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this Week
Concern over McD tomato policy grows
Critics say fast feeder should address farm workers'
'subpoverty' wages, conditions
By Lisa Jennings
OAK BROOK, Ill. (Dec. 12) - McDonald's Corp.'s support
for new workplace policies created by Florida farmers
has drawn a firestorm of criticism from the labor coalition
whose four-year boycott of Taco Bell led to its March
agreement to pay a penny a pound more for Florida tomatoes.
With no less a human-rights champion than former President
Jimmy Carter backing coalition leaders, prominent critics
among the labor advocates have accused McDonald's of
"retreat" in the face of problems allegedly
not addressed by the proposed farm worker protections.
But McDonald's defended its position as "socially
responsible."
Last month McDonald's became the first produce buyer
to pledge "active support" for the newly created
Socially Accountable Farm Employers, or SAFE, a nonprofit
organization created to ensure that growers treat their
field workers fairly and lawfully.
SAFE was launched by the Florida Fruit & Vegetable
Association, or FFVA, a Maitland, Fla.-based trade group
representing about 500 Florida growers, and the Redlands
Christian Migrant Association, or RCMA, an organization
largely funded by growers that primarily provides childcare
services for farm workers' families.
Worker abuses in recent years have come to light after
a series of convictions involving agricultural employers
who were charged with modern-day slavery and exploitation
of mostly migrant workers looking for seasonal work
picking tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables. Florida
grows about 95 percent of U.S. tomatoes sold in the
winter and about 45 percent of those sold year-round.
The SAFE code is the result of "a growing realization
that corporate social responsibility is beginning to
wind its way into farming," said Ray Gilmer, FFVA's
public affairs director.
Critics, however, including national religious, student
and human-rights organizations, questioned the credibility
of a code of conduct developed by agriculture employers
without input from the workers it claims to protect.
Lucas Benitez, a spokesman for the Coalition of Immokalee
Workers, or CIW, which represents about 2,500 tomato
and citrus pickers in southeastern Florida and which
won the April pact with Taco Bell, said the drafted
SAFE code does nothing to address the "subpoverty
wages" paid to workers, who typically earn 40 cents
per 32-pound bucket, or a minimum wage of $5.15 per
hour.
Benitez pointed to McDonald's' recent announcement to
offer "Fair Trade Certified" coffee —
from growers that meet specific farming and labor standards,
including paying a fair wage to pickers — in about
650 restaurants in New England and New York.
"Farm workers' inadequate wages will only truly
be addressed when McDonald's does for tomato pickers
what it is now doing for coffee pickers in its supply
chain — pay a fair price so that workers can earn
a fair wage," Benitez said.
The Rev. Bob Edgar, general secretary of the National
Council of Churches, which represents about 100,000
U.S. congregations, described the SAFE code as "anemic,"
and accused McDonald's of opting to "retreat and
protect the status quo."
"McDonald's, we at the National Council of Churches
expect you to do better," Edgar wrote. "As
a corporation that benefits in the form of low-cost
tomatoes from the current system, you have a pressing
moral responsibility to act now."
McDonald's announcement followed the launch of a new
campaign by CIW urging consumers to pressure the fast-food
giant to follow in the footsteps of Louisville, Ky.-based
Yum! Brands Inc., parent of Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza
Hut.
Earlier this year, Taco Bell agreed to pay a self-imposed
penny-per-pound surcharge on Florida tomatoes to improve
wages and benefits for field workers. The agreement
ended the four-year boycott of 6,500-unit Taco Bell
by CIW and its far-flung allies, who also marched from
Florida to the chain's Irvine, Calif., headquarters
in an attention-getting protest.
The boycott's outcome also won accolades for the Coalition
of Immokalee Workers, which has since earned praise
from justice advocates ranging from Nobel laureate and
former President Carter to "Fast Food Nation"
author Eric Schlosser, as well as a wave of support
from prominent national organizations. All of them have
called on other foodservice operators to follow Yum's
lead in subsidizing upgrades in wages and working conditions.
However, Benitez said, "We're not calling for a
boycott of McDonald's at this time.
"McDonald's has invested a great deal of resources
in establishing its reputation as a leader in social
responsibility. Rather than cast doubt on that reputation
by taking half-measures seemingly designed to deflect
efforts for real change for Florida's farm workers,
we certainly hope that McDonald's will soon work directly
with CIW to address the serious issues of subpoverty
wages and substandard working conditions," he said.
Yum's surcharge is expected to result in the payment
of about $100,000 to Florida farm workers this year,
nearly doubling the pay of impacted tomato pickers.
A third-party company agreed upon by Yum and CIW officials
monitors the money distribution, according to Rob Poetsch,
Taco Bell's director of public relations.
As part of the agreement, Yum suppliers that agree to
pass on the surcharge are also required to abide by
all applicable labor laws, codes and regulations, and
Yum has pledged to show preference to suppliers that
demonstrate even higher standards.
"The relationship between Taco Bell and CIW has
been very good," Poetsch said. "We hope other
companies follow our lead and participate in the program
too."
In a statement, however, Don Chally, senior director
of McDonald's social accountability, defended the global
company's decision to support SAFE.
"We remain confident in this new and comprehensive
worker-focused approach," he said. "We will
continue to work with our independent suppliers and
their producers to help drive socially responsible purchasing
practices through third-party audits."
However, Lisa Lochridge, a SAFE spokeswoman, said the
program was still in its infancy.
The board of directors so far only includes representatives
from FFVA and RCMA; others have yet to be selected.
Bylaws for the group have not yet been established,
and SAFE is not expected to begin auditing growers until
after the first of the year.
Generally, to earn the SAFE seal of approval, growers
will be required to comply with laws and regulations
governing wages and benefits, and to foster a safe work
environment free of violence, harassment or intimidation.
No forced labor, child labor, or discrimination will
be tolerated.
Intertek Group, a New York-based independent corporate
auditing group, will certify growers after a roughly
30-day evaluation process that will include both self-review
and a site visit. Growers who sign up will pay for certification,
and annual renewal will be required.
Whether the SAFE code will include any surcharges like
Taco Bell agreed to pay may be determined down the road,
Gilmer said. But he added that Florida growers don't
want to be viewed as "high-cost providers."
"This is a very price-sensitive business,"
he said. "Paying an extra penny here and there,
when you're talking about millions of tomatoes, adds
up to real money. It's a question of can we compete."
Barbara Mainster, RCMA's executive director and a SAFE
board member, agreed with the need for better wages.
But she said farm workers' concerns also include important
issues such as job safety, decent housing and the proper
regulation of pesticide use, which the SAFE code of
conduct will address.
"This is absolutely a step in the right direction,"
Mainster said. "If I thought this was just window
dressing, I wouldn't be involved."
Though SAFE was created as an independent, third-party
auditing group, critics note that spokeswoman Lochridge
is vice president of CBR Public Relations, based in
Maitland, Fla., which also represents a group of McDonald's
franchisees in Florida and has received an award from
McDonald's for promotional events for the Ronald McDonald
House.
The United Students Against Sweatshops said in a statement:
"McDonald's assertion that SAFE is an independent
monitoring agency is nothing short of laughable."
The Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights, however,
described the move by McDonald's as a lost opportunity.
"By partnering with SAFE and embracing its weak
expectations — which don't include even such fundamental
labor standards such as the right to overtime pay and
freedom of association — McDonald's is setting
the bar even lower for its American agricultural producers
than it does for its suppliers in communist China."
The Rev. Noelle Damico, who represents the Presbyterian
Church U.S.A.'s office of the general assembly, said,
"Essentially SAFE asks growers to follow existing
labor laws. Growers shouldn't need a code of conduct
to abide by the law.
"If McDonald's were serious [about improving conditions
for farm workers], McDonald's would be sitting down
right now with CIW, just like Yum! Brands did,"
Damico said. "At the end of the day, we have to
say, 'Why isn't McDonald's doing this?'"
E-mail the author at: ljenning@nrn.com