedom from forced labor, poverty, and abuse:
Why We March
"We are Florida farmworkers marching 22 miles over 3 days from Tampa to Publix headquarters in Lakeland.
We march to call on Publix to work with us to end the human rights crisis in Florida's tomato fields.
We march to see in our lifetime the day where we who toil at one of the most difficult and important jobs in society -- harvesting the food enjoyed on America's tables -- will finally be treated with the respect we deserve.
We march because tomato pickers still earn 45 cents per 32-lb bucket of tomatoes, a rate stagnant for three decades, signifying that each worker must harvest over two and a half tons of tomatoes each day just to earn minimum wage. Our backbreaking labor has helped make Publix the richest privately-held company in Florida.
We march for freedom from forced labor, poverty and abuse. There have been seven federally-prosecuted slavery operations in Florida agriculture since 1997 involving a total of well over 1,000 workers held against their will and forced to work through threats and violence.
We march because slavery should not exist in America in the 21st century, and if we are to eliminate the poverty and powerlessness at the root of modern slavery, Publix, a major purchaser of tomatoes, must be part of the solution.
We march because we are on the road to creating a more humane agricultural industry. Our Campaign for Fair Food has resulted in eight major food companies -- among them McDonald's and Whole Foods -- agreeing to work with us and with growers to bring change to Florida's fields. Yet Publix has refused to do the same.
We march because our dreams and hopes are bigger than Publix's excuses to not do the right thing. We believe the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.
Today we march because we love our families and want a better tomorrow for our children and for our children's children, one based in respect for human rights.
We are Publix customers, too; people like you who refuse to accept that our food must be harvested in degrading conditions and who call on Publix to live up to its own words and act as 'a responsible citizen in our communities'."
Join us. Click here for more information on how.
April 14, 2010
The Farmworker Freedom March is just around the corner!
Check out the CIW Press Release, previews in local press...
Farmworkers in Immokalee and allies across the country -- from Boston to LA -- are making their final preparations for the Farmworker Freedom March, readying to hit the streets to demand "Freedom from forced labor, poverty, and abuse" for the workers who pick Florida's tomatoes.
Here below is an excerpt from the CIW press release, issued today:
“Publix has turned its back on human rights for far too long,” said Gerardo Reyes of the CIW. “But if Publix won’t face the reality of farmworker exploitation, then we will bring that reality to Publix ourselves.” Reyes continued, “Forced labor, poverty, and abuse are all too real for Florida farmworkers, and we are marching to tell Publix that the days of buying tomatoes no questions asked are over.” read the press release
In the lead-up to the march, stories previewing the action have begun to appear in media across the region. Tampa's widely-read alternative weekly, Creative Loafing, drew a revealing distinction between Publix and its competitor, Whole Foods:
"... The CIW wants Publix to make the same concessions as all the other chains -- a raise of a penny-per-pound for tomatoes picked, and a code of conduct specifying the won't buy from growers that don't meet basic working conditions in the fields. The first supermarket to agree to the CIW's demands was Whole Foods, and they did so quickly. That's no surprise, says Chavez, since the chain has a reputation for organic, environmentally responsible food. 'People who buy at Whole Foods are interested in products that are better for the environment; small farms, fair trade, all of these things ... The campaign for fair food to started to see a melding with what is called the movement for sustainable food.' Whole Foods spokesperson Libba Letton says knowledge about a product's supply chain has always been important to their company's identity. 'We want to know the people who are making our food, or who are growing our food,' Letton says." read more |
You can also check out march coverage from the Orlando Examiner, "Local Farmworker Coalition Plans March and Protests from Tampa to Lakeland this Weekend," for an idea of the buzz building in cities across the state.
It's not too late to join us for this weekend's big march! If you support fundamental human rights -- if you believe hard, vital work should be rewarded with fair wages and humane working conditions -- you should be there for what promises to be an unforgettable event. Click here for all the details on how you can join the Farmworker Freedom March.
[And if you're still not quite sure of the urgency of this weekend's march, keep scrolling down and take a second to read the next couple of posts for a bit more context...]
April 13, 2010
A brief history of inhumanity: Three centuries of forced agricultural labor on the banks of the St. Johns...
"Evans' workers walked in the footsteps of the slaves that Rolle brought to Florida in the 1700's. Their sweat mixed with the same soil..."
On Thursday, April 8th, the museum crew returned to South Florida -- driving 500 miles in a single day -- for a very special event at the Miami Workers Center. It was
a great night, getting to share the museum with some of our oldest and closest friends in the state.
But, without a doubt, the highlight of the evening, and indeed one of the highlights of the entire six-week tour, was the unveiling of the newest addition to the Modern-Day Slavery Museum catalog: a map of British slave plantations in North Florida during the late 18th century (above).
The map, which a CIW delegation first came across at the British Museum when in London three years ago to receive the Anti-Slavery International award, allows us to trace the arc of three centuries of forced labor, not just at the state level but within the confines of one particular North Florida community.
The story of this community -- of this soil -- is the story of the evolution of slavery in Florida writ small.
Rollestown The story begins on the banks of the St. Johns River in the 1770's on a plantation owned by Denys Rolle, a former member of the British parliament. According to the University of North Florida's historical archives:
Continue reading this post, "A brief history of inhumanity" >>
April 11, 2010
Far too little, far too late...
Publix reverses course, says company's no longer buying tomatoes from two Immokalee-based growers tainted by December, 2008, slavery prosecution. So why aren't we declaring victory?
Last week, Publix announced that it has suspended purchases from two Florida tomato growers involved in the latest slavery prosecution:
"The CIW chiefly seeks to stop Publix from doing business with two farms. Publix has already done exactly that!" ("Local group organizes big protest against Publix," ABC News, Lakeland, FL, 4/8/10)
The oddly enthusiastic declaration comes after more than a year of continuing to purchase tomatoes from Six L's and Pacific, the two farms referred to in the statement.
For more than a year, Publix defended its continued relationship with the farms with non-sequiturs, saying it paid "market price" for the tomatoes and refused to get involved in its suppliers' "labor disputes."
Publix's inexplicable stand on slavery was roundly decried, most notably by the best-selling author, and sustainable food activist, Raj Patel, in an op/ed published in the St. Petersburg Times entitled, "Supermarkets must take stand against slave conditions for tomato pickers" (2/17/10).
The statement also comes just days before this week's Farmworker Freedom March and in the wake of the highly-successful, six-week tour of the CIW's Modern-Day Slavery Museum.
As it criss-crossed the state this past month, the groundbreaking museum hosted visits from hundreds of Floridians every day and received wide coverage and strong support in the press. Likewise, all indications are that the Farmworker Freedom March will be the largest protest that Lakeland, Publix's hometown, has ever seen.
After more than a year of turning a blind eye to human rights violations in its tomato supply chain, Florida's largest supermarket chain is staring straight into a wave of public scrutiny that is cresting and ready to crash this week with the three-day march from Tampa to Lakeland. In this context, we'd like to take a closer look at Publix's 11th-hour change of heart and why it is so clearly -- by any credible measure of social responsibility -- a classic case of "too little, too late."
Too little...
The Publix statement begins, "The CIW chiefly seeks to stop Publix from doing business with two farms." That's just wrong, and it's an almost absurd reduction of the demands that the CIW and tens of thousands of Publix's own consumers have made abundantly clear for more than a year now.
Here -- in bullet form, so there can be no confusion -- is what the Campaign for Fair Food is in fact seeking from Publix:
Continue reading this post, "Far too little, far too late" >>
April 9, 2010
Actress, activist Gloria Reuben to join farmworkers, allies at Farmworker Freedom March...
Have you emailed Publix CEO Ed Crenshaw yet?
Freedom from forced labor, poverty, and abuse...
Those are the modest demands of the Farmworker Freedom March. And those demands will be given voice this April 16-18 by scores of farmworkers, consumers and, now, one well-known actress who is a respected activist in her own right.
Gloria Reuben (pictured above) will join Kerry Kennedy, founder of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, and Stetson Kennedy, Florida's premier folklorist and longtime champion for human rights, as guests of honor for the Sunday, April 18th rally at the culmination of the three-day march in Lakeland.
Ms. Reuben is perhaps best known for her role on the Emmy Award-winning medical drama "ER". She played physician assistant Jeanie Boulet, television's first HIV-positive character in a regularly occurring role. She credits her role on ER for inspiring her own activism, which began with her involvement with the Pediatric AIDS Foundation and included introducing then-UN Secretary General Kofi Annan at the 2004 World AIDS Day Conference.
Momentum for next week's march -- which promises to be one of the most memorable actions in the ten-year history of the Campaign for Fair Food -- continues to build. Will you be there?
Of course, whether you can or can't join us for the march, you can make your voice heard and demand that Publix respect the fundamental human rights of the workers who pick its produce. Click here to email Publix CEO Ed Crenshaw to express your "support for the Farmworker Freedom March and to urge Publix to work with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), an internationally recognized farmworker organization, to address the sub-poverty wages and abuses faced by the farmworkers who pick Publix’s tomatoes."
April 7, 2010
Outstanding WMNF radio story 
on Modern-Day Slavery Museum adds to growing body of coverage on unique exhibit!
First, there was the definitive article on the CIW's Modern-Day Slavery Museum, from the editor of The Nation magazine. Then, the museum crew itself added its own unique video contribution to the documentation of its landmark tour.
Now comes an excellent, in-depth radio report from community radio station WMNF in Tampa. If you have five minutes this morning, it's really worth a listen.
As the museum embarks on its final two weeks on the road ahead of next week's big Farmworker Freedom March, it is settling into communities along Florida's I-4 corridor, beginning in Tampa. And its mission to raise awareness of the human rights crisis in Florida's fields is gaining steam every day. Here's an excerpt from a University of Tampa article on the museum's recent two-day stay on campus ("Exhibit shines light on farmworker conditions," 4/1/10):
"Christine Merry ’11 had trouble believing the kinds of conditions some farmworkers are subjected to until she spoke with members of the Student/Farmworker Alliance. The national network of students and youth organize with farmworkers to eliminate sweatshop conditions and modern-day slavery in the fields. Merry said her eyes have been opened to the atrocities, from denying workers fundamental rights such as sick days and healthcare to the unimaginable abuse of chaining them up at night in the back of a box truck which was recently discovered in a 2008 federal court case. 'I was shocked that modern day slavery even existed in the U.S., let alone right here in Florida,' said Merry, a finance and management major. 'My first reaction was, ‘how can we help?’... ... Janice Law, director of UT's Academic Center for Excellence and history lecturer, said she thinks the most important thing about this exhibit is that it will educate students on the horrors of daily life for the modern day farmworker. “Hopefully students will realize the importance of the choices they make in selecting where they shop and eat,” Law said, “and what they can do to contribute to the elimination of these labor practices.” read more |
So, treat yourself to some ear-opening radio this morning, check out the big museum news page for more on its groundbreaking tour, and stay tuned to this site in the days ahead as final preparations begin for next week's Farmworker Freedom March!
April 6, 2010
Editorial on Aramark agreement: "Farmworkers have justice on their side"
Publix: "We don't like anybody coming into our house telling us how to do business"...
The Ft. Myers News-Press published the following editorial in Monday's paper, commenting on last week's announcement of the CIW's agreement with Aramark, the eighth Fair Food agreement with retail food industry leaders:
April 2, 2010
Aramark agreement news round-up!
What people are saying about the 8th Fair Food agreement...
From mainstream media to student press to the food blogs, people are talking about the CIW's newest Fair Food agreement, this time with foodservice giant Aramark.
Here's a sense of the coverage thus far:
"Aramark, FGCU's exclusive on-campus food provider, has signed an agreement with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers that requires the corporation to address the wages and working conditions of local area farmworkers. By signing this agreement, Aramark will join a growing list of food industry corporations that are a part of the CIW's "Campaign for Fair Food." Burger King, Taco Bell and McDonald's are among the companies that have already signed... ... In early March, the CIW and its partners brought their traveling modern-day slavery museum to the university to spread awareness on the issue. University President Wilson Bradshaw and his Vice President of Finance, Joe Shepard, were among the visitors who toured the exhibit. Bradshaw stated he was 'pleased' that an agreement had been reached. 'The agreement announced today is a great example of what can be accomplished through earnest dialogue. I also am proud of our students for engaging in thoughtful, civil discussions about the issues, which is what civic engagement at a university is all about,' he said." "Food service provider has promised to join the 'Campaign for Fair Food'" ******* "... For 26-year-old FGCU political science major Angela Cisneros, the campaign is more than political; it's personal. The U.S.-born Cisneros, the daughter of former Immokalee farmworkers who are now U.S. citizens, remembers living in a Six Ls labor camp as a child as her family faced 'a hard life that a regular American wouldn't be able to fathom.' Getting the FGCU student senate to pass a resolution calling on Aramark to work with the coalition was hard, she said. 'This is a fairly conservative area and the first time we went before the student government, we were shot down,' she said. But the group persisted, and after a series of events, including a two-day campus visit by the coalition's Florida Modern-Day Slavery Museum, the student senate passed the resolution 21-8. 'Some people think all college students these days are apathetic and apolitical, but we're not,' Cisneros said." "Food giant Aramark agrees to pay increase for tomato farmworkers" ******* "... For years, UF students have protested for higher wages for the farm workers and, in October, UF's Student Senate passed a resolution calling for Aramark to provide better pay and treatment... ... Richard Blake, a UF student and member of the Gainesville chapter of the alliance, said the group will be targeting Publix next. It is planning a march from Tampa to Lakeland -- site of Publix's headquarters -- later this month, Blake said, to pressure the company to sign a similar agreement." "Wage hike OK’d for UF’s food service field workers" |
Also check out this quick update on the Aramark agreement from the Gourmet/Atlantic/ Politics of the Plate blogger extraordinaire, Barry Estabrook entitled, "Farmworkers Score Major Victory in the Fight for Fair Treatment" (4/1/10)
April 1, 2010
Breaking News... Foodservice giant Aramark signs Fair Food agreement with CIW!
Eighth agreement comes in wake of successful "Dine with Dignity" campus campaign, leaves Sodexo as lone holdout in foodservice industry...
The CIW and Aramark issued a joint statement today to announce that we have reached an "agreement to to address farmworker wages and working conditions in the tomato fields of Florida." The statement reads, in part:
"... Similar to those previously reached between the CIW and other food service and restaurant groups, the agreement establishes a supplier code of conduct developed and implemented with input from farmworkers themselves. ARAMARK will also pay a 1.5-cent premium for every pound of tomatoes picked, with the premium to be distributed directly to harvesters. As a result of this agreement, ARAMARK, along with other CIW partner companies, will steer its tomato purchases toward those growers who make a genuine effort to meet higher labor standards and away from any grower who is found to be associated with abusive labor practices..." read the release in its entirety |
The agreement came after Aramark entered into parallel discussions with both the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange and the CIW about the need to improve farm labor wages and working conditions. Despite the FTGE's aggressive public relations campaign last month to promote what it termed its "new social responsibility program" (click here for the CIW's analysis of the FTGE's fox-guarding-the-henhouse approach to accountability), Aramark put its support behind the CIW's Campaign for Fair Food:
"... Independent discussions between ARAMARK, the Student/Farmworker Alliance (SFA), the CIW and the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange (FTGE) have explored wage and working conditions of Florida tomato farm workers. As a result of these discussions, ARAMARK has signed this agreement, supporting the CIW’s Fair Food Program..." read the release |
Lucas Benitez of the CIW added:
"... 'Together with ARAMARK and our other partners, we are building a system of real accountability, with tangible consequences for growers who fail to protect farmworkers’ basic rights,' continued Benitez. 'It is our belief that such accountability, with worker input, will be the foundation for lasting improvements in the industry.'” read more |
This newest agreement is significant on several levels. It consolidates the historic advances established in the Compass agreement. It lays the groundwork for the further expansion of those advances in the foodservice industry. And it sends a powerful message to the supermarket industry -- and to Publix in particular -- on the eve of the Campaign for Fair Food's biggest action of the year.
With this agreement, the four largest companies in fast-food, and now the two largest companies in foodservice, are standing with the CIW. It is time, finally, for the supermarket industry to do its part to clean up the farm labor poverty and human rights abuses from which it has profited so handsomely for so many years. 
The Student/Farmworker Alliance (SFA), and its network of Fair Food activists on campuses across the country, were instrumental in bringing Aramark to embrace the principles of Fair Food. Several successful campus-based campaigns brought pressure on the foodservice giant (with over $12 billion in revenue in 2009) with one demand -- work in partnership with the CIW for real farm labor reform.
And now, the SFA's Dine with Dignity Campaign turns its attention to the lone remaining foodservice company yet to reach an agreement with the CIW, Sodexo. Be sure to check out the SFA website for more on plans to turn up the heat on Sodexo, check back soon for more on the Aramark agreement, and stay tuned to this site in the weeks ahead as momentum continues to build for this month's big Farmworker Freedom March!
March 31, 2010
Mobilization ramps
up as Farmworker Freedom March approaches!
You can become a fan of CIW on Facebook and follow the Campaign for Fair Food at twitter.com/ciw...
Fair Food allies are getting ready -- and getting the word out -- for next month's huge Farmworker Freedom March, and the social media savvy out there are leaving no stone unturned!
You can become a fan of the CIW on Facebook or follow the Campaign for Fair Food at twitter. If you do, you can be sure you won't be swamped with spam or multiple posts a day, you'll just get the latest news from the front as the growing movement for Fair Food heads into the biggest action of the year.
And here below is an idea of the kind of creative, cutting edge stuff you'll get when you click on those fan or follow buttons, a great new video from a Fair Food activist in Philadelphia. Enjoy!
What are you doing to get ready for the Farmworker Freedom March?... See you in April!
March 30, 2010
More than 2,000 gather in Immokalee for CIW's annual "Year of the Worker Party"!
Mobilization for Farmworker Freedom March begins in earnest in Immokalee...
Meanwhile... Nation magazine editor pens definitive article on Modern-Day Slavery Museum!
Nation editor Katrina Vanden Heuvel published an article on the Modern-Day Slavery Museum this past Sunday, entitled simply "Modern Slavery," that provides the best, most extensive analysis yet on the remarkably powerful mobile exhibit. Here's an excerpt:
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"... All of these exhibits allow CIW to make the arguments that they have been pushing for over 15 years very tangible. It's one thing to tell people about the conditions that persist in the fields. It's an entirely different thing to show it inside of a rolling replica of the most recently discovered slavery truck where people were held captive.The article, which was also picked up by NPR, ends with a call for the museum to add one more stop before wrapping up its tour:
"... When the museum has finished traveling Florida, I hope legislators will take an interest in bringing it to the National Mall. It's time to make the fight against modern slavery part of our national consciousness." read more |
Don't miss this excellent article. Click here to read it in its entirety, and if you live in Florida and haven't seen the museum yet, go to the museum website now for its itinerary over the next two weeks... and go!
Meanwhile, enjoy this photo gallery from this past weekend's Year of the Worker party in Immokalee!
March 28, 2010
Special visitors surprise museum at St. Augustine stop!
Former workers for Ron Evans visit museum, share their own stories of debt, beatings, and escape...
North Florida crewleader Ron Evans is serving 30 years in jail today for holding workers in what federal prosecutors called "a form of servitude morally and legally reprehensible."
As reported in the Associated Press ("Authorities say farmworkers lured into servitude with drugs, alcohol"), Evans recruited homeless US citizens from shelters across the southeast United States -- including New Orleans, Tampa, and Miami -- with promises of good jobs and housing. At Palatka, FL and Newton Grove, NC area labor camps, Evans deducted rent, food, crack cocaine and alcohol from workers' pay, holding them "perpetually indebted."
US v. Ronald Evans is one of the federal prosecutions featured in the Modern-Day Slavery Museum. And this past week, the museum was host to some very special visitors -- two men who spent years working for Ron Evans, two men who told museum goers of their own personal experience of hell in Florida's fields.
It was people's history meets living history in St. Augustine this week. Click here to go to the big museum news page and read a first-hand report with photos from an unforgettable Week Four from the Modern-Day Slavery Museum!
February 18, 2010
Would you buy a used car from the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange?
FTGE’s “New Social Responsibility Program” an old lemon with a fresh coat of paint…
We told you yesterday that we’d have more to say about the FTGE’s big unveiling of a “New Social Responsibility Program,” and now that we’ve had a chance to take a look under the hood, here’s what we’ve found:
- The FTGE’s “new” code of conduct is 90% identical to it’s old code of conduct, known as SAFE.
[SAFE, or “Socially Responsible Farm Employers,” was unveiled, also with much fanfare, in 2006 but discredited from the outset by its total lack of worker input or enforcement mechanisms, and ultimately undone by the finding of slavery operations on SAFE-certified farms. This is also a helpful read for a look at the origins of SAFE.]
- Where the “new” code is different from SAFE, the FTGE has taken provisions from the CIW’s Fair Food code of conduct, but not before rendering those provisions meaningless by carefully removing any and all forms of worker participation.
- The true character of the FTGE’s “new” code is perhaps most clearly revealed in what its drafters chose not to borrow from the CIW’s Fair Food code.
In short, what the FTGE has done is take a broken-down old lemon of a code and slap some fresh paint on it. And now they’re trying to sell it as a “new social responsibility program.” What follows is a detailed breakdown of the above three points of analysis. It’s a little technical, but worth reading through to get a full picture of the FTGE’s strategy here.But after this, we're going back to reporting on real news from the Campaign for Fair Food. Despite all the fanfare, the FTGE’s whole “New Social Responsibility Program” is old news. Even their announcement that they would no longer fine their members for participating in the penny-per-pound agreements is old news – they announced the same thing back in October of last year following the defection of Florida’s third largest tomato grower, East Coast Growers and Packers.In other words (and this is especially true for the fields): Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss...
Keep reading this post for the side-by-side analysis of the FTGE's "new" code, SAFE, and the Fair Food code >>[See the official CIW statement and statements from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the Student/Farmworker Alliance by clicking here.]
February 11, 2010
Shrinking from the Challenge?...Food writers pick up on "Chipotle Challenge"; meanwhile, silence from Ells...
In December 2009, Food and Society Fellow Sean Sellers challenged Steve Ells (pictured above, right), the CEO of Chipotle Mexican Grill, to a public debate on the merits of the Campaign for Fair Food. The challenge stemmed from Chipotle's ongoing refusal to partner with the CIW to address labor conditions in its tomato supply chain, and in response to misinformation about the CIW spread by Ells in recent high-profile speaking engagements.Since then -- though Ells has yet to answer the call -- the Chipotle Challenge has certainly caught the attention of national food writers who have seized upon the jarring contradiction at the heart of Chipotle's billion-dollar brand.
In an excellent feature-length article ("One Company Thinks They've Created Fast Food with a Conscience -- Are They Right?," 2/9/10), Tara Lohan of AlterNet writes:
"'Chipotle had no idea it was buying from one of the growers tainted by the most recent slavery prosecution until the CIW told them about it,' said Sellers. 'They would have known much earlier if they had a real working relationship with the CIW.' ... Whether Chipotle will be willing to team up with CIW in an effort to improve labor conditions is yet to be seen. Sellers has invited Ells to a public debate about the issue, but Ells has yet to take him up on the offer. Still, it's not too late for Ells to be consistent about changing the fast-food paradigm." |
And a month earlier, the food blog Simple, Good and Tasty posed a series of hard-hitting questions for Ells ("Chipotle Doesn't Support Florida Tomato Pickers? Say it ain't so, Steve," 1/14/10):
"So, my first question to Steve Ells would simply be, why? Question #2 would be this: Are you willing to tarnish the reputation of your company over this seemingly no-brainer issue? How could you possibly object to doing everything you can to improve the plight of poor and powerless farmworkers in Florida’s tomato fields? (That would be question #3.) And, finally, do you know how much you are hurting the people who care about you, who have held you in such high esteem, who depend on you to provide inexpensive, convenient, delicious, nutritious and sustainably sourced food that appeals to practically everyone? Admit you have a problem, Steve. That’s the first step. Now solve it. Pledge your full and unconditional support to CIW and Florida’s tomato pickers. Do it for them. Do it for your customers. Do it for your investors. Do it for your friends and family. Do it, because, as you say on your website, you can always "do better." Prove it. Thank you." |
Will Ells accept the Chipotle Challenge? The clock is still ticking.
March 26, 2010
Publix Mailbag: Letters calling on Publix to support farmworkers piling up!
Plus!... Supermarket Week of Action pics (right), reports coming in...
Letters to the editor, manager's letters, letters from religious leaders... they all keep piling up in Publix's mailbox, and they all call on Publix to work with the CIW to protect farmworker rights in Florida's fields! The question on everyone's minds: Is anyone at Publix listening?
Here below are excerpts from two of the latest letters, including one from Publix's hometown paper, the Lakeland Ledger:
"... It is time to take a stand for fairness. I urge Publix to work together with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to ensure human rights and fair wages for those who harvest the tomatoes sold in their stores. Until that day, I will not buy tomatoes from Publix, and I will be considering taking my business elsewhere after nearly 30 years of near-exclusive patronage -- because it matters." "Treat Tomato Pickers Fairly," SUSAN TRUETT ******************* "... As people of faith, we open our eyes, our ears and our hearts to truly see the situation in which our neighbors live. We seek the courage to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters. As we approach Farmworker Awareness Week -- March 28-April 3 -- recognizing that exploitation and workplace abuses still exist in Florida as remnants of the sharecropping system, we ask that Publix also stand in solidarity with the workers in its supply chain by ensuring fair wages and conditions for the farmworkers who pick its tomatoes." "Publix can stand up for farmworkers," JEANETTE SMITH, |
Meanwhile... Publix wasn't the only grocery chain catching flak for human rights violations in its supply chain. The National Supermarket Week of Action wrapped up last week, and reports from around the country are making their way in.
There were educational events and actions from New York City to San Francisco, including a presentation at the Philadelphia Center for Arts and Technology's Seeds for Learning Program, where the young people pictured at the top of the post participated in discussions around the root causes of farmworker poverty and what consumers can do to change it. The kids signed postcards and manager letters to be dropped off at local Giant, Stop&Shop and Trader Joe's Supermarkets.
And speaking of Trader Joes... New York City Fair Food activists made the natural food chain the object of their attention. Here's a first-hand report:
A lot of labor folks and food justice groups came out and we got rid of 200 flyers in just the first 1/2 hr. We also had a tarima, played some son jarocho and improvised songs and chants. The energy was high... and best of all 6 more individuals confirmed with me about coming to the march!" |
"We had a great, energizing protest with over 40 people coming and going! In Lawrence, Kansas, it was supermarket giant Kroger that was on the hotseat:
"... Lawrence Fair Food is joining the SFA and CIW in a campaign against Kroger, one of the largest grocers in the nation, which owns retailers such as Dillons. For this campaign, the SFA and CIW are presenting a list of requests to the company, including paying farmworkers a penny more per pound of tomatoes harvested. The last time the wage per bucket for farmworkers was significantly changed was in 1978. According to the CIW, if the wage rate changed with inflation, workers would be earning 92 cents per bucket, instead of 45. When contacted, Kroger representatives were unavailable for comment..." read more |
The movement for Fair Food is gaining momentum by the day, set to peak this April 16-18 on the three-day Farmworker Freedom March from Tampa to Publix hometown of Lakeland. If you support human rights and dignity for Florida's farmworkers, you can't miss this march! Email us at damara@justharvestusa.org for all the information you need to join us for the march for farmworker freedom.
March 24, 2010
Communities across the state, country mobilizing for the Farmworker Freedom March!...
Three-day march just three weeks away!
From Ft. Myers, FL, to Louisville, KY, and beyond, Fair Food activists are getting ready to join workers from Immokalee for next month's huge Farmworker Freedom March from Tampa to Lakeland!
In the picture above, members of the Resurrection Youth Ministry of the Church of the Resurrection in Ft. Myers gather for a group photo with representatives of the CIW and Interfaith Action following a presentation on the Campaign for Fair Food last week. Dozens of young people from the group will be heading to Lakeland three weeks from now for the big march, and they shared their excitement with the rest of their community in the church bulletin:
"... We have been educated on this Call for Justice! There will be a Farmworker Freedom March beginning on April 16 – 18. Some of the Youth Ministry will Rally with the farmworkers on Sunday, April 18 at Munn Park in Lakeland. We will join the farmworkers and their allies to call on Publix to stop turning a blind eye to the human rights crisis in the fields!" |
Meanwhile, Fair Food Committees in communities like Austin, Chicago, Baltimore, New York, Santa Ana (CA), San Francisco, Lawrence (KS), Philadelphia and Washington, DC are also mobilizing to bring contingents to the march. Here's a message to Louisville Fair Food activists from long-time CIW ally (and former hunger striker in the early years of the Taco Bell boycott!), Stephen Bartlett (pictured below):
How long has it been since we fasted, marched or picketed with the Coalition On April 16-18, 2010 CIW and the wide and deep Alliance for Fair Food (including the Churches and the Student Farmworker Alliance) are staging the Farmworker Freedom March from Tampa to Lakeland, Florida (25 miles), culminating in a rally Sunday April 18th in the afternoon. Do we dare miss this one??!! Would we regret missing it? Hmmmm..... I think we would. Some of us Louisvillians, Kentuckians and Hoosiers have to be there, and I am bringing a drum, a canteen and good walking shoes. What are you all bringing? If you can't come, could you support this effort financially or in some other way (packing a cooler with food and snacks?)?..." |
"Lovers of Justice for Farmworkers!...You can join us too! If you're interested in being part of this pivotal moment in the Campaign for Fair Food, go to the Farmworker Freedom March site today, where you'll find all the information and resources you'll need to join us for all three unforgettable days, or, if that's not possible, to make it for the big final day for a short march and an exciting rally with music, speakers, and the renowned Modern-Day Slavery Museum. Either way, this April you can make your voice heard in the campaign for fundamental human rights in Florida's fields at the Farmworker Freedom March -- don't miss it!
March 17, 2010
Museum does two days in Tallahassee with a little help from friends at FSU Center for Advancement of Human Rights...
Plus... Pics don't lie: Supermarket giant Ahold on the hook for buying tomatoes from grower that used enslaved workers from Navarrete prosecution...
The Modern-Day Slavery Museum wrapped up two days in Tallahassee yesterday before heading south to Gainesville, where it will spend the rest of the week in and around the campus of the University of Florida. Before leaving Tallahassee, however, the museum got some nice coverage in the capital city press, including a story in the Tallahassee Democrat ("Modern-day slavery on display," 3/17/09, photo above by Glenn Beil/Tallahassee Democrat). Here's an excerpt:
"Sometimes a produce truck is more than a basic work vehicle. On some occasions, it can become a prison. That was the case in November 2007, when four migrant workers in Immokalee found themselves locked in the back of a produce truck on Thanksgiving Day. One of them had been chained to a side panel in the truck, but another was able to punch a hole in the roof and escape... Their plight led to the successful prosecution of growers Cesar and Geovanni Navarrette, who pleaded guilty in 2008 of holding workers in involuntary servitude. A similar produce truck — called a Florida Modern-Day Slavery Museum — was on display Tuesday at Florida State University's Center for the Advancement of Human Rights..." read more |
Also check out this great article from the FSU student newspaper, FSU News, entitled, "Touring museum exposes abuse: Historic and modern-day slavery examined in exhibition" (3/18/10).
Thanks go out to our friends at the Florida State University's Center for the Advancement of Human Rights, one of the museum's lead endorsers, who kindly provided space for the museum to set up and helped get the word out to the community about the stop.
And speaking of slavery...
Amsterdam-based supermarket leader Ahold (owner of two of this country's best-known grocery chains, Giant and Stop and Shop) has a situation on its hands.
With its annual shareholders meeting just around the corner -- and growing shareholder awareness of Ahold's refusal to work with the CIW sure to make itself an issue at the meeting -- news comes in the form of fresh photographic evidence that Ahold continues to purchase tomatoes from Six L's, one of the growers that used the enslaved workers from the Navarrete case to pick tomatoes.
The picture above was taken yesterday at a Giant store in Plymouth Meeting, PA. Representatives of the CIW were in the area thanks to Villanova University, which recognized the CIW with its 2010 Adela Dwyer-St. Thomas of Villanova Peace Award. As part of the national Supermarket Week of Action, a delegation of local Fair Food activists and the CIW representatives visited the Giant store and found Six L's brand "Cherry Berries" tomatoes prominently displayed in the produce section. They even bought a couple of boxes to share the news with the audience at the award presentation later that day at Villanova.
The picture graphically underscores one of the most vexing truths of this country's food industry unearthed by the Campaign for Fair Food: The vast majority of retail food companies are astonishingly unwilling to change suppliers, even when those suppliers are found to be using slave labor.
It doesn't matter what they say to the public about social responsibility -- virtually every company has a "zero tolerance" policy for forced labor -- retail food companies are, with very few exceptions, hypocritcal in their purchasing practices and resistant to change even when presented with indisputable factual evidence of abuse in their suppliers' fields. That's not an attack, it's just a fact.
Ahold, it seems, is no exception. But it's one thing for a company like Publix to take a stand against consumers who are calling for it to cut off purchases from growers tainted by slavery. The market for sustainable food is still in its infancy in this country and consumers are just now learning about the human rights violations that are so commonplace behind the fruits and vegetable they eat.
But Europe is a different story. In the Netherlands where Ahold's headquarters is located, the demand for social responsibility and the market for fair trade products are well-established and growing. Ahold will have to answer for its purchasing practices to a different audience at its upcoming shareholder meeting, and stonewalling its consumers on slavery won't be an option. If Ahold doesn't make a change soon, things should be even more interesting than usual in Amsterdam this coming April. Stay tuned...
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| Celebrity Supermarket Action!... Late last year, world-renowned Dutch composer Louis Andriessen, left, and Dutch-American violinist Monica Germino delivered the Campaign for Fair Food letter directly to supermarket giant Ahold headquarters in Amsterdam. Ahold owns the Giant and Stop and Shop brands here in the US, and Fair Food activists can keep the pressure on by delivering the manager's letter to their local Giant and Stop and Shop stores this week. |
Farmworker Freedom March just one month away...
... while the Supermarket Week of Action is already upon us!
As we gear up for this April's Farmworker Freedom March -- and the Florida Modern-Day Slavery Museum continues its historic journey across the state -- allies across the country are already two days into the national Supermarket Week of Action in the Campaign for Fair Food.
You too can get involved by dropping a Campaign for Fair Food letter off to the store manager of your local major supermarket chain!
It's easy to do: Simply download the manager letter here. Then deliver the letter to the manager of your local grocery store and ask the manager to share your concerns with the company’s corporate headquarters.
And if you are interested in joining a picket outside of a supermarket that is already being planned, or organizing one on your own, please contact us for more info. Pickets are taking place in the New York City, Boston, Washington DC, Baltimore, and San Francisco Bay areas.
This spring season, take action for Fair Food where you shop by urging Stop & Shop, Giant, Publix, Ralph’s, Kroger and other Kroger-owned grocery chains to address the sub-poverty wages and human rights abuses faced by farmworkers who harvest their tomatoes.
And meanwhile, don't forget the huge Farmworker Freedom March coming up this April 16-18th! Check out the march website for everything you need to join us for the three-day march, including key logistics and registration information easy to find on the march site. See you in Tampa!
March 7, 2010
From five-year olds to fifth-graders, kids from California to Florida are sending in entries to the Children's Fair Food Drawing Contest!
Plus... Check out the latest photo report from the Modern-Day Slavery Museum!
With the April 1st deadline for entries still nearly a month away, kids from across the country have started sending in their drawings of what Fair Food means to them, and the results are every bit as delightful -- and touching -- as we thought they might be!
Here are just a few of the sentiments expressed in the entries that have arrived thus far (corrected for spelling, of course, because the original spelling is just as charming as the drawings themselves...):
- "Being in the hot sun all day does not deserve minimum wage."
- "I don't think you should be treated unfairly for such an important job."
- "You rock for picking fruits and veggies for us. You should get a lot more money for what you do."
For a sneak peek at a baker's dozen of the first entries to make it into Immokalee, click here.
For more on the Children's Drawing Contest, click here. And keep those drawings coming!
And be sure to check out the latest dispatch from the road as the Modern-Day Slavery Museum completes its first week on tour, including a Friday night installation at Ft. Myers Arts Walk (right)!
February 26, 2010
Museum booklet pdf now online!
Click on the link above to download an advance copy of the booklet that will accompany the Modern-Day Slavery Museum when it hits the road this weekend. The booklet contains a rigorous, well-researched examination of the history and evolution of slavery in Florida's fields that provides an excellent background to the materials on display in the museum.
Here's an excerpt of what you'll find there:
"... Migrant Farm Labor and Debt Peonage As the nineteenth century drew to a close, mid-Atlantic truck farmers began to sell greater quantities of fresh fruits and vegetables to urban markets. This model spread southward with the aid of rail lines and refrigeration technology, and in the 1920s, grower-shippers expanded citrus, sugarcane, and winter vegetable production in central and south Florida. These large-scale operations required a distinctly precarious workforce: one that would arrive just prior to the labor-intensive harvest and leave immediately upon its completion. Growers faced a |
February 24, 2010
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Organizational endorsements for the Modern-Day Slavery Museum line-up as launch day approaches!
Plus... Museum Media Advisory now online...
An impressive line-up of ten leading human rights and anti-slavery organizations have signed-on as endorsers of the soon-to-be-launched Modern-Day Slavery Museum. From left to right, above: (top row) Amnesty International USA, Anti-Slavery International, Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative, Free the Slaves; (second row) Freedom Network USA, Florida State University Center for the Advancement of Human Rights, Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center (FIAC), Human Trafficking Awareness Partnerships, and National Economic and Social Rights Initiative.
And you can find the museum Media Advisory online today. Click here to see the advisory.
Stay tuned as the museum gets ready to hit the road this weekend!
February 21, 2010
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| The blood- and tomato plant-stained shirt above will be part of the museum's unique catalog. The shirt was worn by a 17-yr old worker who was brutally beaten in 1996 by his supervisor after stopping work to take a drink of water. He walked several miles from the field to the CIW office, still wearing the bloody shirt, to lodge his complaint. The incident sparked a nighttime march of several hundred workers to the house of the crewleader in Immokalee. |
And now back to
our regular programming...
Raj Patel (author of NY Times bestseller "Value of Nothing") pens powerful Op/Ed crushing Publix for position on farm labor slavery!
Modern-Day Slavery Museum gathers impressive new statements of support as it enters final week before launch!
Author Raj Patel entered the fray this past week in the campaign calling on Publix to support the Campaign for Fair Food with a sharply-worded opinion piece published in the St. Petersburg Times (one of the Tampa/Lakeland area's key papers). Here's an excerpt (from "Supermarkets must take stand against slave conditions for tomato pickers," 2/17/10):
Little could be further from our minds when we go into a modern supermarket, yet that dark history is much closer than we'd like to think. The descendant of Atlantic slavery taints all too many tomatoes picked in southern Florida today. Since 1997, well more than 1,000 people have been freed from conditions of modern slavery in the tomato fields of Florida. In the latest of such cases to surface, workers were chained inside trucks, charged $5 for a shower, and made to work for pennies a day, suffering heinous physical abuse from their employers... ... Yet many firms continue to ignore the call to improve farm labor conditions and end slavery in the fields. Among them is Publix, the No. 1 supermarket company in Florida, with revenues of $24 billion in 2009. One might have imagined Florida's self-styled "neighborhood grocer" to be more sympathetic to calls to end slavery in its suppliers' operations. At the end of the day, it seems, business is business. The argument that Publix offers is that the tomatoes it buys — including those it buys from Pacific and Six Ls, the two growers associated with the latest slavery prosecution — are bought at a fair market price. According to Publix spokesman Dwaine Stevens they're unwilling to interfere in what they regard as a labor dispute. "That's not our role: to come between our suppliers and their workers." This is disingenuous on many fronts. First, while supply and demand have indeed met without hindrance, there's nothing fair about profiting from the federal crime of slavery, no matter how smoothly and efficiently supply and demand have intersected. Second, when change has been demanded in the past, Publix has felt very able to make its own decisions. In 2005, the company stopped buying grape tomatoes from Ag-Mart, a supplier alleged to have violated state and federal pesticide laws. Publix cared when methyl bromide might have tainted its tomatoes — but it seems the sweat of modern-day slaves can be rinsed off a little easier..." |
"The gavel came down, the auction ended, and the winners carted their new purchases home. The bidders had walked the market, seen the wares, placed their offers and the highest bid won. It was a fair market price, struck 150 years ago outside Savannah, Ga., in a model of modern capitalism. At one of the last slave auctions in America, this was how 429 men, women and children were dispatched, through a timeless dance of supply and demand. Efficient. Mathematical. Unjust. The price may have been fair, but the market wasn't.He concludes his piece with this: "While many other large corporations have adopted a code that raises farmworker wages and, for the first time, commits buyers to cut off suppliers who are involved in slavery, Publix has no plans to meet with the coalition. On its Web site can be found the line: 'The Publix guarantee to never knowingly disappoint our customers is legendary in the industry.' Consumers have every reason to be disappointed with Publix's attitude. And Publix needs to live up to its word." You can read the full text of the of the op/ed here.
Museum support pours in!... Meanwhile, support continues to flood in for the Modern-Day Slavery Museum, which is just days away from hitting the road. Since we last updated you, statements of support have come in from anti-slavery and human rights figures from Mary Robinson (former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, pictured here on the right) to preeminent historian Eric Foner of Columbia University and John Bowe, author of the highly-acclaimed 2007 book on modern-day slavery, "Nobodies".
Here below is one example of the kind of statements that have come in during the past several days, this one from Kevin Bales, Pulitzer-nominated author and president of Free the Slaves, the internationally-respected anti-slavery advocacy organization:
"There is real slavery in the fields of Florida. This is not about lousy jobs, but violent control, vicious exploitation, and the potential for serious harm and even death. Even more heartbreaking is the fact that there has never been a day in the history of Florida agriculture without some amount of slavery tainting the food grown there. That food leaves the hands of slaves and ends up in the meals we eat with our families. It is an ugly problem and we cannot solve problems we do not understand. The Coalition of Immokalee Workers is one of the most effective anti-slavery groups on earth. Their new traveling museum helps all of us learn what we need to know in order to bring this crime to an end. This is a living museum that restores the right to life. This is not a dry and academic collection of dusty artifacts (and as a Professor I know about dry and dusty!). Bring the traveling museum to your town, church, library, or convention. Then take your children and friends and family. It is so much more than learning, it is our chance to be part of ending slavery." Dr. Kevin Bales |
Click here to see the full list of new statements for support for the Modern-Day Slavery Museum, and check back soon for the very latest news as the museum readies for his Feb. 28th launch!
February 19, 2010
News-Press nails it!
Editorial: "Consumers must back farmworkers"...
Cutting through the hype and spin coming from the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange on the growers' "new social responsibility program," the Ft. Myers News-Press published the following editorial this morning ("Consumers must back Farmworkers," 2/19/10). It is included here in its entirety:
The Florida Tomato Growers Exchange announced it was reversing its long and fierce opposition to letting its grower members distribute extra wages to workers contributed by several major fast-food companies and grocers. The FTGE also announced a social responsibility program to establish guidelines for employment practices. This seemed like another milestone in the remarkably successful campaign of the grass-roots Coalition of Immokalee Workers for better pay and conditions for tomato pickers, whose wages have been stagnant for decades. But one goal of the FTGE’s change of position seems to be to undermine the coalition, the very organization that forced the FTGE reversal. The FTGE’s new policy presumably will allow growers to pass on to pickers an extra penny per pound of tomatoes harvested, which the coalition got the food retailers to agree to pay. Previously, the FTGE, to which 75 percent of growers in the state’s $400 million tomato industry belong, threatened $100,000 fines against any members who passed the penny through to their workers. It relented on that recently. So why is the coalition not celebrating? The problem is that the social responsibility program which the coalition worked out with McDonald’s, Burger King and other food retailers was crafted with worker participation. On the other hand, the FTGE’s program excludes worker participation through the coalition, or otherwise. Coalition leader Lucas Benitez says, “In the end, the growers’ code leaves the foxes squarely in charge of the henhouse, and sadly, Florida tomato growers have never demonstrated the ability to police themselves.” It is the workers, through the coalition, who have brought this campaign this far, persuading retailers — and the public whose good opinion the retailers cherish — that the pickers deserve better than the growers were giving them. It is critical that customers educate themselves on whether the retailers they patronize are supporting the coalition’s Campaign for Fair Food, as well as other sincere, independent campaigns to ensure fair pay and humane conditions for the agricultural workers who harvest what we eat and drink. Those workers need an engaged public." |
"It sounds like a complete victory for Florida tomato pickers, until you take a second look.Confusion Alert!: And one more thing... while we're on the subject. Some news outlets have had a harder time sifting through the hype in the FTGE's announcement, resulting in stories like this, which reported, "In a surprise move Tuesday, the Florida Tomato Exchange agreed to pay migrant workers the extra penny per pound the Coalition of Immokalee Workers has fought for the last three years."
Naturally, this has caused considerable confusion around the meaning of the FTGE's decision to allow its individual members, if they so choose, to pass on the penny-per-pound. So, here's the real story:
The FTGE is not saying its members will start paying workers one more penny per pound across the board.
They're not even saying they'll require buyers to pay a penny more per pound...
They're simply saying that they'll allow their members to pass on whatever price premium particular buyers want to pay, whether it's a penny per pound, half a penny per pound, or less. Or nothing, which is still the case for all retail food companies that have not yet reached an agreement with the CIW, despite the FTGE's announcement.
So for anyone who mistook this news for an announcement that the FTGE was instituting an across-the-board, penny-per-pound raise, please understand that is not the case.
Hope that clears that up. And please check back very soon for some big news from the Modern-Day Slavery Museum (soon to be in a community near you!), which has gathered some impressive support while this story was making a stir.
February 15, 2010
Modern-Day Slavery Museum taking shape, gaining momentum!
Amnesty International (USA), Anti-Slavery International (UK), and leading academics endorse museum, tour...
With two weeks left before it hits the road on a month-long tour of Florida, the Modern-Day Slavery Museum is steadily taking shape. And as it does, the museum is gathering endorsements from leading scholars in the field of labor history, as well as institutional support from two pillars of the international human rights movement.
Here is some of what leading academics have said about the museum and the research and historical analysis of slavery in Florida that undergird it:
"The Florida Modern Slavery museum is an invaluable enterprise for educating the citizens of Florida and the nation on the continuing absence of economic justice for low income workers, especially agricultural workers. For too long, political representatives and ordinary citizens have ignored the recurring instances of enslavement in contemporary Florida. Indeed, for too long, there has been insufficient light shining in on the low pay and indecent working conditions of agricultural workers in this state. The mobile Florida Modern Slavery museum is impressive and imaginative approach to shedding new light on these old issues. There is much we can learn from this endeavor and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, the enlightening organization responsible for this educational tour." Patrick Mason *** "Today, as in the past, many Florida field workers lack the basic civil rights, and human rights, that would guarantee them fair treatment and fair compensation for their strenuous labors. All Americans have a civic duty to learn about the hardships and struggles of the men, women, and children who grow our food, for these workers are our neighbors and fellow citizens. The shameful conditions exposed in this exhibit are part of a larger history of coerced labor in Florida. In order to overcome that history, we must confront it, and enlist the energies of employers, political leaders, retail food industry leaders, and consumers to eradicate once and for all the abusive labor practices documented here. I commend the Coalition of Immokalee Workers for launching this traveling exhibit, which illustrates in such a graphic and moving way the plight of many Florida farmworkers today." Jacqueline Jones *** "Slavery. In the 21st century. It is not something drawn up from the macabre mind of Stephen King or Dean Koontz. As this exhibit makes clear, this is not fiction. It is real. Painfully real. Four hundred years of slavery in Florida, and 145 of those coming after the Civil War, are the result of the continued violation and debasement of workers’ human rights. As document after document, photograph after photograph, court case after court case all attest, human bondage is wrong. There is no gray area. Yet, still it persists in the lush agricultural fields of Florida. Martin Luther King, Jr. said it best when he averred that “When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.” But this exhibit and the tireless efforts of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers make clear that this battle is far from over." Carol Anderson *** "Florida has a long and sordid history of forced labor, including chattel slavery, the convict-lease, and debt peonage. Unfortunately, even now workers trapped in slavery still pick some of the crops that we eat every day. Modern-day slavery persists because it remains in the shadows. CIW is one of the leading grassroots antislavery organizations working today to expose the conditions of peonage in Florida agriculture. Their 'Mobile Modern-day Slavery Museum' will bring this practice to light and help secure justice for the state’s farmworkers. I urge you to pay attention to this important event when it comes to your community." Alex Lichtenstein
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Also, the world's oldest human rights organization, Anti-Slavery International, and one of the world's largest human rights organizations, Amnesty International (USA), have both formally endorsed the museum.
Stay tuned in the weeks ahead as we wrap up development of the museum and hit the road. For more information about the tour and any specific tour stops, go to the museum page and contact the person listed for the stop near your. To inquire about hosting the museum in your city, please contact Jordan Buckley at jordan (at) interfaithact.org or 239-986-9101.
February 3, 2010
To young people, their parents, and all their teachers:
Farmworkers across the country pick the fruits and vegetables we need to stay healthy. And though they help put food on millions of tables across the country, most farmworkers don't earn enough to support their own families, and many times they are treated unfairly at work in the fields. Through the Campaign for Fair Food, farmworkers and their supporters across the country are working together to create a more just food system in which farmworkers are respected and treated fairly.
To highlight the connection between young people and farmworkers, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers announces the first-ever Campaign for Fair Food drawing contest! To enter, use your imagination to draw what “Fair Food” means to you, and show how you can work together with farmworkers to make a fairer world for the people who pick our fruits and vegetables.
Farmworkers in Immokalee will select one winner from each of four age groups:
- Pre-K - 2nd grade
- 3rd grade - 5th grade
- 6th grade - 8th grade
- High School
Winners' drawings will be featured on the front of new Campaign for Fair Food postcards, which will be distributed around the country! Each winner will also receive a framed copy of their drawing signed by members of the Immokalee farmworker community.
Submissions will be accepted from now until April 1, 2010. Drawings may be created in any medium: crayon, colored pencil, marker, etc. There is no size requirement.
A curriculum with ideas to incorporate information about farmworkers and the Campaign for Fair Food into lesson plans is available. To request a curriculum, a DVD and other materials for use with the curriculum, or if you have any questions, contact us at: drawingcontest@ciw-online.org.
Click here for a pdf of the above announcement.
Click here for photo galleries from the fields that might serve for a little inspiration!
February 1, 2010
Students marching from Miami to Washington for immigrant rights add Publix to their route!
Fifty years ago today in Greensboro, North Carolina, a small group of students began a peaceful protest that catapulted the cruel injustice of racial segregation into national focus. Their sit-in at a Woolsworth lunch counter inspired countless others across the country to likewise take a stand against separate and unequal facilities for black Americans.
The bravery and resolve of these students made evident that indeed, in the words of the people's historian and activist Howard Zinn, who sadly passed on last week, “small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.”
Today we are reminded of the courage and resolve of these students in the example of the Trail of Dreams – an inspiring group of Miami youth that on January 1st initiated a march to Washington D.C. in order to draw attention to injustices suffered by immigrants in the United States. As part of their journey by foot to the nation’s capital, they are delivering letters in support of the CIW’s campaign to Publix managers along the way. The picture above is from a visit to a Publix store outside of Mt. Dora, Florida, where the marchers met with the manager and gave her a copy of the Publix manager's letter.
Publix can expect to hear from more and more concerned consumers as the CIW’s own march for justice, the Farmworker Freedom March, swiftly approaches. If you have not done so already, mark you calendar to join us for the march from Tampa to Lakeland (home to Publix) on April 16-18th!
January 25, 2010
SAVE THE DATES!:
CIW announces "Farmworker Freedom March," Tampa to Lakeland, Florida, April 16-18, 2010!
March to call for: "Freedom from forced labor; Freedom from abuse; Freedom from poverty and degradation"
Mobile "Modern-day Slavery Museum" to tour state in lead-up to Freedom March...
Earlier this month, President Obama declared January, 2010, "National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month," saying:
"Fighting modern slavery and human trafficking is a shared responsibility. This month, I urge all Americans to educate themselves about all forms of modern slavery and the signs and consequences of human trafficking. Together, we can and must end this most serious, ongoing criminal civil rights violation." |
Join us this spring for an intensive campaign of education and action to end modern-day slavery in Florida's fields.
Details:
Farmworker Freedom March
* Three-day march of farmworkers and allies
* April 16-18, from Tampa to Lakeland (home of Publix)
* Route details and logistics to be announced soonModern-day Slavery Museum
* A mobile educational vehicle in the form of a box-truck outfitted as a replica of the trucks involved in the latest slavery prosecution and accompanied by educational displays on modern-day slavery in Florida, its roots, its causes, and its solutions.For more information on either the march and the mobile museum, or to arrange for a museum visit to your community, you can contact us at workers@ciw-online.org
Background:
The fight to end modern-day slavery has been gaining important ground in recent months. Ten months ago, Florida Governor Charlie Crist wrote these words in an open letter to the CIW, after the Governor and his representatives met in Tallahassee with CIW members and victims of modern-day slavery cases:
"I have no tolerance for slavery in any form, and I am committed to eliminating this injustice anywhere in Florida. I unconditionally support the humane and civilized treatment of all employees, including those who work in the Florida agricultural industry. Any type of abuse in the workplace is unacceptable. I support the Coalition's Campaign for Fair Food, whereby corporate purchasers of tomatoes have agreed to contribute monies for the benefit of the tomato field workers. I commend these purchasers for their participation..." |
Three months ago, the Collier County Sheriff's Department joined with the CIW in organizing "A Day without Slavery," a community event "aimed at providing seasonal farm workers and members of the Immokalee community with information about human trafficking and ways to identify victims of human trafficking." Speaking of the Immokalee farmworker community, Detective Charlie Frost told the Naples Daily News ("Immokalee event geared toward raising awareness of human trafficking," Naples Daily News, 11/14/09):
“They are our eyes and ears out here,” Frost said. “They’re the ones that will be able to alert us to these trafficking type of situations. It’s important that they know they have rights as victims.” |
And this month, President Obama declared January 2010 "National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month". The proclamation states, in part:
"The United States was founded on the principle that all people are born with an unalienable right to freedom -- an ideal that has driven the engine of American progress throughout our history. As a Nation, we have known moments of great darkness and greater light; and dim years of chattel slavery illuminated and brought to an end by President Lincoln's actions and a painful Civil War. Yet even today, the darkness and inhumanity of enslavement exists. Millions of people worldwide are held in compelled service, as well as thousands within the United States. During National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, we acknowledge that forms of slavery still exist in the modern era, and we recommit ourselves to stopping the human traffickers who ply this horrific trade...
... The victims of modern slavery have many faces. They are men and women, adults and children. Yet, all are denied basic human dignity and freedom. Victims can be abused in their own countries, or find themselves far from home and vulnerable. Whether they are trapped in forced sexual or labor exploitation, human trafficking victims cannot walk away, but are held in service through force, threats, and fear. All too often suffering from horrible physical and sexual abuse, it is hard for them to imagine that there might be a place of refuge...
... Fighting modern slavery and human trafficking is a shared responsibility. This month, I urge all Americans to educate themselves about all forms of modern slavery and the signs and consequences of human trafficking. Together, we can and must end this most serious, ongoing criminal civil rights violation."
You can read the proclamation in its entirety here. Its words reflect the fierce urgency of the fight to end this most violent form of exploitation.
The movement to end modern-day slavery is not an issue of partisan politics, and it's definitely not a labor dispute. It is a movement to defend one of our most fundamental human rights, and the CIW has been at the forefront of that movement for many years.
Yet when we asked Publix to adopt the principles of the Campaign for Fair Food -- principles, including a zero tolerance policy for slavery, designed to eliminate forced labor and its causes -- Florida's largest supermarket chain turned its back.
Instead, Publix continued to purchase tomatoes from the very farms tainted by the latest slavery prosecution. When asked why, Publix spokesperson Dwaine Stevens told the St. Augustine Record:
"... the chain does purchase tomatoes from the two farms but pays a fair market price." ("Farmworkers protest supermarket tomatoes," 11/24/09)
But there is no "fair market price" for slavery, and there will be no end to modern-day slavery until companies like Publix stop turning a blind eye to human rights abuses in their suppliers' fields.
Help us send a message that Publix cannot ignore. Join us this spring for the Farmworker Freedom March, for a march you -- and Publix -- will never forget.
Check back soon for more information on all the action this spring!
January 27, 2010
Publix "Neighborhood Grocer" image takes yet another hit...
News-Press report exposes Publix use of foreign students on temporary work visas (part-time, no benefits) to fill hundreds of local jobs in the face of 14% unemployment!
Editorial: Publix claim they can't find local workers to fill jobs "insulting nonsense"
It's been a rough few months for Publix and its public relations department.
First, there was the revelation in this space that Publix continues to purchase tomatoes from the very Immokalee-based growers tainted by the most recent slavery prosecution. The best answer Publix could muster for that particular disgrace was this:
"... the chain does purchase tomatoes from the two farms but pays a fair market price." ("Farmworkers protest supermarket tomatoes," 11/24/09)
Then, there was the story about Publix -- Florida's richest privately-held corporation -- looking for taxpayers to foot the bill for their rent at a downtown Ft. Myers location. The fact that Publix, an economic powerhouse, would receive taxpayer-subsidized rent, at the rate of $50,000 per month, was too much for some city council representatives, one of whom called the deal "offensive." It appears that deal, ultimately, didn't survive public scrutiny and was killed.
Now comes this:
"At a time when Lee County’s unemployment rate is almost 14 percent and about 38,000 residents are jobless, Publix is paying people from South America to work at some of its Southwest Florida supermarkets. For the last three years, Publix has hired hundreds of Peruvians and Brazilians for its stores in south Fort Myers and Naples during tourist season because the company says it can’t find locals to fill those spots... ... 'Are you kidding?' asked Rita Hursell. The 46-year-old nurse’s aide, who’s been out of work since 2007, is on food stamps and lives with her parents in Lehigh Acres. Hursell, who just completed a computer class at the Career and Service Center in Fort Myers, said she’d be happy to work at Publix even on a part-time, temporary basis. 'I wouldn’t mind at all,' she said." |
You can find the entire article here.
Here's what the News-Press editorial board had to say about this latest revelation:
"It's simply not acceptable for Southwest Florida employers to import foreign workers when the local unemployment rate is almost 14 percent. That's especially so when they are using a cultural exchange program to get those workers visas without having to show that Americans won't take the jobs. Publix and some other employers claim they can't find Americans to do the low-paid, temporary jobs at issue. Since 2008, when unemployment was already 6 percent, Publix has hired hundreds of Peruvians and Brazilians for its stores in south Fort Myers and Naples in the tourist season, when it says it's hard to find locals for the temporary jobs. What we are hearing from some of the county's 38,000 jobless and the employment specialists who try to help them is that this is insulting nonsense. We agree." |
Thus far, the PR department has pledged to "revisit (the program) for 2011."
Stay tuned, because from the sound of things, the 38,000 unemployed workers in Lee County -- and tens of thousands more concerned consumers -- may not be willing to wait that long for Publix to correct its course. In the words of one commenter on the News-Press story, "Let them 'reconsider their hiring policy'. I'm 'reconsidering my patronage policy'."
January 11, 2010
UPDATE 1/12/10: To check out yesterday's hour-long BBC program live from Immokalee on modern-day slavery, click here!
"Immokalee slavery topic of the day on global radio," (Ft. Myers News Press)
BBC's "World Have Your Say" to broadcast live from Immokalee, 1:00 pm (EST), and online at Public Radio's WGCU or BBC Radio
On the heels of President Obama's proclamation designating January "National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month," the BBC program with a global audience, "World Have Your Say," is coming to Immokalee to cast its own considerable light on modern-day slavery. Here's a one-minute video preview of today's show from Ros Atkins, the host of "World Have Your Say":
And from the Ft. Myers News-Press:
"... Each week, the audience-driven show 'World Have Your Say' reaches about 170 million listeners who have a global conversation with calls, e-mails, text messages and blogs. The BBC has partnered with public radio station WGCU-FM, which is doing a monthlong multimedia series: 'Immokalee: The Challenge. The Hope.' In recent years, Immokalee has been in the media spotlight not for being a historic farming-town-turned-gaming hot-spot, but for being branded ground zero for modern-day slavery by federal officials including U.S. attorney Douglas Molloy, who will be one of the show’s guests. Since 1997, seven agricultural slavery operations involving more than 1,000 workers have been federally prosecuted in Florida. Last January, members of the Navarrete family were sentenced in what Molloy called one of the region’s 'biggest, ugliest slavery cases ever.' After luring Mexican and Guatemalan men with promises of work, the family took their papers, gave them fake IDs and held them in servitude — locking them in trucks at night, where they had to urinate and defecate in corners and tying — chaining or beating them if they tried to leave. The Navarretes didn’t pay their captives for their work harvesting tomatoes on Immokalee farms, including two owned by some of the state’s biggest growers: Six Ls and Pacific. 'I think the audience will find it incredible that this happens in America,' said Heba Ayoub, the show’s producer. 'And I think it will resonate with a lot of people all over the world.' |
For now, we'll give the CIW's Laura Germino the last word on today's radio program. You'll have to tune in today at 1:00 if you want to hear more:
"... Coalition of Immokalee Workers member Laura Germino, who’ll also be a guest, agrees. The coalition is an advocacy group. 'Consumers from Dubai to Paris to Buenos Aires will learn workers are held in forced labor in U.S. fields (and) that in the 21st century, slavery remains woven into the fabric of consumers’ daily lives. The tomatoes in their sandwiches, for example, may have been picked by people in involuntary servitude — captive workers held against their will through threats or violence.' Germino also welcomes the chance to tell listeners how they can help. 'We’ve found consumers from all walks of life have something in common: revulsion against slavery and no interest in being part of that crime,' she said." |
See you on the radio!
December 8, 2009
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| Photo by Cindy Skop, Lakeland Ledger. You can find a gallery of great pics from yesterday's action at the Ledger website by clicking here. |
More from Sunday's March for Farmworker Justice!
Check out the photo report and all the latest press...
Don't miss the CIW photo report -- with analysis and pictures you won't find anywhere else -- from the biggest Publix protest of the year this past weekend in Lakeland. You can find the report here.
The Ft. Myers News-Press also weighed in this morning with a follow-up story on Sunday's big action in an article entitled, "Coalition of Immokalee Workers pay Publix a visit." Here's an excerpt:
"The peaceful demonstration drew workers and supporters from around the state as well as clergy of many faiths. One of those was retired United Church of Christ minister Jim Boler of Fort Myers. 'I was especially moved by what the high school students from Immokalee had to say,' Boler said. 'One girl talked about what it's like to live in a farmworker family, seeing Publix ads celebrating Thanksgiving but knowing that for her family, if there's not work that week, they can't afford food.'" read more |
And the Palm Beach Post joined the fray as well, with an op/ed by Dan Moffett calling on Publix to stop fighting progress and bring its considerable purchasing power to bear on improving farm labor conditions in its home state, entitled "Publix in the wrong aisle." After opening with a quick recital of all the accolades that have made Publix "Florida's grocery store," Mr. Moffett writes:
"The Immokalee coalition has worked with federal officials to prosecute cases against growers who have held foreign workers captive. The coalition has collected some honors of its own in recent years, from human rights groups, including the Robert F. Kennedy Justice Center. Everything Floridians have come to know about Publix suggests that the company should be participating in the farmworkers' initiative. Frankly, you'd expect Publix to be leading it." read more |
And last but definitely not least, Tampa's community radio station WMNF did a remarkably good piece, getting great interviews with several march participants, including 93-yr old human rights activist Stetson Kennedy, who started his career in the 1930's visiting labor camps throughout Florida and reporting on the slavery -- yes, slavery -- he found there:
"When we passed the Civil Rights Act in '64, I told myself that I was going to move on to something else, that everything was fixed. But of course it was not fixed. And so I'm still here this much later. You might say this is where I came in." listen |
And here's more coverage from teh exciting march:
n the day's events:
- "Hundreds of Farm Workers Protest Working Conditions" (Lakeland Ledger, 12/07/09)
- Lakeland Ledger photo gallery (by photographer Cindy Skop, a must-see!)
- A video collage of photos from yesterday's action, with a soundtrack of son jarocho music, by fair food photographer extraordinare, JJ Tiziou, here below (just click on the arrow):
January 15, 2010
Love among the ruins
The extent of destruction and loss in Haiti is only now coming into focus, and its true measure will not be known for months, maybe years, to come.
But as we have learned from so many tragedies past, these are the times when the very best of human nature -- our capacity for love and all that love makes possible -- rises in defiance of the horror.
The face of love is present in the picture on the right -- love in the eyes and smile of two-year old Redjeson Claude for his mother, whom he is seeing for the first time after being trapped alone for two days in the rubble, love on the faces of the emergency personnel and neighbors who risked their own lives to search for survivors. You can see a powerful four-photo gallery of his rescue on the Huffington Post Haiti news page (you will have to scroll down the page to find the gallery, as the news page is being updated throughout the day).
Love is also present in communities across the globe, far from Haiti, where millions of people have rallied to donate dearly-needed emergency supplies and funds to Haiti.
Despite the inconceivably harsh and inhumane statements by some of this country's loudest political voices discouraging their followers from donating to the rescue and rebuilding efforts (click here, and here, if you are interested to see just how sickeningly small some "leaders" can be), all reports seem to indicate that the world has come together to help Haiti weather this devastating blow.
Even one of this country's poorest communities -- the farmworker community of Immokalee -- is doing its part. Enlisting our low-power radio station, Radio Conciencia, in the cause, CIW members have launched a donation drive. We will join others doing the same here in Immokalee in sending all that we collect to Haiti through the Red Cross this coming Monday (in the photo above, CIW members erect a sign outside the CIW headquarters in Immokalee publicizing the donation drive).
The response has been overwhelming. Seeing farmworkers -- who are themselves suffering unemployment and economic crisis due to two weeks of freezing temperatures that destroyed crops across south Florida -- stream into the office with water, clothes, and canned food is nothing short of inspiring.
If you haven't done so already, please let Immokalee's efforts inspire you, too, to donate today to Haiti's recovery. If you are interested in donating to the relief efforts, Zanmi Lasante (or "Partners in Health" by its English name, the superb community-based health organization led by our friend and fellow RFK Human Rights Award laureate Loune Vlaud) is a place where you can rest assured that your donation will be put to good and effective use. Click here if you would like to make a donation.
Thank you.
January 9, 2010
Capitol Hill update, Part II...
US Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R - FL) congratulates CIW on news of Fair Food tomatoes in House restaurants!
Here's the quote, from the Miami Herald Blog, "Naked Politics" (1/7/10):
"... Diaz-Balart, whose district includes Immokalee, saluted the ag workers, saying their work 'is critical to Florida’s agriculture industry and I am pleased it is being recognized in the Capitol.'"
We appreciate Congressman Diaz-Balart's kind words and hope our paths continue to cross in the future!
January 7, 2010
New year brings new visit from Senator Sanders to Immokalee!
There's no better way to begin a new year than to get together with old friends, and that's just what happened yesterday at the CIW headquarters in Immokalee.
US Senator Bernie Sanders is one of the CIW's staunchest allies on Capitol Hill, and has done much to advance the cause of Fair Food. His visit to Immokalee yesterday provided a great opportunity to bring the Senator up to date on the latest developments in the Campaign for Fair Food and discuss ways in which he could continue to provide support from Washington.
While the nation's health care and financial issues have understandably taken priority over the past several months, it was clear from yesterday's visit that Sen. Sanders has never stopped thinking about the urgent need to improve farmworker wages and working conditions in Florida. Sen. Sanders arrived in the afternoon and graciously stayed through the evening to participate in the CIW's regular weekly community meeting (in the picture above, the Senator addresses CIW members at the start of the meeting in a wide-ranging discussion that touched on farm labor, health, and immigrant issues).
For those who might be unfamiliar with his history with the Campaign for Fair Food, here below is an excellent short video on the 2008 Senate hearings on farm labor exploitation in Florida organized in large part by Sen. Sanders:
We look forward to working closely with Senator Sanders in the year ahead as we continue breaking new ground in the Campaign for Fair Food.
January 5, 2010
President Obama declares January "National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month"...
Newly launched "Fair Food Project" (right) takes it one step further and invites you to help make the change!
In a proclamation signed yesterday, January 4th, 2010, President Obama declared January "National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month". The proclamation states, in part:
"The United States was founded on the principle that all people are born with an unalienable right to freedom -- an ideal that has driven the engine of American progress throughout our history. As a Nation, we have known moments of great darkness and greater light; and dim years of chattel slavery illuminated and brought to an end by President Lincoln's actions and a painful Civil War. Yet even today, the darkness and inhumanity of enslavement exists. Millions of people worldwide are held in compelled service, as well as thousands within the United States. During National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, we acknowledge that forms of slavery still exist in the modern era, and we recommit ourselves to stopping the human traffickers who ply this horrific trade...
... The victims of modern slavery have many faces. They are men and women, adults and children. Yet, all are denied basic human dignity and freedom. Victims can be abused in their own countries, or find themselves far from home and vulnerable. Whether they are trapped in forced sexual or labor exploitation, human trafficking victims cannot walk away, but are held in service through force, threats, and fear. All too often suffering from horrible physical and sexual abuse, it is hard for them to imagine that there might be a place of refuge...
... Fighting modern slavery and human trafficking is a shared responsibility. This month, I urge all Americans to educate themselves about all forms of modern slavery and the signs and consequences of human trafficking. Together, we can and must end this most serious, ongoing criminal civil rights violation."
You can read the proclamation in its entirety here. The president's words should serve as a powerful rejoinder to those -- from the bottom to the top of this nation's trillion-dollar food industry -- who would deny or ignore the continuing scourge of slavery in our fields. And it should remind us all of the fierce urgency of the fight to end this most violent form of exploitation.
And about that fight... A new project has appeared on the battlefield, the "Fair Food Project." Here's how its creators describe their approach:
The Project
“Fair Food: Field to Table” is a multimedia presentation promoting a more socially just food system in the U.S. It was created by California Institute for Rural Studies and Rick Nahmias Photography.
Through the stories and voices of farmworkers, growers, businesses and fair food advocates, viewers learn about the harsh realities of farmworker conditions and, more importantly, the promise of improved farm labor practices in American agriculture. The growing movement for “fair food” is tapping into rising consumer demand for food produced in accordance with their values."
The heart of the project is a three-part series of short videos -- divided into the themes "The Farmworkers," "The Farmers," and "The Advocates" -- that is intended to be used to spark discussion and action across the country though showings on campuses, in places of worship, and in community gatherings. The series is a must-see, and can be viewed on the Fair Food Project site or on YouTube. Here below is the first part in the series, "The Farmworkers" (which, by the way, includes extended interviews with two CIW representatives and footage of the CIW watermelon harvesting coop!). Enjoy, and help spread it around:
December 28, 2009
A season of hope...
Holidays perfect time for a news round-up with a theme of hope for the new year!
A dozen years ago -- shortly before Christmas, 1997 -- a small group of farmworkers in Immokalee began a 30-day hunger strike that would forever transform the struggle for justice in this country's fields. Their excruciating month-long fast cast an unblinking light on the cruel reality facing tomato pickers -- slipping sub-poverty wages, rampant wage theft, and even violent modern-day slavery rings. But more than that, it also exposed the Florida tomato industry’s deeply-rooted, unregenerate resistance to dialogue with farmworkers and to improving farm labor wages and conditions.
In short, the CIW's month-long hunger strike made the case for the Campaign for Fair Food that was to come, for the urgent need for intervention by the multi-billion dollar corporations that purchase Florida tomatoes to demand more modern, more humane conditions in the fields where their tomatoes are grown and picked.
Over the next twelve years, the Campaign for Fair Food grew into a national movement, and the Florida tomato industry continued its stubborn resistance to progress. Even after workers in Immokalee reached landmark agreements with the world's two largest fast-food corporations -- Yum Brands and McDonald's -- to help fund long-needed changes in Florida's tomato fields, the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange threatened to fine any tomato grower willing to pass on the additional funds to improve their workers' wages. Yet the Campaign for Fair Food persevered, patiently building a critical mass of food industry leaders pledged to use their power as major tomato buyers to demand that Florida tomato growers help end poverty and abuses in the fields.
And this year, as the direct result of the collaboration of farmworkers and consumers through the Campaign for Fair Food, true transformation has begun: Three Florida tomato growers are now working with the CIW to implement the Fair Food agreements, including a substantial wage increase, a real voice for farmworkers, and a code of conduct for fair conditions in the fields.
Here below are three stories from the end of this year that capture this pivotal moment in the Campaign from different perspectives. If you have a moment, take a look at the stories and, as you do, savor the fact that these changes can be traced -- day by day, battle by battle -- back to the small, storefront office in Immokalee where six workers took on the trillion-dollar food industry by refusing to eat until their demand for justice was heard:
- "East Coast Brokers partners with farmworker labor group," The Packer (12/04/09)
“... ' Although it was probably not the most popular decision, it was a decision we chose to make for our workers and for our partners in business,' Madonia said. 'If there’s a way I can give them (the workers) a better standard of living, they can have a better life and if this doesn’t adversely affect my business at all, there’s no way I could not let this happen.'
Madonia, who this fall resigned his longtime membership with the Maitland-based Florida Tomato Exchange, said industry reaction to his move was mixed.
'I just felt like it’s more important to give my workers a better standard of living instead of the benefit that my company gets by being part of that group,' he said.
Madonia said he hopes his peers respect his decision.
He said many of them have told him off the record that they support his agreement with the CIW."
- "25 gifts making a tough 2009 a bit better for Tampa Bay area," St. Petersburg Times (12/24/09)
... 23. Hard-fought successes by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to secure better pay for Florida tomato pickers....
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"You say tomato," Roll Call (subscriber only online, 12/14/09)
You Say Tomato
Dec. 14, 2009 By Byron C. Tau
Roll Call StaffThe vendor responsible for operating the House [US House of Representatives] restaurants and cafeterias has made a big change in the way it conducts business.
Restaurant Associates is participating in a new purchasing arrangement of tomatoes from Florida. Compass Group, Restaurant Associates’ parent company, announced last week that it will pay an additional 1.5 cents per pound of tomatoes purchased annually, with 1 cent per pound going directly to the harvesters.
“We are proud to offer a responsible menu item like fair wage tomatoes for our dining service operations,” Chief Administrative Officer Dan Beard said in a statement. “We are pleased to set an example for responsible dining choices for the staff and our visitors.”
According to CAO spokesman Jeff Ventura, the initiative came from Compass Group rather than from the House administration. “We support it, but it’s something that they’re doing,” he said.
Rick Stone, Compass Group vice president for corporate social responsibility, said the company was spurred to action by a visit from activists at the Student/Farmworker Alliance.
“The back story is quite simple,” Stone said. “Ninety-five percent of the tomatoes grown in the winter months come out of Florida. The labor to harvest the tomatoes is — for the most part — immigrant workers. Because of that situation, and the need for these workers ... it sets an environment that is ripe for abuse.”
Stone added that tomato prices have increased in recent years, but wages paid to agricultural laborers have not. “The supply chain has clearly been squeezed at the bottom,” he said. Further, according to Stone, cases of outright slavery have even been discovered and prosecuted in Florida.
Still, Stone insists that customers in the House cafeterias will not see any price increases, saying that Compass Group was willing to “absorb the cost” of the new ethical purchasing agreement.
December 18, 2009
"The Value of Nothing"
New book by Raj Patel (author of "Stuffed and Starved") highlights Campaign for Fair Food!
Message is food for thought for Publix...
The author of "Stuffed and Starved," Raj Patel, has a new book coming out in a couple of weeks entitled "The Value of Nothing." The phrase comes from a quotation by Oscar Wilde:
"Nowadays, people know the price of every thing and the value of nothing."
In an excellent promotional video for the book (embedded below), Patel asks:
"It seems like every aspect of our lives is touched by this philosophy of prices and free markets, but isn't there a better way to value our world?"
The book's message is truly food for thought for our friends at Publix. The fundamental premise of "The Value of Nothing" is that the market tends to fail, often miserably, at assigning prices that reflect the true value of the goods we consume today. In particular, the market often overlooks the high social costs behind many of the products at the heart of our every day lives -- obesity and diabetes behind cheap fast food, environmental degradation behind gas-guzzling SUV's, slavery behind the tomatoes we eat.
Nowhere is that disconnect between price and social costs clearer than in the case of Publix and its Florida tomato suppliers. Most readers of this site will remember that, when asked why it continues to purchase tomatoes from farms where enslaved workers were discovered to be picking in the latest modern-day slavery prosecution, Publix spokesman Dwaine Stevens told the St. Augustine Record:
"... the chain does purchase tomatoes from the two farms but pays a fair market price." ("Farmworkers protest supermarket tomatoes," 11/24/09)
What, exactly, is the "fair market price" for slavery? How in the world does a modern corporate giant like Publix turn its back on the brutal exploitation of the workers in its suppliers' operations -- right in its own backyard -- and get away with it?
Take a moment, if you can, to watch the video on "The Value of Nothing." The book, which has received high praise from reviewers including Michael Pollan and Naomi Klein, deals in part with the Campaign for Fair Food, where "pickers in Florida have won the right to be treated as human beings and not slaves." Unfortunately, that victory is clearly still incomplete, thanks to companies like Publix who, rather than supporting Florida's more ethical tomato growers and the CIW in forging a more humane agricultural industry, stubbornly continue to prop up the brutal and dehumanizing status quo in Florida agriculture today.
"The Value of Nothing" will be in bookstores soon, and should be a great read.
December 14, 2009
News Round-up...
When we can't keep up with everything happening in the Campaign for Fair Food, it's time for a round-up!
The Campaign for Fair Food has been very busy as the holiday season approaches, visiting Stop & Shop (one of several US brands owned by Dutch supermarket giant Ahold) at its corporate headquarters in Boston, Giant (another Ahold brand) at its headquarters in Landover, foodservice titan Aramark at its corporate headquarters in Philadelphia (pictured above right), and, of course, Florida-based Publix throughout the southeast.
And in Immokalee, we hosted an exchange with 30 members of Baltimore's own United Workers Association, famous for their great work winning a living wage for the workers who maintain the Baltimore Orioles' beautiful Camden Yards stadium.
Click here to continue reading the Campaign for Fair Foods News Round-up!...
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Stop & Shop: A delegation of Fair Food activists, the New England Delegation for Farmworker Justice, paid a visit to Stop & Shop's corporate headquarters last week in Boston, MA. The Boston Herald covered the visit in a piece entitled, "Farmworkers eye Stop & Shop" (Dec. 13, 2009). Here's an excerpt:
It was following up on a letter sent to the grocery chain a month earlier that’s so far garnered no response, according to Camilo Viveiros, the group’s coordinator and executive director of Rhode Island Jobs with Justice. 'It’s a simple request that they give farm workers a penny-a-pound raise and build a relationship where they would monitor the conditions in the field,' Viveiros said... ... Stop & Shop spokeswoman Faith Weiner said the chain shares CIW’s concerns and will give its letter 'thoughtful and careful' consideration. 'We will reiterate to our suppliers our expectations and our commitment that (parent company) Ahold source tomatoes in a socially responsible manner, as we believe we currently do,' Weiner said. 'We also will continue to monitor the situation.'" |
"A group calling itself the New England Delegation for Farm Worker Justice demonstrated outside Stop & Shop’s Quincy headquarters Friday to put pressure on the company and raise public awareness.Aramark: Before heading south from Baltimore to Immokalee for a two-day exchange (see below), a joint CIW/UWA delegation took a quick detour to Philadelphia, where they were joined by Philly allies for a lively rally and delegation visit to Aramark headquarters. Marina Saenz-Luna of Just Harvest USA sent this firsthand report:
The delegation included: Brandon Jones - United Workers, Marina Saenz-Luna - Just Harvest USA, Gerardo Reyes-Chavez - CIW, Julian Phillips - St. Joseph's University, Ron Blount - Unified Taxi Workers Alliance, Manuel Gonzalez- Radio Tlacuache, and Milena Velis - Media Mobilizing Project. We delivered 139 petitions, 131 individual letters from St. Joseph's, and the most recent Alliance for Fair Food letter to an Aramark employee." |
"About 60 people came out to Aramark HQ.Check out the great gallery of pics from the Aramark event, courtesy of community photographer extraordinaire, JJ Tiziou.
Giant: The CIW/UWA group also stopped in Landover, Maryland, at the corporate headquarters of the Giant supermarket chain. Check out the Student/Farmworker Alliance website for a report on the delegation visit (the SFA report does double duty as a great summary of the UWA Solidarity Tour, which you'll find described on the SFA site in the UWA's own words).
Publix: Of course, Publix didn't escape the pressure during the past week. After a quick stop and protest at a Publix on the road to Florida in South Carolina, the UWA crew arrived in Immokalee for two days of dialogue between CIW and UWA members on approaches to organizing and campaign strategies, last stop on the Solidarity Tour.
It was a great exchange between two organizations with deep community roots and powerful visions of a better future for some of this country's worst-paid, least-protected workers. The visit ended with a Publix protest, and the Naples Daily News was there to cover it ("Farmworkers go public in North Naples with a protest against Publix," 12/11/09). Here's an excerpt:
'Publix always says that it supports families, but in reality they aren’t doing it. They are neglecting to help farmworkers,' said Perez, 35, holding a sign that read: 'End the Poverty.'... ... Other supporters included about 30 visitors from United Workers, an organization of low-wage earners fighting for human rights in Baltimore, Md., and members of Vanderbilt Presbyterian Church in Collier County. Among supporters was Jackie Vanden Dorpel, 74, who has been shopping at Publix since 1950. The Bonita Springs resident and Vanderbilt Presbyterian member said she hopes Publix realizes that all of the big corporations are dealing directly with the coalition. “I think they can act like a corporation with integrity,” Vanden Dorpel said. Among Publix shoppers Friday was Ida Phelps, of North Naples, who said she supports the coalition’s cause. “I think it’s taken awhile. These people work as hard as I do,” said Phelps, 53, who is a security officer. |
"Silvia Perez, a coalition staff member and Immokalee farmworker for 16 years, said in Spanish that it wasn’t a labor dispute.Read the Daily News article in its entirety here, and while you're there, be sure to check out the video from the action!
And in other news...
Chipotle CEO Steve Ells challenged to debate on merits of Campaign for Fair Food by Kellogg Food and Society Fellow!
Will the promoter of "Food with Integrity" answer the call?
Plus, check out an exclusive video (below) from Sunday's huge March for Farmworker Justice!
Laying down a virtual gauntlet before Chipotle CEO Steve Ells, Kellogg Food and Society Fellow Sean Sellers has launched a public challenge -- in earnest -- to debate the merits of the Campaign for Fair Food with the man who invented the slogan "Food with Integrity" for his 900-restaurant burrito chain. Posting on the widely-read sustainable food/ environmental blog grist.org ("Steve Ells, will you accept the 'Chipotle Challenge'?," 12/9/09), Sellers writes:
“'Of course I’m not in favor of slavery! But signing an agreement [with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers] does not actually change those conditions for farmworkers,' Steve Ells, CEO of Chipotle Mexican Grill, gibed in front of an audience of 250 at the University of Pennsylvania’s prestigious Wharton School of Business on November 19. 'I mean, they just don’t see the bigger picture,' he continued. 'To change the fast-food paradigm is huge. We’re trying to do the right thing.' Ells’ defensive posture came in immediate response to a question posed by Marina Saenz-Luna, a staff member of Just Harvest USA, who works closely with the Florida-based Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW). Since 2006, the grassroots farmworker organization has petitioned Chipotle – a leading fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in gourmet burritos – to enter into an agreement to improve wages and working conditions for Florida tomato pickers. Four years later, farmworkers’ and consumers’ stomachs have soured in light of Chipotle’s persistent hostility towards the workers’ organization... ... It’s easy to shut down debate and mock earnest criticism when one stands alone at the podium and holds the microphone. But a closer reading of the recent exchange between Ells and Saenz-Luna belies a festering insecurity within Ells and his company over its chosen course of action. So here’s my challenge: Let’s have a real debate, Mr. Ells, at any public forum of your choosing. After all, if you can’t back up your position, then integrity demands that you change it." |
He wraps up the post with a clarification: This is not a stunt. It's a real challenge:
"... The Chipotle Challenge Which brings us back to Steve Ells’ quotation at the top of this story: 'But signing an agreement [with the CIW] does not actually change those conditions for farmworkers.' Like most everything else Ells has said about the CIW and the Campaign for Fair Food, this is entirely backwards, and so painfully wrong. But this time, his misinformation will not go unchallenged. Mr. Ells, consider this my formal challenge to a public debate on the merits of the Campaign for Fair Food. Have the conviction of your beliefs and join me for a debate – you name the time and place, anytime, anywhere. The clock is ticking." |
You can read the entire Chipotle Challenge post here.
And for one last look at the exciting Publix protest and march in Lakeland last Sunday, click play on the video below:
December 5, 2009
Here it is, your 11th hour call to action to join us tomorrow for the big "Walk for Farmworker Justice" in Lakeland!
Courtesy of Robyn Blumner, St. Petersburg Times (from an online op/ed to appear in tomorrow's paper entitled, "Hey, Publix, pony up a penny per pound"):
"... Publix has taken a 'talk to the hand' approach. Corporate spokeswoman Shannon Patten says that the company won't get involved in 'a labor dispute between the farmworker and farmer.' Even after it was reported that two of the farms Publix has bought tomatoes from, Pacific Tomato Growers and Six L's, used bosses who were convicted of enslaving farmworkers from Mexico and Guatemala — holding them captive and brutalizing them — Publix does little more than shrug. Patten says 'nobody's in favor of slavery,' as if this absolves the company of its duty to reject suppliers who employ shockingly abusive labor tactics. Publix uses its collective buying power to negotiate low tomato prices with growers but refuses to unleash some of that corporate might to help workers who toil day after day in the withering Florida sun for the same per-bucket wage their parents earned. When Patten says 'we are a caring company' she must mean that it cares about profits, not people. |
The piece ends:
Today [Sunday], the Coalition of Immokalee Workers will hold a protest at a Publix supermarket in Lakeland, near Publix corporate headquarters. Similar protests have been held recently at Publix supermarkets around the state. Farmworkers and their supporters hold signs that say "Exploitation: It's What's for Dinner" and other clever slogans. Who knows if this will persuade the corporate suits. What I do know is I often pay $1.50 or more for a pound of tomatoes at Publix. Another penny isn't a big deal to me. I doubt it means much to Publix. But to some of the nation's lowest paid workers, that penny can change their lives. |
Read the op/ed in its entirety here. And click here to see how you can join us tomorrow in Lakeland.
December 4, 2009
All the pieces are coming together for Sunday's big "Walk for Farmworker Justice"!...
Two Kennedys, two eras of human rights leadership, set to join CIW for biggest Publix protest of the year!
Mr. Kennedy has devoted his life to combating poverty, exploitation, and racism in his home state of Florida. Over the course of his long and storied career, Mr. Kennedy risked his life to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan, toured farm labor and turpentine camps with author Zora Neale Hurston as director of field research for the WPA Writers Projects (recording stories of slavery and brutal exploitation, which he shared with the House Labor Committee and the UN Commission on Forced Labor), and collected an unparalleled library of Florida folklore. For a taste of the rich culture and history of Florida's working people he helped preserve, we've provided a few links here below (you really should do yourself a favor and take a minute to listen!): * "Big boy can't you move 'em" |
Ms. Kennedy's "life has been devoted to the vindication of equal justice, to the promotion and protection of basic rights, and to the preservation of the rule of law. She established the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights in 1988 and she has worked on diverse human rights issues such as children’s rights, child labor, disappearances, indigenous land rights, judicial independence, freedom of expression, ethnic violence, impunity, and the environment... ... She has led over 40 human rights delegations across the globe. At a time of diminished idealism and growing cynicism about public service, her life and lectures are testaments to the commitment to the basic values of human rights." |
CIW members have spent the past week painting signs, organizing into committees to handle march logistics, and nailing down the final details for the biggest Publix protest of the year... |
"... Another point of contention is the fact that Publix sells tomatoes from Six Ls and Pacific Tomato Growers, two Southwest Florida farms where captives held by a slavery ring federally prosecuted in December were taken to work. Publix guidelines says: "Suppliers' actions must be ethical and honest, as well as comply with laws, rules and regulations." Slavery is a federal crime. Asked why Publix buys from companies where slavery occurred, Patten wrote: "Publix is not involved in the labor dispute between these groups. Whatever the groups negotiate, Publix will continue to pay whatever the market rate is for Florida tomatoes." You can read the whole article here. See you Sunday in Lakeland! |
December 2, 2009
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Jose Soto, a University of Florida gradate student, argues in favor of the Student Senate resolution calling on Aramark to work with the CIW to improve wages and working conditions in Florida's tomato fields. The resolution passed 57-19. |
Aramark, Sodexo under fire on campuses from Florida to Colorado!
Student government resolutions call on foodservice providers to work with CIW for Fair Food!...
The past month has been a whirlwind not only for workers in Immokalee but also for their student allies across the country who are spearheading the "Dine with Dignity" campaign. Here are some of the highlights:
- Last night, after a weeks-long campus debate, the Student Senate at Washington University in St. Louis passed a resolution calling on Aramark to follow the lead of the students' other foodservice provider, Bon Appetit, and enter into an agreement with the CIW.
- On November 20, the Student Advisory Committee to the Auraria Board -- which represents students from UC Denver, Metro State, and the Community College of Denver -- passed a resolution calling on Sodexo to enter into an agreement with the CIW.
- And on October 27, the University of Florida Student Senate passed a resolution calling on Aramark to enter into an agreement with the CIW. Here's an excerpt from the Gainesville Sun article, "Student Senate passes resolution supporting farm workers" (10/27/09):
“We have an option tonight to boldly say to Aramark that UF wants to be the starting point to this change and fight for justice,” said Dave Schneider, former senator and primary author of the resolution. About 20 students and alumni came to show their support for the resolution, asking the Senate to vote yes. During a five-minute presentation, resolution supporter Jose Soto noted that a penny is worth almost nothing monetarily while a pound of tomatoes is about 28 slices. “You represent me,” Soto said about the wage increase. “Don’t denigrate my dignity by valuing it lower than 1/28 of a slice of tomato.” |
And that's just the tip of the iceberg! Click here for the rest of the campus round-up!
December 1, 2009
CIW, Verite announce partnership to implement, monitor Fair Food agreements with participating growers this season!
Verite "promotes and monitors fair labor practices across the globe," work includes efforts to address forced labor on West African cocoa plantations...
Gerardo Reyes of the CIW on the partnership:
“These developments are truly unprecedented. Through the Campaign for Fair Food, we are moving, step by step, toward a more modern, more humane tomato industry in Florida. And together with Verite, we are working this season to develop and test the standards and procedures that will ensure that those changes are real and measurable.
Change of this magnitude is never easy, but we -- the CIW, the participating growers, and our retail food partners -- are determined, as the saying goes, 'to make the road by walking' and it is good to have someone with us like Verite, who has been down this road before."
See the full press release here.
It's just around the corner!
Walk for Farmworker Justice
Sunday Dec. 6
Gather, starting at 2:30 pm, for picket at 2515 S. Florida Ave., Lakeland (Southgate Plaza Publix)
Followed by 2.2 miles march down Florida Ave. to Kryger Park,
100-198 S. Massachusetts Ave., for a rally/candlelight vigil.
And click here to see the press release for the December 6th event. Here's an excerpt:
“Publix says it ‘won’t get involved in a labor dispute,’ but I want to make one thing perfectly clear: there is no labor dispute," explained Gerardo Reyes of the CIW. "In fact, it’s never been easier to support Fair Food. We are now working closely with several growers who are willing to meet the higher standards called for by our agreements, all Publix has to do is buy from those growers under the same terms as all the other food industry leaders that have come to support our campaign.” Earlier this year, the Ft. Myers News-Press reported that farmworkers enslaved in a forced labor ring prosecuted in December 2008 were taken to work on two southwest Florida farms that supply tomatoes to Publix. Just last week, Publix confirmed that it continues to buy tomatoes from the farms tainted by the slavery prosecution. According to the St. Augustine Record, "Publix spokesman Dwaine Stevens… said the chain does purchase tomatoes from the two farms but pays a fair market price.” Reyes continued, “The choice before Publix is stark: join other retail food leaders, tomato growers, and the CIW in forging a more humane agricultural industry, or continue supporting the brutal and dehumanizing status quo in Florida agriculture today.” |
November 27, 2009
National Supermarket Week of Action a wrap
Fair Food message sent loud and clear!
In hundreds of supermarkets from Baltimore to the Bay Area, Fair Food activists gave their local grocers a special message this Thanksgiving week: Now is the time to support human rights in Florida's fields!
Supermarket chains from Trader Joe's to Giant, Stop and Shop, Walmart, Winn Dixie, and (of course) Publix were visited this past week by CIW allies who turned their Thanksgiving shoping into a teachable moment by dropping off a copy of the CIW's "manager's letter" to their local grocery store manager.
Thanks to everyone who made the week of action such a success. To get a better idea of the fun, click here for a few pictures from "shop and drops" from across the country. And, of course, even though supermarket week is over, don't let that stop you from getting in on the action -- download the manager's letter any time you'd like and visit for a moment with your supermarket manager next time you shop for groceries!
Publix |
vs. | Publix |
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Family = Love = Publix: For people who live within Publix's southeastern US market, the image on the left will almost certainly be familiar. It is a screen photo from a commercial that airs seemingly non-stop in the run-up to Thanksgiving. The ad cuts back and forth among three fictional families, multiple generations gathered around their holiday tables, all listening in rapt attention to the Thanksgiving blessing, given in perfect pitch by two fathers and a grandmother who remind their loved ones how lucky they are to have each other.
The commercial, like other Publix ads, shows very little food, doesn't show the store, and makes no mention at all of price or special discounts. Rather, with great economy it weaves a powerful, short narrative that follows this simple but remarkably effective formula:
Family = Love = Publix.
You can watch the commercial here. Go ahead, we'll wait... and feel free to shed a tear or two. Anything that can touch that place deep, deep in our hearts where our love for family resides is worth letting in, if only for a moment. Just don't forget to come back.
The other face of Publix: You back? Good. Now dry your eyes and take a good look at the man with the video camera above, on the right. He actually works for Publix (his white pin, in fact, reads "I *heart* Publix"). He is one of the team of videographers that Publix unleashed on farmworkers and Publix customers who support the farmworkers at pickets outside Publix stores. He is in fact the man who, under false pretenses, filmed farmworkers' and customers' families -- including their children -- during the very first Publix protests, until the resulting public uproar forced him and the other photographers to don their white pins and identify themselves as filming for Publix ("At Florida Tomato Protests, Backlash" 11/17/09, The Atlantic Monthly).
He is the other face of Publix.
He's the face you see when you question why Publix continues to purchase tomatoes from growers tainted by last year's brutal slavery prosecution.
He's the face you see when you ask Publix to make good on its promise to be, in the words of its mission statement, "involved as responsible citizens in our communities."
He's the face you see when you protest Publix's refusal to support tomato growers who today are implementing more ethical farm labor practices.
One recent story from the picket line captures the very different narrative behind this other face of Publix. About a week ago, CIW members and local allies organized a protest in Tampa. The picket attracted the attention of many in the Tampa rush hour traffic, including one kindergarten teacher who was so moved that she stopped to join in. As a teacher in nearby Ruskin, she has many students whose parents are farmworkers, and so she sees daily the struggles of farmworker parents to provide for their children. As she walked with the picketers, she talked with members of the CIW delegation and heard their stories.
After talking with the protesters, she approached a Publix representative who was on the scene. She voiced her concern for farmworkers as a Publix customer, but was met with a surprisingly harsh response. When the conversation was over and she told the Publix representative that she hoped she would meet him on better terms one day, his response was a curt "Don't bother". Taken aback with Publix's hostility she quickly re-joined the protestors for the rest of the picket to spread the word to other customers in the evening traffic.
"Don't bother": Farmworkers who protest brutal conditions on the farms where Publix buys its tomatoes are met with silence from Publix executives and surveillance by Publix representatives. Publix customers who support the farmworkers are told not to bother to come back.
This is hardly the reaction one would expect from a company that puts so many millions of dollars into building its image as a caring member of the community, as a part of the family. But it is what it is: the harsh, defensive reaction of a multi-billion dollar corporation that responds to criticism as an attack, to a human rights crisis as a public relations crisis.
So this Thanksgiving, if you happen upon this commercial, try to reconcile the simple grace of the ad with the sheer inhumanity of Publix's response, below, in today's St. Augustine Record ("Farmworkers protest supermarket tomatoes"), because we can't. When asked whether Publix continues to purchase from the farms where slave crews were recently found to have picked tomatoes:
"Publix spokesman Dwaine Stevens, who was on hand at the Cobblestone Plaza store to observe the protest, said the chain does purchase tomatoes from the two farms but pays a fair market price.
“Our position, and it remains firm, is it’s a labor issue,” Stevens said. “That’s not our role: to come between our suppliers and their workers.”
Have a great Thanksgiving, and see you in Lakeland on December 6th.
November 23, 2009
Publix protests just keep getting bigger!
Hundreds join CIW members for massive protest in Columbus, GA
See update from Day 3 of CIW's Florida Tour in lead-up to Dec. 6th "Walk for Farmworker Justice"
In the run-up to the biggest Publix protest of the year, a ten-person crew of CIW members and allies have loaded up a van and headed north on a road trip across the state of Florida. Their goal: mobilize students, people of faith, and other Fair Food allies to join us this December 6th in Lakeland for the "Walk for Farmworker Justice"!
On Saturday, the tour crew was joined by well over 200 allies -- a conservative estimate, to be sure -- in Columbus, GA for what was certainly the largest, most spirited Publix protest to date! Read about the action in the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer: "200 protest for farmworker rights at Publix," 11/22/09.
Click here for more pictures and a report from Day 3. And be sure to check this space throughout the week for all the news from our Florida tour crew as we get daily dispatches from the road.
November 18, 2009
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If you live in the southeastern United States, these two figures might be familiar to you from Publix's whimsical Thanksgiving season commercials... But there's nothing whimsical about the fact that the men and women who do the backbreaking, stoop labor necessary to put food on holiday tables across the nation cannot afford to provide their own families with a decent Thanksgiving meal. Perhaps that's why it seems that, this Thanksgiving, the salt and pepper-shaker pilgrims have crossed the picket line and are standing with farmworkers and consumers calling for Publix to support the Campaign for Fair Food. |
Alliance for Fair Food calls for National Supermarket Week of Action, Nov. 18th to Nov. 26th!
AFF: "This Thanksgiving, when you shop for your turkey, cranberry sauce, and stuffing, drop off a Campaign for Fair Food letter to the store manager!"
Thanksgiving is one of the busiest times of the year for this country's supermarkets. But this Thanksgiving, give your supermarket more than your money, give them the message that you support fair wages and working conditions for farmworkers.
And we're not just talking Publix. Wherever you are in the continental US, there is sure to be one of the following stores:
- The Kroger Co., which includes the following brands: Kroger, Ralph’s, City Market, Dillons, Food 4 Less, Foods Co., Fred Meyer, Fry's, Gerbes, Hilander, Jay C, King Soopers, Owen's, Pay Less, QFC, Scott's, and Smith's
- Ahold USA, which includes the following brands: Stop & Shop, Giant, Giant Food Stores, Peapod, and Martin’s
- Publix (throughout Florida and the southeast)
- WalMart (virtually everywhere)
It's easy! Simply click here to go to the Alliance for Fair Food site, download the manager letter, and then deliver the letter to your local grocery store next time you go shopping (be sure to ask the supermarket manager to share your concerns with the company’s corporate headquarters). And, of course, if you don't see your local grocery store listed here above, feel free to take the letter to whatever supermarket you can!
When you're done, contact us to let us know what supermarket(s) you visited and how it went. If enough people add the letter drop-off to their Thanksgiving shopping this year, then maybe -- just maybe -- next holiday season we can all give thanks for a more modern, more humane agricultural industry.
November 16, 2009
Sparked by frustration with Publix's tactics, 200 take to streets in St. Pete in largest Publix protest to date!
ALSO: Major action announced for Publix hometown of Lakeland for December 6th ...
In a powerful rebuke to Publix's apparent contempt for farmworkers' fundamental human rights and the demand of its customers for Fair Food, more than 200 farmworkers and allies gathered at a St. Petersburg, Florida, Publix yesterday afternoon for a spirited protest. Following the action, more than half the crowd marched to another nearby Publix store for a second protest.
- See more pics from the actions in St. Petersburg here
- See the St. Petersburg Times article on the day's events here: "At St. Petersburg Publix, protesters march over farmworker pay," 11/16/09.
- See a short youtube video filmed by an ally turning the tables on the Publix camera crew here: "Publix spies on farmworkers"
Also, here below are the early details for what is sure to be the biggest Publix protest of the year, this December 6th in Lakeland, Florida:
Walk for Farmworker Justice
Sunday, December 6
Gather, starting at 2:30 pm, at 2515 S. Florida Ave., Lakeland (Southgate Plaza)
We will be starting the march at 3:30pm - it's 2.2 miles total - and marching down Florida Ave. to Kryger Park for a rally/candlelight vigil as it gets dark.
Address for Park: 100-198 S. Massachusetts Ave., Lakeland.
"A Day without Slavery" hosted by Collier County Sheriff's Department in Immokalee...
Meanwhile, another day of mockery by Publix of slavery, farmworker poverty, and its own customers in Clearwater...
In Immokalee Saturday, the Collier County Sheriff's Department and the Collier County Coalition Against Human Trafficking held the first-ever "Day without Slavery," a community event "aimed at providing seasonal farm workers and members of the Immokalee community with information about human trafficking and ways to identify victims of human trafficking." The CIW worked with the Sheriff's Department to help publicize the event and the CIW's Lucas Benitez addressed the crowd, estimated at over 500 people ("Immokalee event geared toward raising awareness of human trafficking," Naples Daily News, 11/14/09).
The Immokalee farmworker community -- famously dubbed "ground zero for modern-day slavery" by one federal prosecutor -- was the target of the event. Detective Charlie Frost, who testified in last year's Senate hearings on slavery in Florida's fields, told the Daily News:
“They are our eyes and ears out here,” Frost said. “They’re the ones that will be able to alert us to these trafficking type of situations. It’s important that they know they have rights as victims.” |
But on the same day that farmworkers and police were joining forces in Immokalee in a grimly serious battle against the scourge of modern-day slavery, Publix representatives were once again busy mocking farmworkers and their allies in Clearwater, who were there protesting Publix's refusal to address revelations of slavery in its supply chain.
In a reprise of its clumsy, and widely-criticized, attempt to surreptitiously film CIW actions in southwest Florida last month, Publix representatives again aggressively filmed protesters in Clearwater on Saturday, though this time the cameramen (right, in blue shirt) clearly identified themselves as shooting on behalf of Publix, with small "I (heart) Publix" pins on their chests. Throughout the day, Publix cameramen stood squarely in the faces of the protesters, filming individual workers and consumers for the benefit of, in their words, "Publix executives."
The "Day without Slavery" in Immokalee and the protest in Clearwater shared a common purpose -- to end slavery in Florida's agricultural industry. The goal of the Publix protests is to forge a more humane agricultural industry by creating real market consequences for those growers who would continue to abuse their workers while ensuring that those who step up to higher labor standards are rewarded with increased demand from ethical retailers, companies like Compass Group, Whole Foods, and others. Yet despite the simple justice of the campaign's demands, Publix continues to purchase tomatoes from growers tainted by last year's brutal slavery prosecution, as they confirmed again just recently to the press.
It is one thing for a large corporation like Publix to resist change. But it is something else all together when a company like Publix adopts such an openly hostile, and quite frankly unsophisticated, position in response to calls by its customers for social responsibility. The issues driving the campaign -- endemic farmworker poverty and slavery -- are now well-established and accepted as fact by everyone from food industry leaders to government officials. Even Florida governor Charlie Crist has publicly declared his support for the Campaign for Fair Food. Yet in spite of this, Publix has refused all communication with the CIW and treated farmworkers and CIW allies alike with unprecedented disdain.
Every day, more and more longtime Publix customers are becoming aware of the conditions behind Publix's tomatoes and of the company's hostility to the Campaign for Fair Food. And their customers' response is unequivocal: This kind of behavior on the part of a multi-billion dollar company against one of the poorest communities in the country, against the very workers whose backbreaking labor has helped make Publix the richest privately held company in Florida, is simply not acceptable.
Indeed, it suggests the very attitude that has allowed slavery to fester in Florida's fields for so long.
Sooner or later, Publix, like other food industry leaders who fought the campaign with similar tactics in the past, will reconsider its strategy, meet with the CIW, and realize that the changes farmworkers are calling for are fair, feasible, and long-overdue. Until that time, Publix might at least find a more professional way to communicate its position. Better still, perhaps Publix could meet with the Collier County Sheriff's Department Anti-Trafficking Unit and so show some hint of respect for fundamental human rights.
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Brigitte Gynther, shown here speaking at Epiphany Cathedral in Venice, Florida, last month with Romeo Ramirez of the CIW, was awarded the 2009 Cardinal Bernardin New Leadership Award by the Campaign for Human Development of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops "for her role in supporting and empowering farmworkers from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), as they pursue fair wages, improved working conditions, and an end to modern day slavery in the fields." |
November 14, 2009
US Catholic bishops, ethical business community recognize Campaign for Fair Food!
Alliance for Fair Food wins "Benny" Award, Brigitte Gynther of Interfaith Action wins Cardinal Bernardin Award...
In a double dose of good news, the CIW and its allies received national recognition recently for the growing success of the Campaign for Fair Food and its fight against farm labor exploitation in Florida.
In a press release issued yesterday, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) announced that longtime CIW ally Brigitte Gynther of Interfaith Action of Southwest Florida had been chosen to receive the 2009 Cardinal Bernardin New Leadership Award.
According to the release, "The Cardinal Bernardin New Leadership Award honors a Catholic between the ages of 18 and 30 who demonstrates leadership in fighting poverty and injustice in the United States through community-based solutions. It is named for the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, former archbishop of Chicago and a leading voice on behalf of poor and low-income people, who understood the need to build bridges across ethnic, economic, class and age barriers."
Bishop Roger P. Morin, Chairman of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops' Subcommittee on the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, praised Brigitte and her work:
“Brigitte’s commitment to standing with the Immokalee workers is a powerful illustration of CCHD’s work to empower low-income people to address the root causes of poverty in their communities. Her support for the farmworkers’ struggle to ensure that human dignity and basic rights are protected is an illustration of the Gospel call for the faithful to stand in solidarity with those who are vulnerable (Lk. 4:18-20).” |
Brigitte was also quoted in the press release speaking about the inspiration for her work:
“Catholic social teaching lifts up right relationships, working together in respect,” says Gynther, describing her work as building a bridge so that farmworkers and people from other backgrounds enter into genuine relationship with one another. Gynther also emphasizes the need “to look at root causes of farmworkers’ struggles and help people see that we can do something at the systemic level.” |
Meanwhile, the CIW and the Alliance for Fair Food also won national recognition recently, this time from the Business Ethics Network (BEN), which selected the campaign as a co-winner of the 2009 Benny Award, its top prize for marketplace activism. Here's an excerpt from the BEN press release:
"Top corporate campaign activists were honored in October at the 2009 BENNY Awards, given by the Business Ethics Network (BEN) in teleconference-connected ceremonies on both coasts. The Campaign for Fair Food and Think Before You Pink: “Yoplait--Put a Lid on It” campaign tied for the first place BENNY Award, and the campaign for Derechos de la Naturaleza, or Rights of Nature in Ecuador's Constitution, won the second place BENNY Award. Each campaign won a significant victory in corporate transformation in the last year... 'These campaigners won incredible victories on behalf of workers’ rights, human health, and the environment,' said BEN Executive Director Michael Marx. 'They are making corporations accountable to all of us.'” |
Recognition like that represented by these two prestigious awards is deeply encouraging and fuels the commitment of CIW members and allies alike for the long road ahead in the battle for Fair Food. Congratulations go out to Brigitte and to everyone who has made the Campaign for Fair Food the force for change that it is today.
Ultimately, of course, the most important recognition is that of the food industry itself -- the recognition that consumers and workers have a real voice in the industry, and with that voice we are demanding that those who do the backbreaking work to put food on our tables be guaranteed a fair wage and humane working conditions in exchange for their labor. And until that recognition is won, the Campaign for Fair Food will continue.
November 13, 2009
Direct from Immokalee...
(Note: On the eve of the final weekend of actions before the big Publix protest this December 6 in Lakeland, Florida, we wanted to share the following short video with you. It was produced by CIW members to mobilize their fellow members for this weekend's actions in Clearwater and St. Petersburg. It is in Spanish, but we trust that the images and energy of the speakers and the crowd communicate the message without need of translation.)
If you'd like to learn more about how you can participate in this weekend's actions or the Dec. 6 protest in Lakeland, you can email us at: workers@ciw-online.org
November 9, 2009
Two days, five Publix protests!
Thousands of Publix consumers learn of labor abuse behind their tomatoes in weekend of actions in South Florida...
With actions in Lake Worth, Miami, North Miami, Coral Gables, and Hollywood, the "Month of Publix Protests" hit the road again this weekend, taking its message to the streets of South Florida with colorful signs and a contagious spirit, winning the hearts of thousands of Miami consumers with the message of "Fair Food" (picture above by Miami New Times).
For a sense of the action, we'll let the montage of signs below tell the story:
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For a report from the action, by the Miami New Times, with a lot more great pictures and a short video, click here!
And click here for reports from the Orlando, Gainesville, Tampa, and Southwest Florida actions from earlier in the "Month of Publix Protests"!
November 5, 2009
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| Rev. Martin Luther King, pictured on the steps of the state capitol in Birmingham, Alabama, following the march from Montgomery at the height of the Civil Rights Movement. Dr. King famously asked "How long?" would the nightmare of institutionalized racism stand against the rising tide of social justice, and answered confidently, "Not long!" Today, religious leaders throughout Florida are stepping up to demand an end to the human rights crisis in the state's fields, and asking how long will Publix continue to stand in the way of progress for Florida's farmworkers. |
"How long? Not long!"
Florida clergy leading the fight for farmworker rights in Publix supply chain!...
Last week, two different guest opinion columns ran in southwest Florida newspapers written by local clergy calling on Publix to join with the CIW in improving wages and working conditions for the farmworkers who pick the supermarket giant's tomatoes:
- In the Naples Daily News, the Rev. Dana Hendershot of Christus Victor Lutheran Church, highlighted the choice currently before Publix: "Simply put, Publix — Florida’s largest privately held company — has two options. It can support social responsibility and take advantage of its buying power to make a positive difference in the lives of farmworkers, as so many retail industry leaders already have, or it can continue to ignore farmworkers’ plight, quietly profiting from Florida’s persistent harvest of shame. Until its corporate position changes, we prayerfully hope company officials will one day very soon choose the former..." read the full article here
- In the Ft. Myers News-Press, the Rev. Jim Boler, former associate minister of Sanibel Congregational United Church of Christ, takes issue with Publix´s vow to not get involved in what they deem as simply "a labor dispute": "When Publix knowingly purchases tomatoes from fields tainted by the sweat of slaves (not just worker and human rights abuse but actual slavery convictions) Publix is involved in that "dispute" on the side of injustice and immorality..." read the full article here
But behind the scenes, religious leaders have also been very active in letting Publix know that there is only one "clear path toward ensuring fair wages and conditions for those who pick the tomatoes that Publix sells in its stores."
In separate letters to Publix CEO Ed Crenshaw, the Rev. Kent Siladi, head of the Florida Conference of the United Church of Christ, and Bishop Frank Dewane, Bishop of the Diocese of Venice of the Catholic Church in Florida, expressed their deep concern over the exploitation of workers in Florida's fields and the urgency of the need for change.
Rev. Siladi wrote:
"... There is a clear path toward ensuring fair wages and conditions for those who pick the tomatoes that Publix sells in its stores. Yum Brands, McDonald's, Burger King, Subway, Bon Appetit, and Whole Foods are all working with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to directly improve the wages and working conditions in their tomato supply chains. Surely Publix would like to be counted among these companies as a responsible neighbor to those who help to provide the produce that helps Publix be a profitable organization..." (letter to Ed Crenshaw, August 18, 2009)
In his letter, Bishop Dewane wrote:
"... By entering into an agreement with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, more desirable working conditions can be put into effect. A proper monitoring system involving both your company and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers can go a long way in recognizing the human dignity of the workers. This action would also signal that Publix Supermarkets, Inc., wishes to ensure zero tolerance for forced labor and human trafficking..." (letter to Ed Crenshaw, September 16, 2009)
There can be no doubt that the longer Publix turns its back on the human rights crisis in Florida's fields, the more Florida's religious leaders will raise their voices in protest and demand real social responsibility from the state's leading supermarket company. How long can Publix ignore the growing chorus of support from Florida's faith community?
For an answer, we turn to another religious leader from another time and another battle for fundamental human rights, Dr. Martin Luther King, whose immortal words on the steps of the state capitol in Birmingham, Alabama, ring true nearly 50 years later:
"How long will justice be crucified, and truth bear it? I come to say to you this afternoon, however difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour, it will not be long, because 'truth crushed to earth will rise again.' How long? Not long, because 'no lie can live forever.' How long? Not long, because 'you shall reap what you sow. How long? Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.'" see Dr. King's speech here
November 2, 2009
Orlando action (right) biggest Publix protest yet in month of action!
Also: Second powerful Op/Ed by Florida pastor in the past week takes Publix to task for "ignor(ing) farmworkers’ plight, quietly profiting from Florida’s persistent harvest of shame."
With the third straight weekend of action in the books, workers from Immokalee and their central Florida allies raised the "Month of Publix Protests" to new levels this past Sunday, rocking Orlando and surprising a Lakeland store in the shadow of Publix's corporate headquarters with an impromptu protest.
Check here for more pictures from the weekend's actions.
Meanwhile, another powerful Op/Ed by a member of the clergy in Florida demanding that Publix work with the CIW for farm labor justice was published this Sunday, this time in the Naples Daily News. Rev. Dana Hendershot, a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, wrote a guest commentary entitled, "Half-century old TV clip remains a snapshot of today from farm fields," (11/1/09). Here's an excerpt:
But while U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont has fittingly described the commitment of these growers as “the beginning of the end of the ‘Harvest of Shame,’” one must wonder why Publix has declined to take part in the opportunity. Simply put, Publix — Florida’s largest privately held company — has two options. It can support social responsibility and take advantage of its buying power to make a positive difference in the lives of farmworkers, as so many retail industry leaders already have, or it can continue to ignore farmworkers’ plight, quietly profiting from Florida’s persistent harvest of shame..." |
"... Despite resistance by leaders of Florida’s tomato industry, three growers — Alderman Farms, Lady Moon Farms and East Coast Growers — have agreed this coming season to pass along to harvesters an extra penny-per-pound pledged by these companies.Read Rev. Hendershot's Op/Ed in its entirety here!
And click here for Rev. Jim Boler's Op/Ed from earlier last week, "Publix involved in tomato pickers' fate, like it or not" (10/27/09).
October 31, 2009
"Month of Publix Protests" continues with actions this weekend in Orlando, and a news round-up from a busy week!...
As CIW members head north to Orlando to meet with local allies for another weekend of actions at Publix stores, the front lines in the growing battle for the soul of Florida's "neighborhood grocer" just get hotter and hotter, including:
- a story on the campaign in Publix's hometown paper, the Lakeland Ledger ("Publix targeted by farmworker group," 10/30/09), in which Publix rolls out a new argument in its defense: “Publix pays fair market value for our tomatoes and we don’t determine that price.” What an wonderful use of the word "fair"...
It ought to be interesting in the weeks and months ahead to see which definition Publix consumers prefer -- "fair" as in a price so low that endemic farm labor exploitation is inevitable and slavery all too possible, or "fair" as in a price that other food industry leaders have agreed to pay to help farmworkers escape decades of degradation but Publix refuses to meet.
- an NPR story on the undercover filming scandal ("Publix employee films farmworker protest", 10/29/09). Apparently it was the Publix employee's "day off," which didn't, however, keep Publix from getting a copy of his film;
- and a mid-week protest at the opening of a new Publix in tony South Beach (above). Here are a couple more pics (below) to give you a sense of the action:
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Check back soon for an update from this weekend's protests!
October 28, 2009
"There is no labor dispute," Part II...
Pastor writes forceful Op/Ed in response to Publix claim "we won't get involved in middle of labor disputes" for Ft. Myers News-Press!
Rev. Jim Boler, a retired minister with the United Church of Christ, penned a compelling Op/Ed published in yesterday's Ft. Myers News-Press, entitled "Publix involved in tomato pickers' fate, like it or not" (10/27/09).
After explaining that several Florida farms have agreed to implement the Fair Food principles this coming season, Rev. Boler writes that Publix "has refused to participate" and instead continues to purchase tomatoes from "farms corrupted in (the) latest slavery conviction." He goes on to write:
"... This is the Publix that received a $50,000-per-month rent subsidy from Fort Myers. Having received community support Publix must now support the farmworkers of this community. Maria Brous, a Publix spokeswoman, is quoted as saying, "Our official position is we don't get involved in the middle of labor disputes between our suppliers and other organizations." Well, Ms. Brous, Publix is already involved. I agree with Publix when it says that with more than 35,000 products it can't get involved in all disputes with suppliers. Nor should they. But this is not just a labor dispute; this involves human rights. How many of Publix's suppliers are involved in actual convictions for slavery? I assume not too many. When Publix knowingly purchases tomatoes from fields tainted by the sweat of slaves (not just worker and human rights abuse but actual slavery convictions) Publix is involved in that "dispute" on the side of injustice and immorality. In 1776 Adam Smith's famous "Wealth of Nations," advocating a free market economy, was published. But, before that, in 1759, Adam Smith's "Theory of Moral Sentiments" was published, the book he considered as his "foundational" work. He said economics is not "amoral." Any civilized social system (economic or otherwise) makes moral judgments and has moral consequences. Economics, wrote Smith, needs a moral base, which the free market does not provide. Come on, Publix; you are much better than this. Until now your reputation has been exemplary. In this "labor dispute" moral principles should trump Publix's company policy. Now I read that a Publix worker, claiming to be making an independent documentary, filmed our peaceful, nonviolent protests. This is a new low for Publix. Meet with the CIW. As a loyal Publix customer I expect nothing less." |
Click here to check out this must-read Op/Ed in its entirety.
And check out our own reflection on the topic here.
October 26, 2009
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| Undaunted by the unethical -- and unexplained -- filming under false pretenses of protesters at last week's actions, dozens of farmworker families traveled north this weekend to demand that Publix support the growing movement for social justice in Florida's tomato fields. |
"Month of Publix Protests" continues with two days of action in Gainesville, Tampa!
Foodservice provider Aramark also focus of Gainesville action on UF campus...
About 150 farmworkers from Immokalee and their allies gathered for spirited actions this past weekend in Gainesville and Tampa, letting Publix know that no amount of intimidation will turn them back from their fight to move Publix to join other food industry leaders in supporting the Campaign for Fair Food. The growing numbers at the latest protests made clear that momentum is building for the big December action in Lakeland, home of Publix corporate headquarters.
In Gainesville, the action started at the University of Florida, where students are organizing in support of the Student/Farmworker Alliance "Dine with Dignity" campaign. The students are calling on campus foodservice provider Aramark to follow the Compass Group's lead and work with the CIW to support social justice in Florida's tomato fields.
The protest was large and lively, generating strong support for this week's vote by the student Senate on a resolution supporting the CIW and the Campaign for Fair Food. Here's an excerpt from an op/ed in the University of Florida student paper ("Students should demand better wages for Immokalee workers," 10/26/09):
"... This past Saturday, I was joined by more than 130 students, faculty, activists and Immokalee farm workers in demanding that Aramark negotiate with... athe Coalition of Immokalee Workers. Right now, Subway, McDonald's, Burger King, Taco Bell and several other corporations have agreed to directly pay a penny more per pound of tomatoes picked to the farm workers. The coalition is calling on Aramark to do the same thing. Because every dining option on campus is owned by Aramark, any student who has eaten on campus has a moral imperative to assist the coalition in its struggle for justice in Immokalee. Student Senate heard a resolution in support of the CIW last month that a majority of Senators from all three parties voted for. In a bizarre turn of events, the resolution didn't pass because it needed a two-thirds majority. This Tuesday, Senate is hearing the same resolution again. Based on the enormous amount of support on Saturday, I'm not alone in demanding that Senate vote overwhelmingly to demand that Aramark negotiate with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to bring an end to the abuses and exploitation in Immokalee...." |
Read more of the student op/ed here.
Click here for more great pictures from the weekend's actions in Gainesville and Tampa.
Read an article on the two Gainesville protests here ("More than 100 protest Immokalee workers' wages," 10/26/09).
And read coverage of the Tampa action here ("100 farmworkers protest low prices for tomatoes," 10/26/09).
Unsettling experience at last weekend's Publix actions becomes issue in Publix campaign...
Man (right) who followed protests from city to city, filmed under false pretenses, now identified as Publix "associate," filming for Publix. Unexplained filming of children questioned.
In a bizarre turn of events, a man who followed CIW members and allies around Southwest Florida last weekend, filming the protests -- and on several occasions denying that he works for Publix, claiming instead to be making a documentary on "social movements" -- has been identified as a Publix "associate" who arranged to provide a copy of his film to Publix, according to the Ft. Myers News-Press ("Man filming protest a Publix worker," 10/23/09). Here's the story:
"Members of a farmworkers group felt an unsettling sense of deja vu when they learned a man — who called himself "an old hippie" making an independent documentary — filming them protesting at Publix actually works for the supermarket giant. And Publix plans to archive copies of his footage, though it won't say why. Instead of keeping the film, Publix should destroy it and apologize to the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, said W. Michael Hoffman, executive director of the Center for Business Ethics at Bentley University in Massachusetts. "This man deceived them. The filming was done under false pretenses. That is an unethical act," Hoffman said. "I would hope the board of Publix would find this inappropriate and in violation of their code of conduct." John Attaway, Publix general counsel and senior vice president, did not respond to phone calls or e-mails seeking comment." |
The article goes on to quote several people who were present at the events, noticed something peculiar about the videographer, and asked him to identify himself:
"I just walked up to him," said the Rev. Dana Hendershot of Naples' Christus Victor Lutheran Church. "He told me he was just an old hippie into protest movements." In Sarasota, New College student Andrea Ortiz talked to him. "He said he was doing a documentary on the protest culture because he was from the '60s," Ortiz said. "And he told me he wasn't from Florida." Ortiz asked for his contact information. He wrote "Southeast Production Services" and a phone number. "He told me his name was Tom, but he didn't give me his last name," she said. A check of the number shows it belongs to Thomas McGuigan of Tampa. Publix spokeswoman Shannon Patten confirmed McGuigan works for Publix. |
For it's part, Publix had this to say:
Patten [Publix spokesperson Shannon Patten] wrote in an e-mail: "(McGuigan) is working on an independent documentary and has been doing so for some time. Knowing that he would be there filming, we have asked him to provide us a copy of his footage for our records." Publix hasn't answered calls and e-mails asking why it wants the images. |
Particularly disturbing about the man's filming was the fact that he appeared to focus unnecessarily on children attending the protest. If, as Ms. Patten admits, Publix arranged to obtain a copy of the film, what possible use would footage of children have for the supermarket giant?
The story ended with a quote from Eric Schlosser, author of "Fast Food Nation" and a long-time observer of the Campaign for Fair Food who wrote a widely-read op/ed in the New York Times ("Burger with a side of spies," 5/7/08) last time the CIW was the target of unethical corporate tactics:
Eric Schlosser, who wrote the best-selling "Fast Food Nation," and testified at last year's Senate hearings on Florida's tomato industry, calls McGuigan's filming "unbelievable." "It's not just the lying and spying, it's the focus on their kids that's so weird," he said. "There's no question they should destroy that film." |
What Publix does with the film remains an open question at this point. See the story in its entirety here.
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| Silvia Perez of the CIW leads a delegation delivering a letter to a Publix representative Sunday night in Ft. Myers. The letter describes the inhumane conditions in Florida's tomato fields and invites Publix to join other retail food industry leaders in supporting growers, like East Coast Growers and Alderman Farms, who have stepped up to institute labor reforms established by the Campaign for Fair Food. |
Publix: "We will not intervene in a labor dispute."
CIW, East Coast Growers, Alderman Farms, Ladymoon Farms, Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary of Labor, et al: "What labor dispute?"...
As Publix resorts to public relations double talk, farmworkers and their allies deliver an unambiguous message: "Slavery shall be no more"...
Check out the Sarasota Herald Tribune's video report on Sunday's Publix protest in Sarasota:
[We are currently working through difficulties on the Herald Tribune site to embed the video,
but in the meantime, click here to see the video and come on back for
more analysis.]
About two thirds of the way into the story, Publix spokesperson Maria Brous is quoted as saying:
"We cannot get in the middle of labor disputes between suppliers and workers."
The CIW and hundreds of Southwest Florida allies held rallies in five different cities over the past weekend (Naples, Port Charlotte, Venice, Sarasota, and Ft. Myers) and at every stop a team of Publix representatives was there to face the press. And in every city, the Publix PR team had but one argument in the chain's defense: "We do no intervene in the labor disputes of our suppliers."
The argument is so remarkably inadequate it's hard to know just where to start in response. We could ask: Since when is slavery considered a "labor dispute"? [Despite blistering criticism, Publix continues to purchase tomatoes from two Immokalee area farms tainted by last season's brutal slavery prosecution.]
Or we could simply remind Publix that Taco Bell tried -- and failed -- to press that same argument nearly a decade ago. [After four years of a hard-fought boycott, Taco Bell learned that consumers actually expect the brands they trust to take action against human rights abuses in their supply chain, not to sell them food harvested in unimaginably harsh conditions.]
But instead, we'll just say this: What labor dispute?
The simple fact is, there is no longer any dispute. For several months now, farmworkers and growers -- and food retail giants -- have been working together to improve farm labor wages and working conditions. It began with the announcement last June that Alderman Farms and Ladymoon Farms had agreed to implement the CIW's Fair Food principles, together with Whole Foods. And it continued in spectacular fashion this past month when Florida's third largest tomato grower, East Coast Growers, joined food service leader Compass Group in announcing that it too would implement the CIW's agreements this coming season. At that announcement ceremony, held in Washington DC, the Secretary of Agriculture issued a strong statement of support for the new alliance, while no less an expert in labor disputes than the Secretary of Labor herself joined the press conference and called the news "a huge victory."
So... maybe it's time for Publix to drop the "we don't intervene in labor disputes" argument.
Today, the question before Publix is this: Will you be part of the solution and support workers and growers collaborating to build a more modern, more humane agricultural industry?
Or will you continue to be part of the problem, undermining progress and buttressing Florida's old guard agricultural giants whose exploitative labor practices have brought shame upon the state for decades?
The weekend was full of spirited, colorful actions. Click here to see pictures from several of the actions.
Click here to see Ft. Myers Fox affiliate's video report from the candlelight vigil
Click here to see another video report, from the Ft. Myers CBS affiliate.
Click here for a great photo gallery from the Ft. Myers News-Press.
And click here for an article on the Sarasota action from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
October 17, 2009
And so it begins...
"Month of Publix Protests" begins with a weekend full of actions around Southwest Florida!
From the Naples Daily News ("Farmworkers picket Publix wanting chain to pay more for tomatoes," 10/17/09; all pictures are by Greg Kahn, Naples Daily News):
"About 50 farmworkers and supporters of Immokalee farmworkers picketed a Publix in Naples on Saturday morning, calling for the Florida-based grocer to pay more for tomatoes and take a stand against inhumane conditions for tomato pickers.
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers is asking the grocery store chain to pay a penny-per-pound increase on tomatoes, to be passed on to the tomato pickers, similar to what several fast food chains have done in deals with the coalition.
Despite rain, protesters stood for one hour in the median at U.S. 41 in front of the Publix across from Coastland Center mall...
... About half of the 50 demonstrators were Naples or Bonita Springs residents who support the coalition.
'We would just like Publix to get on board with the rest of the purchasers like Burger King, Taco Bell and McDonald’s that have recognized there is a social responsibility,' said John Dwyer, 66, who said he has supported the farmworkers for years, even before they organized the coalition.
'They need to take a stand against modern slavery and low wages,' his wife, Karen Dwyer, 51, said...
... The coalition was scheduled to protest later Saturday outside Publix stores in Port Charlotte and Venice and on Sunday in Sarasota. They plan to wrap up the weekend protest with a candelight vigil at 7 p.m. outside the federal courthouse in Fort Myers with a walk to a nearby Publix on McGregor Boulevard." read more
Some scenes from the protest (see full gallery here):
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Stay tuned for more updates from the first weekend of Publix actions!
October 15, 2009
Student/Farmworker Alliance "Dine with Dignity" week of action a success!
You can give the SFA campaign for campus food justice a push by sending a message to Aramark and Sodexo...
Students across the country organized this past week to demand justice for farmworkers from their campus foodservice providers, specifically calling on campus food giants Sodexo and Aramark to follow Compass Group's lead and help bring an end to Florida's "Harvest of Shame".
Here's an excerpt from the SFA's week-of-action web report:
"... In Texas, a delegation of Fair Food Austin members and University of Texas students delivered a letter calling on Aramark to step up and enter into an agreement with the CIW to UT-Austin's Aramark representative (right).
The response from Aramark? A PR statement (that we've seen before) claiming, among other things, that the company has already met with the CIW to address the issue. Really?
Fair Food Austin sets the record straight: "According to the CIW, however, no negotiations are currently underway. In fact, Aramark has yet to contact the CIW since the launch of the Dine With Dignity campaign six months ago. And in light of the Fair Food agreements between the CIW and seven multibillion-dollar, multinational food retailers, Aramark's excuse of supply chain opacity arrives dead on arrival in 2009."
Read the rest of the SFA's report here. And then click here to send an email to Sodexo and Aramark executives and add your voice to those of students across the country demanding farm labor justice from the foodservice giants!
October 2 , 2009
Publix: Where Shopping is Still a Shame...
The Autumn of Our Discontent: Fed up with Publix's empty excuses for inaction, farmworkers and allies plan a full fall calendar of action at Publix supermarkets across Florida (click here for actions and dates)!
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| From left to right, Lucas Benitez of the CIW, Chris Ashcroft of Compass Group, and Batista Madonia of East Coast Growers stand with Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis after receiving mementos recognizing their breakthrough agreement at last Friday's announcement ceremony in Washington, DC. |
When Compass Group and East Coast Growers announced their groundbreaking agreement to implement the CIW's Fair Food principles this coming season, Senator Bernie Sanders, a long-time observer of the Campaign for Fair Food, issued a statement that began:
"Today marks the beginning of the
end of the harvest of shame that has existed for far too long in Florida's tomato fields."
Indeed, with farmworkers and growers finally working together to produce a fairer tomato -- including higher wages and better farm labor conditions made possible, in part, by the support of major retail food corporations that buy Florida tomatoes, like Compass Group and McDonald's -- it seemed inevitable that other large tomato buyers would seize the opportunity to be part of the solution to Florida's longstanding shame of farmworker exploitation.
Publix, however, refuses to be part of that solution.
Despite the fact that workers at three Florida farms -- Alderman Farms, East Coast Growers, and Ladymoon Farms -- will be enjoying better conditions and a more modern relationship with their employers when picking starts this November, Publix continues to justify its refusal to support social responsibility with a long-ago discredited mantra:
“Publix has a long history of non-intervention in disputes between suppliers and their employees.” (Ft. Myers News-Press, 9/25/09)
The argument of non-intervention proved invalid when Taco Bell used it in its defense years ago. Even then, when workers and growers were still on opposite sides of the debate, Taco Bell ultimately realized that if human rights were to be respected in Florida's fields, their intervention as a large buyer was essential. Of course, where there is no dispute, as on the farms where the CIW's agreements will be implemented this season, the argument is beyond invalid -- it's nonsensical, plain and simple.
But worse yet is the fact that Publix continues to purchase from the very growers where the workers liberated in last season's slavery prosecution picked tomatoes. While Whole Foods and other buyers cut off purchases from those growers when presented with the news of their relationship to the slavery prosecution, Publix refused to do so. Instead, they passed the buck, saying:
"We are confident that Governor Crist and Florida's law enforcement agencies will work tirelessly to eradicate slavery and human trafficking from our great state."
While Publix is confident in Governor Crist's commitment to fighting slavery in Florida, they apparently didn't listen earlier this year when Governor Crist, writing in a public letter to the CIW, strongly supported the Campaign for Fair Food, "whereby corporate purchasers of Florida tomatoes have agreed to contribute monies for the benefit of the tomato field workers," as an essential part of the solution to the state's farm labor slavery crisis.
For all these reasons, farmworkers and their allies will be joining forces this fall to press their case with Publix and demand that the largest privately held company in Florida do its part to help improve farm labor conditions and eliminate modern-day slavery in the state.
Toward that end, a full calendar of actions at Publix stores has been set. Here below are the dates as they stand at this time (with more to come in the days ahead):
On Labor Day this year, farmworkers and allies from Sarasota delivered Manager Letters to local Publix supermarkets in a unique way: a 10-mile bicycle "Labor Day Freedom Ride"! Month of Publix Protests:
Oct 17 & 18 - Southwest Florida (Naples, Port Charlotte, Venice, Sarasota and Ft. Myers)
Oct 24 & 25 - Gainesville
Oct 31 & Nov 1 – Orlando
Nov 7 & 8 - Ft. Lauderdale
& MiamiNov 14 & 15 – Tampa
& St. PetersburgStatewide Organizing Tour: November 18-24
Major Action in Lakeland (early December, exact date to be announced)
If you live in or near any of the cities above, email us to find out how you can get involved!
It's time for Publix to end the excuses and work together with farmworkers, growers, and consumers for social responsibility.
Join us this fall in pressing Publix to make shopping truly a pleasure by supporting fair wages and working conditions for the farmworkers who pick its tomatoes.
In wake of Compass/East Coast announcement, heat turns up on Publix!
Editorial: "Publix should join agreement"
A straight talking editorial in the Ft. Myers News-Press pivoted quickly from last week's announcement of the Compass/East Coast agreement to Publix and its refusal to support the growing movement for social responsibility in the Florida tomato industry. Here it is in its entirety ("Publix should join agreement"):
With their most important success yet in the fight for better treatment of farmworkers, advocates for Florida's underpaid tomato pickers have created a powerful tide of reform. Publix supermarkets would be wise to swim with this tide. The Coalition of Immokalee Workers has concluded a three-way agreement with East Coast Growers and Compass, the world's largest food-service company, to improve Florida tomato pickers' pay and working conditions. Compass joined the three biggest fast-food companies - Yum Brands, McDonald's and Burger King - and Whole Foods grocery chain, in an agreement to see that pickers get a penny more per pound for the tomatoes they harvest. It's estimated that could boost workers' annual pay from about $10,000 to between $16,000 and $17,000 - still little enough for people who work hard to put food on America's tables. Money pledged by earlier signatories had not been reaching workers because of the refusal of the powerful Florida Tomato Growers Exchange to pass it on. But East Coast Growers has dropped out of the exchange in order to pay the difference. That signals an even bigger change than signing up another retailer. The wall of resistance is breaking down. That suggests that it makes even more sense now for Publix to join the agreement. It's the right thing to do, and it's good public relations for a company that cares a lot about its image. Congratulations to the coalition for another victory in its remarkable fight on behalf of people with few friends in high places. And congratulations to Compass and East Coast Growers for joining the effort to better the lives of the 30,000 migrant farmworkers in Florida. |
Also, in an article from 9/25/09 ("Workers plan informational blitz at Publix"), the News-Press looks more closely at another disturbing aspect of Publix tomato purchasing policies: The company's continuing purchases from Florida growers involved in the latest slavery prosecution, despite the fact that companies like Whole Foods cut off purchases from those same growers when news emerged that the Navarrete slave crews were employed on their fields. Here's an excerpt:
| “Publix wants consumers to think that shopping in their stores is a pleasure,” Reyes said. “But if every time people see the green Publix sign they think of tomatoes picked by slaves and are reminded that Publix is refusing to buy tomatoes through a program that pays farmworkers a better wage and protects their labor rights, like Whole Foods does, well, that’s not a pleasure — that’s a shame.” read more here |
"There's no question that this is the greatest victory for farmworkers since Cesar Chavez in the 1970s." Eric Schlosser, author of "Fast Food Nation" (Ft. Myers News-Press, "Tomato workers win new pay deal" 9/26/09)
"This is a huge victory." Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis (remarks at announcement ceremony 9/25/09)
Sec. of Labor Solis congratulates the CIW's Oscar Otzoy at Friday's announcement ceremony
CIW, Compass Group, East Coast announce "sweeping changes to benefit tomato harvesters"
at press conference in nation's capital!
Update: The Nation, "A Compass for Fair Food," (9/27/09): "The vision that the Coalition of Immokalee Workers has pursued and is beginning to see come to fruition is an inspiring one, and a model for the nation." read more here
- Click here for the exclusive photo report!
- See the Washington Post report, "Labor deal will mean boost for farmworker wages"
- See the Ft. Myers News Press story, "Tomato workers win new pay deal"
- Click here for the press release.
September 21, 2009
Fifth annual Student/Farmworker Alliance "Encuentro" in Immokalee is a wrap!
Also... Great story on East Coast agreement in Florida Catholic!
From September 10-13, Immokalee played host to nearly 100 students & youth for the SFA's fifth-annual Encuentro!
Over the course of the weekend, Encuentro participants attended workshops, had fun, and sweated in the intense Florida heat -- all while strategizing around the upcoming year in the Campaign for Fair Food and SFA's Dine with Dignity campaign. Click on the link below for the exclusive photo report from the exciting weekend and for an advance look at plans for what is sure to be an action-packed fall to come:
2009 Ecuentro Report & Fall semester of Action
Also... The Florida Catholic (the official newspaper for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami and the Dioceses of Orlando, Palm Beach, Pensacola-Tallahassee, St. Petersburg, and Venice) ran a great story this week on the recent agreement with East Coast Growers ("Tomato pickers penny per pound is 'right before God'", 9/25/09). Here's an extended excerpt:
"... Problems arose two years ago, however. The strong Florida Tomato Growers Exchange threatened a $100,000 fine to any grower who attempted to pay the workers the increase. The money has been sitting in escrow accounts rather than being passed on to the laborers. East Coast Growers and Packers objected to this and eventually resigned from the exchange and partnered with the workers’ coalition. 'This is just the start,' said Brigitte Gynther of the farmworker advocacy group Interfaith Action of Southwest Florida. 'They’re going to be implementing the system. The exciting thing is that they’re willing and open to improving wages and following a code of conduct that puts them ahead of the rest of the industry.' What are the ramifications to East Coast Growers of leaving the industry group? Madonia Jr. shared, 'We won’t have as much lobbying power in Washington, yet we’ll have all the power of the people and being on the right side of doing business.' Madonia’s parents, Evelyn and Batista Madonia Sr., started in the tomato industry in Pennsylvania in 1958. The company has become one of the top four Florida tomato farms with 7,000 acres of farmland and three packing facilities with headquarters in Plant City. 'We’ve lived the life they live,' Madonia Jr. continued. 'Having to move from place to place, starting school late or without my parents – it’s not a favorite memory, but it gave me insight on life today. We’ve done well and we’re sharing that.' Benitez said, 'I was 17 and working in the fields and saw the injustices that were happening in the country of abundance – so many of the farmworkers are so poor and treated so poorly. We started our organization in the Catholic Church here in Immokalee – at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish and that’s something we’ll never forget. I was raised a Catholic and a great part of our work is very firmly rooted in Catholic social teaching.' 'It’s really the beginning of the future,' Benitez concluded, 'in which the whole agricultural industry will see that it’s prime time to come into this century improving how workers are treated. The Madonias are the first large company to be with us in this part of history. I think that’s exactly what Jesus came to do –to give hope to the neediest and the value of each human being.' read more |
September 11, 2009
What they're saying about the agreement with East Coast...
Reaction is flooding in to the announcement that East Coast Growers and Packers has agreed to work with the CIW and food industry leaders to implement the CIW's Fair Food agreements, including the penny-per-pound raise to harvesters, supply chain transparency, and a stringent code of conduct.
We'll start with words from East Coast itself. In an interview with the Miami Herald ("Florida tomato grower will raise workers' wages," 9/11/09), Batista Madonia, Jr., sales manager for East Coast,explained why his company decided to buck the powerful industry lobby and pursue the opportunity presented by the CIW's agreements. Here's an extended excerpt:
"... Rather than fight with the rest of the industry, East Coast Growers decided in the last few weeks to drop out of the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange... 'I would rather be unpopular with my competition and do the right thing,' said Batista Madonia Jr., sales manager for the family-owned company. 'I believe when you do the right thing for your worker, it gives you a better worker and a better company.' Reggie Brown, executive vice president of the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange, said he was not familiar with the details of the agreement between East Coast and Chipotle. But that the the growers organization remains a voluntary one. `Everyone is free to make whatever business decision they choose to make,' Brown said. East Coast Growers was started in 1956 by Madonia's parents and has been based in central Florida for 30 years. The company describes itself as one of the top three tomato growers in the state, planting about 7,000 acres of tomatoes in Florida. East Coast also owns three packing houses in Florida, plus it has growing and packing operations in Virginia. Madonia said he is already in discussions with all of the other major fast-food chains about the ability to handle their business and implement the agreements with the CIW. While Chipotle is a small user of Florida tomatoes, Subway is the biggest user of all restaurants and Burger King would also be near the top. `If it brings me extra business that's great,' Madonia said. `If not, it still helps my workers live a better life and it doesn't cost me anything.' Madonia said he is working with the repacking houses on the mechanism for tracking how many tomatoes a worker has picked that are ultimately bought by Chipotle or any other restaurant chain. `Every farmer has always faced situations where people say it can't be done,' he said. `We always find a solution.' read the entire article here |
Tom Philpott of grist.org also weighed in on the news ("Large Florida grower steps up for workers," 9/10/09):
"... Two years ago, the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange, a cooperative representing the state’s industrial-scale tomato farms, balked. Perhaps stung by the workers’ success and emerging sense of power, the FTGE slammed the door shut on the raise. The group announced it would impose a draconian fine on any grower who passed on the penny per pound raise... ... And this is why the agreement with East Coast Growers and Packers is so significant. The operation is defying the FTGE and passing the raise directly to the workers. And the raise is significant. It will push the per-bucket rate from 50 cents to 82 cents—a 64 percent raise. And with mega-companies like McDonald’s directing their business to East Coast because of the deal, it seems likely that other growers will relent, too—and the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange’s absurd campaign to block the raise will collapse." read the entire article here |
The grist.org article ended, as will this update, with this pointed bit of commentary:
A note on Chipotle Grill, which announced in a Tuesday press release that it had “reached an agreement with East Coast Farms, one of Florida’s largest tomato growers, under which workers who harvest tomatoes for Chipotle will receive an additional penny per pound.” Chipotle had come under fire, including from me, for its refusal to sign an agreement with the CIW. While the burrito chain should be commended for joining CIW and its previous signees’ efforts to push East Coast into accepting the raise, it’s puzzling that Chipotle would present this important agreement as a one-off deal between a large grower and one company. Happily, the East Coast agreement is much larger than that. |
Check back soon for more to come on this breaking news!
Update... More on the recent news: Gourmet Magazine, "Score one for farmworkers" (9/10/09):
"In a few weeks, the migrant workers who plant and harvest tomatoes will begin trickling back into Immokalee, Florida, to prepare the fields for the winter/spring season, as they have done every fall for decades. But this year, they will encounter something different. For the first time, a major Florida tomato producer, East Coast Growers and Packers, has implemented the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’(CIW) “Fair Food” program, breaking ranks with the dozen or so Florida companies that raise and ship most of the fresh tomatoes Americans eat during the cold months. The CIW’s initiative includes a one-penny-per-pound wage hike for workers (it might not sound like much, but it amounts to a 64 percent increase—the difference between poverty and a livable income) and a stringent code of fair labor practices..." read more |
September 10, 2009
At long last, a grower steps forward!
With the start of the new season only weeks away, East Coast Growers and Packers -- one of Florida's largest tomato growers -- has agreed to work with the CIW and food industry leaders to implement the CIW'S Fair Food agreements, including the penny-per-pound raise to harvesters, supply chain transparency, and a stringent code of conduct.
The agreements -- six in all, among them the world's four largest restaurant companies and the leading organic grocer -- had been held up for nearly two years by the resistance of the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange (FTGE), the powerful industry lobby.
"The past two years have been difficult, as farmworkers in Immokalee and throughout Florida have been stubbornly denied the benefits of the Fair Food agreements thanks to the FTGE," said Lucas Benitez of the CIW. "But we never stopped organizing, and during those two years some of the industry's largest buyers of tomatoes signed on to the agreements, creating an ever larger share of the market committed to purchasing tomatoes only from growers who agree to meet the higher standards called for by the CIW."
"We are extremely pleased that East Coast has shown the courage and the vision to seize on this tremendous opportunity and by so doing help lead the Florida tomato industry toward a fairer, more sustainable future," added Gerardo Reyes, also of the CIW. "We will be working closely with East Coast and our food industry partners in the coming weeks to ensure that we have an effective mechanism in place for passing the penny-per-pound to the workers and a solid plan for monitoring compliance with the code of conduct. There is still much work to be done but, at long last, we are working together, and when we work together -- farmworkers, growers, retailers, and consumers -- we can forge a relationship that will benefit all of us."
With a major grower now committed to implementing the CIW agreements, the Campaign for Fair Food turns to those companies that have remained on the sidelines, companies like Publix and Kroger, Sodexo and Aramark, Wendy's and Quizno's, Costco and WalMart.
The familiar excuses for inaction -- "we don't get involved in disputes between our suppliers and their employees," or "but there's no way to get the penny to the workers" -- no longer hold.
The question to those companies now is simple: Will your company support social responsibility? Will your company put its purchasing power behind those in the Florida tomato industry who are willing to do the right thing for their workers, or will you continue to support the growers who stand against progress?
The time for stalling is over. Now, to borrow a phrase, is the season for action.
September 7, 2009
Fair Food activists go into high gear in Publix campaign!
Farmworkers, allies celebrate Labor Day with bike tour in Sarasota, FL, to draw attention to grocery giant's continued inaction following latest slavery conviction...
This Labor Day, at the invitation of allies at the First Presbyterian Church in Sarasota, several farmworkers from Immokalee along with allies from Interfaith Action ventured two hours north to take part in a unique demonstration -- a "Labor Day Freedom Ride"! Click here to check out a great video report on the ride, (from the Sarasota Herald Tribune).
The ride was a huge success. Across the state, CIW allies have been launching delegations to their local Publix groceries, asking to speak with managers about the company´s deafening silence in response to the human rights crisis in Florida´s tomato fields. What made the Labor Day action in Sarasota special, however, is that this delegation was done by bicycle, with almost two dozen people -- several members of the First Presbyterian Church, students from New College and deejays from community radio station WSLR, among others -- riding 10 miles to deliver letters to managers at Publix stores.
The ride started in the church parking lot, where Leonel Perez of the CIW explained to participants the significance of the agreements reached by the CIW with food industry leaders. He told those gathered about the unimaginable brutality of the recently prosecuted slavery operation, where farmworkers in Immokalee were locked in box trucks, beaten, stabbed, and physically restrained by their crewleaders. The enslaved men were taken to work on area tomato farms, including Florida tomato industry leaders Six L´s and Pacific.
In response, Whole Foods, who has signed an agreement with the CIW, moved to cut their purchases from Six L´s and Pacific, in keeping with the zero-tolerance provisions of the code of conduct created jointly with the CIW.
Publix, however -- as revealed in the produce section of its Longboat Key location, the final destination of the intrepid Labor Day bike delegation -- continues to purchase tomatoes from both Six L´s and Pacific (Leonel Perez of the CIW holds cartons of Six L's and Pacific tomatoes, above).
For more background on this developing campaign, click here. And stay tuned in the weeks ahead as plans for an action-packed fall come into focus!
Also... CIW makes the pages of the Huffington Post ("Labor Day Pains", 9/7/09). Here's an excerpt:
"... We want food that's healthy, safe, delicious, responsibly sourced and, everybody's favorite buzzword, sustainable. Sustainability means committing to practices that help the environment flourish, now and for generations to come. The immigrant labor force caring for and harvesting our food deserves the same treatment. What's the good of clean, organic food if it's harvested in filthy conditions? Fast Food Nation author Eric Schlosser has said, 'If there are organic tomatoes being picked by indentured servants, I'd rather not have the organic tomato.'"
Read the article in its entirety here.
September 2 , 2009
Publix sweetheart deal at taxpayer expense in Ft. Myers, Florida, comes under increasing scrutiny...
A columnist for the Ft. Myers News-Press took a strong stand this past week against the questionable use of taxpayer dollars in a time of economic crisis... and the recipient of the public largesse in question is none other than Florida supermarket giant Publix ("Ft. Myers in no shape to give Publix rent break," 8/28/09).
It seems that Publix -- which is "ranked No. 10 on Forbes' 2008 list of America's Largest Private Companies and is the largest (privately held company) in Florida" -- has been receiving free rent at a new downtown Ft. Myers location for two years now, at the rate of $50,000 per month. Now the company is looking to keep the taxpayer money flowing its way for another two years, for a total of another $1.15 million. We'll let Mr.Cook take it from here:
"Fort Myers is broke, yet the city's Community Redevelopment Agency may forgive Publix two more years of rent, which, based on the past two years, amounts to $1.15 million.
For those keeping score, Publix on West First Street was forgiven five years of rent two years ago when it opened.
A rent-free extension is preposterous - even for Fort Myers officials.
'From the beginning, the free rent was offensive,' says Councilman Warren Wright.
Why is a city $400 million in debt not charging rent to a for-profit grocery chain?..." read the column in its entirety here
It seems the sweetheart deal was struck to lure Publix to open a store in the downtown area of Ft. Myers as a means to encourage the neighborhood's further economic development. But according to the News-Press story, there is no indication that the downtown Publix is struggling, especially after Publix closed a nearby store the company had apparently promised to keep open:
"... While the CRA ponders Publix rent, resident Timothy Jones gives it food for thought.
'I don't think Publix is hurting,' says Jones, who owns property next door on Clifford Street. 'They're getting the old customers from the Cleveland Avenue location plus more from downtown.'
Jones says public money should not be used to sustain a failing business.
'I find it hard to believe this store is not profitable,' he says. 'The parking lot is full. Where is the evidence? The City Council should demand proof. Would they take my word if I was asking for a million bucks?'
Wright also reminds folks Publix speaks with a forked tongue.
'They promised the Publix on Cleveland Avenue wouldn't close, but it did,' Wright says. 'If they don't make enough money, they will pull out of the new one, too. Whatever happened to capitalism?'''
Tough questions for the company known as the "neighborhood grocer".
The questions may only get tougher when the Community Redevelopment Agency takes this into consideration...
August 30, 2009
Denver Fair Food activists to Chipotle: "We are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied," until Chipotle deals with CIW!
Plus: CIW wins 2009 WMNF Radio Peace and Justice Award!
When a delegation of local labor, student and community allies representing the Denver Fair Food Committee visited Chipotle corporate headquarters last week (right) to deliver over 16,000 signatures demanding that Chipotle enter into a genuine partnership with the CIW to address the human rights crisis in Florida's tomato fields, they were met wtih what can only be described as studied indifference.
See the Denver Fair Food blog report here, including video from the visit.
The blog report quoted the Chipotle representative, who told the delegation, "We are working with the CIW... OK, maybe not to their satisfaction, but we are working with them."
To paraphrase a recent president, that depends on what the meaning of the word "with" is.
But we'll let the Denver crew respond, who, as always, nail it:
"... In one of his most famous speeches, MLK stated: “There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, ‘When will you be satisfied?’” To which he reponded: “We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors . . . as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity . . . No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until ‘justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.’”
Likewise, today the CIW cannot be satisfied with the actions Chipotle has taken in response to the dire crisis faced by farmworkers. Farmworkers deserve a fair wage, and none of us can be satisfied as long as Chipotle refuses to guarantee that it will not back out of its commitment to contributing to one. Farmworkers have a fundamental right to have a voice in the industry of which they are a part, and we will never be satisfied as long as Chipotle denies them the ability to participate in the decisions which impact their lives. Proctecting the rights of farmworkers is not possible without transparency about purchasers’ business practices, and we cannot be satisfied while Chipotle continues to meet us with only secrecy and closed doors. We cannot be satisfied with Chipotle’s response any more than we can ever tolerate the existence of poverty, exploitation and slavery..." read the entire post here
CIW wins 2009 WMNF "Peace and Justice Award"!...
This past Saturday, the CIW was honored to receive the 2009 WMNF Peace and Justice Award! The award was presented in front of a crowd of nearly 300 at a sold-out ceremony in Tampa.
WMNF -- a nationally-recognized community radio station based in Tampa, part of the Pacifica radio network -- has long been a supporter of the CIW and the Campaign for Fair Food. WMNF staffers even played an integral role in the creation of our own low-power radio station, Radio Conciencia, driving the 2.5 hours from Tampa to deliver an all-important sound board.
In his acceptance speech, CIW's Lucas Benítez thanked WMNF for its years of support and brought the crowd to its feet with an announcement that the campaign has set its sights on Publix Supermarket, which is headquartered a mere hour away from Tampa in Lakeland, FL.
We thank WMNF for this great honor, and look forward to spending more time with our old and new Tampa allies as the Publix campaign heats up.
August 27, 2009
 |
Senator Kennedy greets the CIW's Lucas Benitez during last year's hearing on farmworker exploitation in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committtee. |
A Farmworker Champion Passes...
Yesterday, farmworkers across the country lost a true friend. The Coalition issued this statement:
"Sin duda alguna hoy hemos perdido un gran lider del senado y de esta nación. Siempre usó su voz y su poder para dar aliento a las causas justas de los mas necestidados no solamente en los Estados Unidos pero alrededor del mundo. Hoy la gran comunidad de trabajadores agricolas de Immokalee hemos perdido un aliado, pero nos deja su legado de compromiso y perseverancia para lograr lo que uno se propone para hacer un mundo mas justo para todos. No podemos pensar en un reconocimiento mas apropiado de que el bil de salud por cual el tanto lucho en su últimos dias sea firmado y nombrado en honor a el. Hoy unimos nuestros pensamientos y nuestras oraciones junto a su familia y amigos para que Dios le de el descanso eterno. Descanse en paz, Edward."
-- Lucas Benitez y Romeo Ramirez, laureados del 2003 del Premio RFK por los Derechos Humanos, y todos los miembros de la Coalición de Trabajadores de Immokalee
"There is no doubt that today we have lost one of the great leaders of the Senate and this nation. He always used his voice and position to give strength to the just causes of those in greatest need, not just in the United States but around the world. Today the community of farmworkers in Immokalee has lost a great ally, but one who left us with his legacy of commitment and perseverance to continue fighting until we've achieved a more just world. We can think of no more appropriate recognition of his life's work than that the health care bill for which he fought so hard in his last days be voted into law and named in his honor. Today we join with his family and friends in our thoughts and prayers in hoping that God grants him eternal rest. May you rest in peace, Edward."
-- 2003 RFK Human Rights Awards laureates Lucas Benitez and Romeo Ramirez and the members of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers
August 24, 2009
Chipotle all a-"Twitter" over new petition!
American Rights @ Work's Chipotle petition "top Twitter petition of the month"
ALSO: "Fresh" director signs the letter to Chipotle!
On August 10, American Rights @ Work launched a Twitter petition to Chipotle through the Twitter petition site http://act.ly.
The petition quickly went viral. With 331 Tweets so far, it remains act.ly's top performing Twitter petition of the month -- and one of the top performing Twitter petitions of all time!
Due to the high number of tweets, Chipotle noticed the petition right away. Just two days later, on August 12, Chipotle PR Spokesman Chris Arnold responded to the petition, tweeting:
"Have we cut a deal w/ CIW? No. But we're working w/ them, & should have growers who will pay more when we buy FL tomatoes."
Here's what American Rights @ Work had to say about Mr. Arnold's curious notion of "working w/" the CIW:
"Sadly, their response is more of the same. Chipotle can't claim they are 'working with' the CIW, while at the same time refusing to come to the table and even discuss signing an agreement. It takes two sides to work together, not one side unilaterally dictating terms.
As we've said before, let’s assume that Chipotle is sincere about its commitment to “Food with Integrity.” Let’s assume that Chipotle truly wants to be the leader in supply chain accountability with respect to human rights in the restaurant industry. If those things are true, then why in the world would Chipotle not seek to forge a true and respectful partnership with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers?"
You too can support the AR@W petition. Signing is a great way to show your support. Be sure to ask your friends to sign by re-tweeting, too! You can sign the Twitter petition in 2 clicks by going to http://act.ly/do.
Or, just tweet the following text to sign & ask your friends to do the same:
petition @ChipotleMedia to treat farmworkers who pick #Chipotle veggies with integrity http://act.ly/do (retweet to sign the petition). Thanks!
"Fresh" director signs the letter to Chipotle!
Ana Joanes, director of "Fresh," the other documentary out this summer that "celebrates the farmers, thinkers, and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system," has added her name to the Chipotle letter! Check out the trailer to the film here:
August 10, 2009
Action Alert: Call Chipotle today!
From our friends at American Rights @ Work:
"Since we first launched our campaign, more than 10,000 activists [editor's note: the number is actually 15,000 as of today!] have urged Chipotle to stand up for exploited Florida farmworkers. People around the country have been calling on Chipotle to live up to its "food with integrity" promise -- and now they've taken their demands to the streets, protesting in front of film screenings sponsored by Chipotle.
Can you support the efforts of these demonstrators by making a quick toll-free call to Chipotle's corporate headquarters? Just follow these easy steps:
1. Call Chipotle toll-free at 1-888-899-0017.
2. Tell the person who picks up that you want Chipotle to live up to its "food with integrity" promise by standing up for Florida farmworkers. You can also add:* The Florida workers who pick Chipotle's tomatoes have one of the worst jobs in America, with sub-poverty wages, back-breaking labor, and unimaginable exploitation.
* It's time for Chipotle to join in a formal agreement with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers -- a widely respected farmworker organization and a leader in the field of human rights.
* Partnering with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers will ensure the workers who pick Chipotle's tomatoes are treated fairly and paid a living wage.3. IMPORTANT: After you call, click here and tell us how it went."
So call Chipotle today, it's a quick, easy, and important way to tell them you care about the human rights of the workers who pick their tomatoes. And check back soon for news from Denver, the home of Chipotle's corporate headquarters, as members of the Denver Fair Food Committee prepare to hand deliver the 15,000 signatures to company executives in the coming days!July 30, 2009
CIW and Interfaith Action take message of fair wages and human rights directly to local Publix managers!...
This past weekend, CIW and Interfaith Action members visited several Publix stores in Southwest Florida to take their message of fair wages and human rights directly to local managers. CIW members explained to the managers the conditions they endure daily in the fields, including sub-poverty wages that have not risen significantly in over thirty years, as well as the rash of modern-day slavery cases that arise from these conditions. The managers listened intently, some even reading the entire letter on the spot.
Visit the Interfaith Action site for a full report on the weekend's visits, and while you're there, download a copy or two of the letter and drop it off at your own local Publix!
Post-mortem of a PR debacle...
The week in review: In the press release ahead of last week’s free screenings of the documentary “Food, Inc.,” Chipotle CEO Steve Ells said:
"I hope that all our customers see this film. The more they know about where their food comes from, the more they will appreciate what we do."
It’s an admirable goal – with ever more perfect information about how their food is raised and grown, more and more consumers will opt to buy food that is ethically produced.
Unfortunately, it’s a goal that Chipotle has failed to achieve. In fact, it seems that there are limits on just how much Chipotle would like you to know about where its food comes from, and those limits are strictly enforced.
As many readers of this site already know, Fair Food activists appeared at Chipotle-sponsored screenings across the country to inform moviegoers about the brutal labor conditions in Florida’s tomato fields. They also invited audiences to sign a letter calling Chipotle out for refusing to join with the CIW in a genuine partnership to improve labor conditions for Florida’s farmworkers. The letter has been signed by more than two dozen well-known food justice writers and activists, including the director and co-producer of “Food, Inc.,” Robert Kenner and Eric Schlosser, respectively.
But at several theaters, CIW supporters were met by unhappy Chipotle representatives who – and there’s really no other way to put this -- did their best to muzzle them. Nowhere was their reception more inhospitable than in Denver, Chipotle’s hometown, where company representatives got CIW supporters thrown out of the theater. But it wasn’t only there. Fair Food activists were harassed in several others cities, including Baltimore, Washington DC, and Kansas City, where one CIW supporter was actually reduced to tears.
The chatter on food and social justice blogs since has been non-stop (see the latest here). For a week after the screenings, PR blowback was in full effect for Chipotle, and for good reason. You can’t ask consumers to seek out information about the story behind their food and then silence activists who want to provide it. If Chipotle has nothing to hide, why was it showing farmworker advocates the door?
Where to go from here: So, what are the lessons from last week’s debacle? Let’s assume that Chipotle is sincere about its commitment to “Food with Integrity.” Let’s assume that Chipotle truly wants to be the leader in supply chain accountability with respect to human rights in the restaurant industry.
If those things are true, then why in the world would Chipotle not seek to forge a true and respectful partnership with the CIW?
If the folks at Chipotle were experts on farm labor issues in Florida, then their refusal to work with the CIW might make some sense. But Chipotle clearly has a lot to learn on the subject. Case in point: While the CIW was helping federal authorities investigate and prosecute the latest slavery case, in which crews held in slavery picked tomatoes for the Immokalee-based tomato giant Six L’s, Chipotle was buying tomatoes from Six L’s. True, Chipotle eventually stopped buying tomatoes from Six L’s, but only after the CIW informed them about the company’s relationship to the slavery case.
So, practically speaking, Chipotle’s best hope for eliminating farm labor abuses in it supply chain lies in working with the CIW, with the workers who are in the fields every day. Chipotle simply cannot go it alone and expect to achieve the same results.
But it’s more than that. You see, philosophically speaking, people are not pigs. You can raise standards for pigs, but to raise farm labor standards, you have to do it with farmworkers.
And that means that the human beings whose fundamental rights are violated on a daily basis in Florida’s fields must be an equal and active part of the solution.
It’s pretty simple, really.
We believe Chipotle can and should be the leader in the fast-food industry for human rights, as well as animal rights. That means listening to criticism, giving workers a voice in the workplace, and going beyond verbal promises to end brutal working conditions in the tomato fields of Florida.
For some reason Chipotle still refuses to do what other companies committed to sustainability -- Whole Foods, Bon Appetit – have done: work with the CIW to define industry-leading standards for farmworker rights. And Chipotle’s behavior falls short even when compared to its mainstream rivals in the fast-food industry, like Taco Bell, Burger King, and McDonald’s. How will Chipotle’s customers feel when they know about those facts?
Mr. Ells, it’s never too late to reverse a bad decision. We’re ready when you are.July 23, 2009
Dean of the food justice press corps pens definitive post on Chipotle PR fiasco...
Tom Philpott, grist.org: "Chipotle grilled -- Burrito chain’s Food, Inc. sponsorship generates off-screen drama over farm-worker issues"
While investment and food bloggers tiptoed around Chipotle's failed efforts to hitch its brand to the hard-hitting new documentary "Food, Inc." (scroll down to the following story for more on the blogosphere's collective thumbs down for the fast-food giant), it took a true food justice blogger to get the full story, including powerful quotes from everyone involved in the convoluted drama.
Tom Philpott's story, posted today on grist.org, is a must-read. Here's an extended excerpt, with quotes from Eric Schlosser and Robert Kenner, co-producer and director, respectively, of "Food, Inc.":
"As for Schlosser and Kenner, as you might expect from writer/filmmaker types, they have strong opinions. Schlosser wrote the following in an email:
I like the food at Chipotle. I think their efforts on behalf of sustainability, animal welfare, and the misuse of antibiotics are terrific. But I care more about human rights than any of those things.
If Taco Bell, Subway, Burger King, and McDonald’s can reach agreement with the CIW, I don’t see why Chipotle can’t. It will not cost much—and it will help to end human trafficking in Florida.
Although I’m grateful for the support that Chipotle has given to Food, Inc., my views haven’t changed since I signed that letter.
Kenner took a similar position in a phone conversation. He said he admires Chipotle’s commitment to sustainability—in fact, he seriously considered featuring it in Food, Inc. as an example of a large player that’s “moving in the right direction.” “I don’t regret that they’re sponsoring the film,” he emphasized.
But he made clear that he disagreed with the company’s position on the CIW. “In a sense, the film is really about workers's rights,” he said. “People are aware that animals are being abused [in the food system]. There’s a lot less consciousness about workers.”
The story concludes:
"Ironically, by embracing Food, Inc., Chipotle is highlighting the whole vexed issue of how America treats the people who harvest and prepare its food—which is exactly what Kenner intended the film to do in the first place." don't miss the rest of this must-read post
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A giant has passed: On a sad -- and decidedly less serious note -- a giant of the food industry has passed. Today came the unhappy news that Gidget, the Taco Bell Chihuahua, died at age 15 in Los Angeles.
Many will recognize Gidget from her countless "Yo quiero Taco Bell" commercials, but few realize that, late in her career, she turned her back on the fast-food giant and joined the growing call for not just fast, but fair food.
That's right, like the actor who portrayed the Marlboro man who campaigned against the tobacco companies before his untimely death from lung cancer, Gidget switched allegiances and joined the movement to reform the food industry and demand full respect for human rights in the fields where fast-food tomatoes are picked.
She even posed for several photos (above) on this website -- many, many years ago -- to accompany a post that took a critical look at Taco Bell's PR strategy and the company's somewhat cynical perspective on its younger customers at the time. We provide a link to that post today, so that those who remember Gidget for the good that she did with her immense talent -- and not her early days when she was young and new to Hollywood -- can take a moment to reflect on her memory, and on how far Taco Bell and the rest of the food industry have come thanks, in part, to her selfless efforts.July 22, 2009
Blowback: Chipotle's ride on "Food, Inc." coattails not exactly a hit in the blogosphere...
Mainstream investor blog "The Motley Fool": "Let's just hope that if the company supports any similar efforts in the future, it'll first make sure it's truly ready for its close-up."
As reports continue to flood in from theaters around the country of the blowback from Chipotle's latest PR gambit, including the photo above from Fair Food allies in New York City, the blogosphere has weighed in on the wisdom of Chipotle's decision to sponsor the hard-hitting new documentary, "Food Inc."
Here are some choice words from our own friends at the Denver Fair Food blog on their experience at the Denver screening:
"The Campaign for Fair Food and the new documentary "Food, Inc." share – by any objective observation – a common vision and common struggle. "Food, Inc." is an urgent call to create a more just and sustainable food system while the Campaign for Fair Food has a broad network of people working on the ground to do just that.
The Campaign is seeking to raise awareness of the exploitation of farmworkers occurring in the shadows of our corporate-controlled food system – precisely the types of issues that "Food, Inc." exposes...
These facts also explain why members of Denver Fair Food arranged with the local theater and Food, Inc.’s national public education campaign so that we could table and speak briefly with the audience before a film screening.
What it doesn’t explain is why when we arrived at the theater a peppy young woman with a talent for faux-niceness told us that we would not be allowed to speak before the audience or to set up a table...
As you may have guessed already, the woman who kicked us out worked not for Food, Inc. or the theater but for Chipotle. You see, Chipotle rented the theater that night – one of 32 free screenings of the film that it sponsored around the country – and did not want us pointing out the obvious contradiction between its sponsorship and its disregard for the worth and dignity of the women and men who harvest its tomatoes." read more about their experience at the Chipotle-sponsored screening here
But more mainstream blogs were not particularly kind to Chipotle for the risky decision, either. The investment blog "The Motley Fool" had this to say:
"Unfortunately, there's a chance that Chipotle's efforts to promote Food Inc. could give the company a bit of indigestion. Chipotle's been receiving broadsides from many critics, including Schlosser, regarding its compensation practices for Florida's tomato-farm workers... Giving the film such prominent promotion could call attention to the chain's own alleged failings... Let's just hope that if the company supports any similar efforts in the future, it'll first make sure it's truly ready for its close-up." read more
Still, the writers at The Motley Fool were confident that consumers would ultimately overlook the contradiction and buy into Chipotle's "Food with Integrity" hype...
Maybe they're right, but the thousands of consumers who attended the Chipotle-sponsored screenings certainly didn't look past the hypocrisy, as evidenced by another blog post, this one on thedailygreen ("the consumers guide to the green revolution"). The writer was posting about the film, not about Chipotle, but couldn't ignore the copy of the food justice leaders' open letter to Chipotle he received at the free screening, writing, "Activists were passing out copies of the letter in front of the theater, an odd juxtaposition to the free screening and the presentation of Chipolte's own literature."
What do we think? We're pretty confident about how this story will ultimately turn out, but today we'll give the last words to our friends at the Denver Fair Food blog:
"Chipotle can certainly try as it will to shut us up but it would do better to heed the words of Victor Hugo: “no army can withstand the strength of an idea whose time has come.” "
The "Battle of the Burrito" rages on in cities across the country!
Chipotle sponsors free screenings of the hit new documentary "Food, Inc.";
Fair Food activists crash the burrito giant's PR party, bring truth about labor conditions in Chipotle's tomato supply chain to moviegoers from Berkeley to Baltimore...
Click here to see the full photo report!
And read below ("Demand Chipotle show farmworkers the same respect they show small farmers") for the whole story on the nation-wide action.July 15, 2009
"Demand Chipotle show farmworkers the same respect they show small farmers!"
Chipotle hitches a ride on coattails of hit documentary "Food, Inc.," sponsors free screenings in theaters across the country; Campaign for Fair Food allies there to remind moviegoers of reality behind the "Food with Integrity" hype...
Never one to do a good deed quietly, Chipotle and its crack PR department recognized a golden opportunity to promote the company's brand by hitching its wagon to the hit new documentary "Food, Inc.,". Chipotle sponsored screenings across the country that were made free to the public -- a nice little targeted advertising coup for the company, really, when you consider the less precise and more pricey option of network commercial time.
Just one hitch, however... The director, Robert Kenner, and co-producer, Eric Schlosser, of "Food, Inc." joined more than two dozen food justice leaders in signing a sharply-worded letter to Chipotle CEO Steve Ells just last month. After years of uncontested claims of "Food with Integrity," all the while buying tomatoes just like any other fast-food giant, Chipotle executives probably figured they could get away with one more glaring contradiction.
But not this time. In theaters across the country, Campaign for Fair Food allies rallied, demanding Chipotle show farmworkers the same respect they show small farmers and stop stiff-arming the CIW!
Moviegoers were shown the letter -- signed by Robert Kenner, Eric Schlosser, Will Allen (Growing Power), Frances Moore Lappe ("Diet for a Small Planet"), Raj Patel ("Stuffed and Starved"), Josh Viertel (President, Slow Food USA), and two dozen other leaders of the sustainable food movement -- which reads in part:
"We realize that Chipotle has announced that it's paying an extra penny per pound for tomatoes, but we have to ask: What has Chipotle done since that announcement to identify and cultivate growers who are willing to raise their labor standards and pass the penny along to their workers? Your company has shown admirable leadership in working with – and incubating – meat suppliers willing to meet your higher standards. But your failure to do that same hard work in the Florida tomato industry – together with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) – threatens to render your announcement an empty gesture aimed more at public relations damage control than an effort to make real change."
Those attending the screening were also given the opportunity to add their names to the letter, which hundreds did, joining nearly 10,000 people across the country who have already signed via the email action by American Rights @ Work. Soon all those signatures will be delivered in person to Chipotle corporate headquarters by our friends at Denver Fair Food.
If you haven't told Chipotle to join in a true partnership with the CIW and use its influence to end farmworker exploitation today, you can click here to add your name to the letter to Chipotle CEO Steve Ells today!July 13, 2009
Sacrificing farmworkers on the altar of health reform?
No matter where you might fall in the current debate about health care reform in this country, if you're reading this site, you probably don't think that farmworkers should be excluded from whatever solution ultimately emerges from Washington.
One idea behind health reform is that all large employers will have to offer health insurance to their employees or pay into a fund to support affordable insurance.
So, this could be a good thing for the tens of thousands of impoverished farmworkers who put food on our tables, right? Not if Sen. Hagan of North Carolina has her way.
Sen. Hagan has introduced an amendment to the Senate health bill (the Affordable Health Choices Act) that would not count “temporary or seasonal agricultural workers . . . for the purposes of determining the size of an employer.” Of course, if you don’t count the people who actually pick the crops, huge corporate farms all of the sudden look like small employers who don’t have to offer insurance.
When the National Labor Relations Act was passed during the last Depression, farmworkers were sacrificed on the altar of labor rights, excluded from the protected right to organize in exchange for the votes of southern Democrats. To this day they lack the protections that virtually all other American workers enjoy. Now Sen. Hagan wants to sacrifice the health of the next generation of farmworkers.
If you think farmworkers, who work in the most dangerous industry in this country other than mining, ought to have the same access to health care as other people who work for large employers, you should call Sen. Hagan and let her know. Here's how:
Call the Capitol Switchboard and ask for
Sen. Hagan’s office, 202-224-3121
July 2, 2009
Unitarian Universalist Church to Publix CEO Ed Crenshaw: "As the Chief Executive officer of a large corporation, you have the opportunity... to end the human rights abuses and sub-poverty wages faced by the workers who pick the tomatoes sold in your stores."
Faith communities across Florida -- from the Jewish community in Miami to Catholics on Marco Island -- are making their voices heard at the Lakeland, Florida, headquarters of grocery giant Publix.
And as part of the rising religious call for Publix to support full human rights for Florida's farmworkers, Rev. Allison Farnum of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Ft. Myers wrote a powerfully-worded letter to Publix CEO ED Crenshaw. Here's an excerpt:
"As the Chief Executive officer of a large corporation, you have the opportunity to to set a precedent by calling to end the human rights abuses and sub-poverty wages faced by the workers who pick the tomatoes sold in your stores. Departed are the days when we could point fingers at others and abdicate responsibility. As many political critics remind us, we cannot rely on the government to do everything for us. That includes taking a stand against injustice in Florida's tomato fields. Publix continues to purchase tomatoes from both Pacific Tomato Growers and Six L's, despite the fact that workers who worked on those farms have been held against their will." Read the letter in its entirety here!
Cick here to read more about Publix and the latest slavery case from Florida's fields.
And you can join in calling on Publix to improve wages and conditions for those who pick their tomatoes. Click here to download a letter you can deliver to to the manager of your local Publix
June 29, 2009
Take Action: Tell Chipotle to stop stiff-arming farmworkers!
Last week, leaders of the food justice movement -- including Eric Schlosser and Robert Kenner, producer and director of the hard-hitting new documentary "Food, Inc." -- sent a strongly-worded letter to Chipotle demanding that they "work with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers as a true partner in the protection of farmworkers' rights."
Now it's your turn to get in on the action! Click here to add your name to the letter to Chipotle CEO Steve Ells demanding real "food with integrity" and an end to the human rights crisis in Florida's tomato fields in an email action sponsored by our friends at American Rights at Work.June 22, 2009
Dictionary: hy·poc·ri·sy
1. The practice of professing beliefs, feelings or virtues that one does not hold or possess; falseness
Dictionary: Chi·poc·ri·sy...
The phenomenon known as "Chipocrisy" was in the news this past week, beginning with the June 15th open letter by more than two dozen leading sustainable food activists calling on Chipotle to live up to its claims of "Food with Integrity" and "work with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers as a true partner in the protection of farmworkers' rights."
But it didn't stop there. Also last week, the ABC news show "Nightline" did a piece on Chipotle's relationship with Polyface Farms, a model sustainable farm in Virginia that, in the words of owner Joel Salatin, "fully respects and honors the pigness of the pig."
In the same Nightline story, Chipotle CEO Steve Ells professed, "I think it's really important that people know where their food comes from. I mean we spend a lot of time researching the very best sources, so that when people go to Chipotle, they can rest assured they are getting the very best food."
Really? The Nightline piece, while valuable for shedding light on Mr. Salatin's admirable operation, was incomplete, and therefore deeply flawed. By allowing Mr. Ells to effectively direct the spotlight, the story revealed only that part of Chipotle's supply chain that the company wished to showcase, creating the impression of an ethical restaurant company that indeed earns its claim to "Food with Integrity."
If, however, Nightline had only turned that same spotlight on the fields where Chipotle's tomatoes are picked, perhaps it would have found that the "humanness" of the men and women who pick those tomatoes isn't afforded the same honor or respect.
This might be a good moment to quote a relevant passage from last week's impeccably-timed sustainable food movement letter to Mr. Ells:
"... (F)or us, naturally raised meat – important as it is – does not trump decently treated human beings... Your company has shown admirable leadership in working with – and incubating – meat suppliers willing to meet your higher standards. But your failure to do that same hard work in the Florida tomato industry – together with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) – threatens to render your announcement an empty gesture aimed more at public relations damage control than an effort to make real change."
Chipotle's failure to live up to the virtues it professes to hold dear was not lost, however, on one Denver-based blogger last week. Writing on the Denver Fair Food blog, "Robert" noted that, on its corporate website, Chipotle strongly recommends that its customers read Eric Schlosser's hard-hitting analysis of the fast-food industry's ills, "Fast Food Nation". The contradiction was too much to stomach for the Fair Food blogger, who undoes Chipotle's claims to sustainability using a series of quotes by none other than Mr. Schlosser himself. His conclusion is withering, and it shall be our conclusion here as well:
"... It’s abundantly obvious. Quoting Eric again: 'the exploitation of farm workers should not be tolerated in Florida. It should not be tolerated anywhere in the United States. There are many social problems that are extremely difficult to solve. This is not one of them.' Plain and simple, the solution is for Chipotle to work in partnership with the CIW. That’s been Eric’s demand of fast-food companies for a long time and that’s his demand explicitly of Chipotle today.
It’s funny really, Chipotle isn’t listening to the guy that Chipotle recommends everyone listen to. Chipotle’s “further reading” is demanding that Chipotle go further, and yet Chipotle refuses to take its own advice. This is a phenomenon that’s become so common place we have a name for it: Chipocrisy.
That’s the thing about further reading – sometimes you end up eating your words."
Read the Denver Fair Food blog post in its entirety hereJune 16, 2009
Food justice leaders to Chipotle: "We view the CIW’s struggle for dignity as a non-negotiable part of the struggle for a sustainable food system."
"Food, Inc." director (Robert Kenner) and co-producer (Eric Schlosser) join more than two dozen sustainable food movement leaders in open letter to burrito giant Chipotle!
In a strongly worded letter, more than two dozen of the country's leading sustainable food activists are demanding that Chipotle, the fastest growing company in fast-food, live up to its claims of "Food with Integrity" and "work with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers as a true partner in the protection of farmworkers' rights."
Frances Moore Lappe ("Diet for a Small Planet"), Raj Patel ("Stuffed and Starved"), Josh Viertel (President, Slow Food USA), and Robert Kenner and Eric Schlosser (director and co-producer, respectively, of the critically acclaimed new documentary on the food industry, "Food, Inc.") are just a few of the voices for a more just food system that added their names to the open letter. Here's an excerpt:
"We realize that Chipotle has announced that it's paying an extra penny per pound for tomatoes, but we have to ask: What has Chipotle done since that announcement to identify and cultivate growers who are willing to raise their labor standards and pass the penny along to their workers? Your company has shown admirable leadership in working with – and incubating – meat suppliers willing to meet your higher standards. But your failure to do that same hard work in the Florida tomato industry – together with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) – threatens to render your announcement an empty gesture aimed more at public relations damage control than an effort to make real change."
The letter comes in the wake of last week's news of an important breakthrough in the Campaign for Fair Food -- Whole Foods' announcement that two of Florida's leading organic producers, Alderman Farms and Lady Moon Farms, will implement the company's agreement with the CIW, including the penny-per-pound wage increase and a strict code of conduct.
Click here to see the letter in its entirety and the full list of signatories!June 8, 2009
"A Tale of Two Groceries"...
Publix, Whole Foods taking sharply different approaches to farm labor injustice in tomato supply chain
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times;... it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair;..."
"Immokalee workers turn eye toward Publix," Ft. Myers News-Press 6/5/09
"Editorial: Publix should back tomato workers' fight," News-Press 6/6/09
The oft-quoted opening paragraph of the Charles Dickens classic "A Tale of Two Cities" provides a remarkably apt frame for a reflection on the different responses by supermarket giants Whole Foods and Publix to the revelation of slavery and other forms of extreme exploitation in Florida's tomato fields.
This past winter, headlines across Florida told of unimaginably brutal conditions on a labor camp in Immokalee where workers were forced to pick tomatoes against their will, had their pay stolen week after week, and were beaten, chained and locked inside box trucks so that they wouldn't escape overnight. In late December, as most people gathered with friends and family for the holiday season, one of the workers, Mariano Lucas Diego, testified at the sentencing hearing in Ft. Myers' federal court, saying these achingly simple words to Judge John E. Steele, "Bosses should not beat up the people who work with them."
With the sentencing of his bosses to 12 years in federal prison, Mariano Lucas Diego's "winter of despair" came to an end. And thanks to his suffering, farmworkers in Immokalee and throughout Florida saw, for the first time, signs of a "spring of hope." That's because this latest slavery case was the first slavery case involving tomatoes to have been prosecuted since the CIW had established supplier codes of conduct with five major food retailers, codes that included "zero tolerance" provisions for forced labor.
The same article on the farm bosses' sentencing that quoted Mariano Lucas Diego also identified two farms that used the workers being held against their will -- Six L's and Pacific Tomato Growers. The identification of the growers where the enslaved workers picked tomatoes triggered responses by all five of the companies that had signed agreements with the CIW.
As a result, Whole Foods, the first grocery store chain to have reached an agreement with the CIW only months earlier, cut-off purchases from Six L's and Pacific.
Also, Whole Foods began aggressively courting alternative suppliers, growers willing to go against the grain of Florida's tightly-controlled tomato industry, growers willing to implement the terms of the CIW's agreement with the organic supermarket leader. And just last week, news came of a breakthrough -- Whole Foods had reached an agreement with two of Florida's leading organic producers, Alderman Farms and Lady Moon Farms. As Tom Wilson of Alderman Farms told the produce industry journal The Packer:
“Whole Foods has a lot of excitement for this program, to do it right,” said Tom Wilson, an Alderman Farms salesman. “We listened to what they said and how they will support the program. In that light, we felt it was the right thing to do. More and more people will be doing this.” Read more
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Meanwhile, at Publix (the country's largest privately owned grocery chain, with revenues in 2008 of $23.9 billion) it seems that nothing has changed, despite last winter's disturbing look behind the scenes at the brutal conditions facing Florida's farmworkers.
In an article published in last Friday's Ft. Myers News-Press, it was revealed that both Senator Dick Durbin and United Methodist Church Bishop Timothy Whitaker had asked Publix to join other food industry leaders in supporting the Campaign for Fair Food, to which Publix responded icily, "we respectfully decline the opportunity to participate in this program."
But not only that. The same article revealed that Publix continues to purchase tomatoes from Pacific Tomato Growers. And photos (right) taken just days ago at a Publix store in Ft. Myers leave no doubt that Six L's also remains one of the grocery giant's tomato suppliers (bottom right of label clearly shows the "Six L's" logo).
That's two for two.
Indeed, when asked about slavery in its supply chain, a Publix spokesperson appeared to take the position that the company has little or no role to play in policing its own suppliers. Shannon Patten of Publix told the News-Press, "We are confident that Governor Crist and Florida's law enforcement agencies will work tirelessly to eradicate slavery and human trafficking from our great state."
As the CIW's Lucas Benitez told the News-Press:
"In its commercials, Publix likes to cast itself as Florida's community grocer - the good neighbor. But how can you be a good neighbor when people are ... forced to work as slaves and robbed of their hard-earned pay in your own backyard, and you turn a blind eye?
"Instead they continue to buy their tomatoes from one of the farms where workers held against their will picked tomatoes." Read more
Dickens wrote "A Tale of Two Cities" as a cautionary tale for the aristocracy of England, holding the brutality of the French Revolution up as an example of what might await the British upper classes if they remained blind to the social injustices of their times. In Book 3 of the serial novel he wrote:
"Crush humanity out of shape once more, under similar hammers, and it will twist itself into the same tortured forms. Sow the same seed of rapacious licence and oppression over again, and it will surely yield the same fruit according to its kind."
In this Tale of Two Groceries, we will close with the words of a modern-day voice for social justice, the editorial writer at the Ft. Myers News-Press, who wrote this weekend:
"Farmworker mistreatment is an ancient sin against the hardworking people who put food on our tables. A concerted effort to end it, including farmworker advocacy groups, and religious, political and law enforcement leaders and now some retailers and agribusinesses has finally evolved.
Whole Foods joined the fight because it reflected the company's "core values." The same should be true of a leading company like Publix." Read more
June 5, 2009
"Florida growers join Whole Foods to support labor coalition"
Yesterday's announcement brings strong reaction as the press, two U.S. senators, and the food industry weigh in...
From the Associated Press and MSNBC to the produce industry weekly "The Packer," coverage of yesterday's announcement was widespread and positive. Here are a few of the highlights:
- The Packer “Whole Foods has a lot of excitement for this program, to do it right,” said Tom Wilson, an Alderman Farms salesman. “We listened to what they said and how they will support the program. In that light, we felt it was the right thing to do. More and more people will be doing this.” Read more
- Associated Press (New York Post): "If all Florida tomatoes purchasers joined the penny deal, the farmworkers could nearly double their earnings. The idea is that the national restaurant and grocery chains that have the deep pockets pay the extra money, including administrative costs, and the farmers pass it on to the workers when they receive their checks." Read more
- And this cheeky little commentary from MSNBC: "The one chain the CIW hasn't been able to entice over to the light side is Chipotle, which has been tsk tsked for responding with a snubby 'thanks, but no thanks.' C'mon, Chipotle, your burritos are overpriced as it is, what's a few more cents?" Read more
But the media and the Campaign for Fair Food's Senate allies were not alone in remarking on yesterday's big news (scroll down for statements from Senators Dick Durbin and Bernie Sanders). The broader food industry took notice, as well. Here's a statement from Bon Appetit CEO Fedele Bauccio (shown here on right with the CIW's Lucas Benitez during a recent visit to Immokalee), who may well be the next major buyer to support Alderman Farms and Lady Moon Farms for supporting farmworkers:
"The agreement between Whole Foods Market and Alderman and Lady Moon Farms proves that there are growers in Florida interested in doing the right thing. At Bon Appétit Management Company we're heartened by this news and feel optimistic that we will be able to source tomatoes from Florida that have been picked by workers that are treated with respect and paid a fair wage commensurate with the difficult job they are performing."
Stay tuned as reaction to this important new development continues to come in!June 4, 2009
Stalemate broken -- two Florida growers move to implement CIW agreement with Whole Foods!
Alderman Farms and Lady Moon Farms, two of Florida's largest organic growers, officially onboard to pass penny-per-pound on to workers, meet strict labor standards...
Senators Durbin, Sanders issue statements on the new agreements...
In a press statement released today, Whole Foods has confirmed that two of Florida's largest organic growers have agreed to implement the principles of the Campaign for Fair Food, effectively breaking the stalemate established nearly two seasons ago when the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange threatened to fine any of its members that sold tomatoes under the terms of the CIW agreements. At that time, two Florida growers who had been passing on the penny-per-pound increase under the Taco Bell agreement ceased doing so.
Here's the press release, followed by statements by Senators Durbin (IL) and Sanders (VT):
Florida Tomato Growers Sign Agreement with Whole Foods Market supporting the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) “Penny-per-Pound” Program
Lady Moon Farms and Alderman Farms are First in Florida to Join Effort to Improve Worker Wages & Working Conditions
AUSTIN, TX (June 4, 2009) – Whole Foods Market, the leading natural and organic foods supermarket announced today that Florida tomato growers Lady Moon Farms and Alderman Farms are the first to sign agreements with Whole Foods Market supporting the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ “penny-per-pound” program designed to improve wages for tomato harvesters.
“Lady Moon and Alderman Farms are examples of Florida growers that Whole Foods Market is proud to support” said Karen Christensen, Global Produce Coordinator for Whole Foods Market. “These farms are long term partners of Whole Foods Market and we look forward to continued growth together. Agreements like these are consistent with Whole Foods Markets’ core values and are in the best interest of the people who harvest our tomatoes.”
"The Campaign for Fair Food is bearing fruit,” said Lucas Benitez of the CIW. “For nearly two seasons, the Campaign’s promise of fair wages for Florida's farmworkers has been held hostage by the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange. Today, however, the higher wages and fairer conditions we have fought for will begin to reach the workers who so clearly deserve them, thanks to the leadership of Whole Foods Market and the forward thinking growers at Alderman Farms and Lady Moon Farms."
"Without a doubt, the food market is changing, and for the better. Sustainability, social as well as environmental, is the way of the future," continued Benitez. "Together we -- as farmworkers, farmers, and buyers -- are forging a path toward that better future."
In September 2008, Whole Foods Market became the first in the supermarket industry to sign an agreement with the CIW to work in partnership to help improve wages and working conditions for Florida tomato pickers.
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Quote from Senator Dick Durbin:
"I applaud Alderman Farms and Lady Moon Farms for recognizing that treating workers fairly and paying a better wage isn't bad for business but rather the best way to ensure the long-term success of Florida’s tomato growers. Whole Foods should also be congratulated for its leadership in demanding higher standards from its suppliers. All Florida tomato growers should follow the example set today and join with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers in bringing fairer wages and more humane working conditions to all of Florida's tomato harvesters."
Quote from Senator Bernie Sanders:
“Today’s agreement is an important and hard-earned victory for tomato workers who have been fighting for years for an increase in their abysmally low wages and an improvement in their working conditions. I commend the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Lady Moon Farms, Alderman Farms, and Whole Foods for working together to make this day a reality.
With the signing of this agreement, it is long past time for the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange to drop their threats of fines or surcharges on other growers who want to participate in the penny-per-pound program so that more workers can benefit. As someone who has been to Immokalee and seen the deplorable conditions of farm workers there, it is my hope that today will mark the beginning of the end of the ‘Harvest of Shame’ that has existed in the tomato fields in Florida for far too long.”
Check back soon for more on this breaking news!May 18, 2009
Shining a rotten apple:
Two farms that used workers held against their will in the Navarrete slavery case were certified as “socially accountable” by the grower-controlled monitoring agency called "SAFE" (Socially Accountable Farm Employers)
When news of Florida's latest slavery prosecution hit the headlines last December, one crucial bit of information went largely overlooked.
The paragraph below, tucked into the end of the Ft. Myers News Press story from December 20th entitled "Family sentenced for slavery," touched on an aspect of the story that ultimately got lost in the swirl of sordid facts around the Navarretes case:
"The Navarretes took their crews to work on farms owned by some of the state’s major tomato producers: Immokalee-based Six L’s and Pacific Tomato Growers in Palmetto. Both tomato growers are part of the Socially Accountable Farm Employers (SAFE) program, designed to prevent labor abuses." (emphasis added)
What exactly is “SAFE”?
SAFE is the product of a particularly unseemly union, the coming together of Florida’s plantation-scale tomato growers and the multi-billion dollar companies that buy their produce in an effort aimed at blunting the growing Campaign for Fair Food.
The two joined forces in 2005 in the wake of the successful Taco Bell boycott. An article in the Lakeland Ledger from the early days of SAFE -- entitled “Growers Seeking SAFE Haven: Group hopes to set practices for farmworkers, but some say it's skirting issue” – describes the birth of a bad idea:
WASHINGTON -- Jay Taylor recalls the seeds being sown last spring in a tomato packinghouse in Palmetto, where members of the restaurant industry and Florida agriculture met to discuss an escalating labor war... read more...
