Letter to Governor Bush

December 7, 1999

Governor Jeb Bush

Capitol

Tallahassee, Florida 32399

Dear Governor Bush:

We are writing to you today with an urgent message from the farmworker community of Southwest Florida. We have enclosed here a copy of a letter that we, the members of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, sent yesterday to seven of the state's largest tomato producers. The letter conveys the petition of over 1,700 farmworkers in Immokalee renewing our call for constructive dialogue with tomato industry leaders on the issue of falling real wages and other working conditions in the fields. The following companies received the letter by fax yesterday: Six L's Farms, Pacific Tomato Growers, Nobles Farms, Nobles-Collier, Inc., B&D Farms, Red Star Farms, and Manley Farms.

We have greatly appreciated your efforts on behalf of our community. Your historic intervention on the issue of the piece rate last year brought new hope for real change and underscored the justice of our call for reform.

Unfortunately, it appears that the prospect of more meaningful change suggested by the 5-cent raise at Nobles and Pacific was illusory. Indeed, it is fair to say that progress toward better wages and more modern labor relations has totally stalled. Moreover, other area producers have failed to follow the lead of those companies that granted a raise, leaving the going rate for picking a 32-pound bucket of tomatoes still somewhere between 40 and 45 cents, essentially unchanged since 1979. By way of context, the rate would have to be roughly 75 cents today to have simply kept pace with inflation over the past twenty years.

As we say in our petition, we as farmworkers believe that the solution to this decades-old problem lies in direct and constructive dialogue between us and our employers. At the same time, such an ongoing dialogue would be valuable for issues beyond wages. Indeed, we strongly believe that we can help the industry become more productive and more profitable in the competitive years ahead, if we can successfully establish a new relationship based on mutual respect and open communication. The future for Florida agriculture can dramatically change if its image in the eyes of the consumer can move from that of labor rights abuse and low-wages to one of modern labor practices and cooperation in everything from production to marketing.

State government can -- and we believe must -- play a constructive role in achieving this more cooperative, more productive vision of agriculture in Florida. For example, today growers are lobbying aggressively for legislation curtailing imports of products produced with child labor. That is not a bad idea. But even better would be a positive marketing strategy, supported by the state, where producers that meet certain fundamental labor standards could market their fruit under a recognizable label similar to that of the "Sweat Free" certification in the apparel industry that is now taking over the lucrative market for university clothing throughout the country.

Today, Florida agriculture stands at a crossroads. Down one road lies continued conflict, conflict born of the simple fact that the men and women who pick our fruits and vegetables work hard for a living, play by the rules and do everything society asks of them, but do not receive fair compensation in return. For as long as farmworkers can't support their families, and can't talk to their employers about their wages, there will be conflict. Down the second road, though, there lies progress. When hard work is honored, there will be progress. When the fundamental human rights of all workers are respected, there will be progress. That is the road we hope to take, a road that can lead us to a future of progress for both farmworkers and their employers, for the industry and the state as a whole.

To take that road, the industry will need visionary leadership. You have proven that you can provide that leadership in the past, and we ask that you again help move this industry, so crucial to our state's image and economy, in the right direction. Please help us bring about this dialogue.

Thank you again for your attention and your interest in our situation, and please feel free to call or write us if you have any questions or would like any more information with regard to the current situation.

Sincerely,

Lucas Benitez, CIW

Greg Asbed, CIW