THE SARASOTA HERALD-TRIBUNE

Date: Sunday, October 22, 2000
Edition: MANATEE
Section: B SECTION
Page: BM6
Source: By Timothy O'Hara STAFF WRITER

Farm workers fasting as a form of protest

Five of Florida's leading farm worker support groups took to the steps of the state Capitol on Saturday and began a
two-day fast and prayer vigil.

They were protesting the need for better working conditions and wage increases for workers, organizers said.

"It is significant, because sometimes workers have to fast when they don't want to. Sometimes, they don't have enough money for food," said Lucas Benitez, a member of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. "What greater sacrifice can you make to make the government aware of what is going on. It's an urgent situation."

They are calling on Gov. Jeb Bush to facilitate a series of regional summits between workers and industry leaders.
The groups that protested were the Coalition Immokalee Workers, the United Farm Workers Association, Dade City Farm Worker Self Help, Apopka Farm Worker Association of Florida and Winter Garden: Farm Labor Organizing Committee.

"As farm workers, we are the foundation of this state's oldest and most important industry, yet we continue to live in poverty," said Frank Curiel, of the United Farm Workers. "We get no benefits or security in our jobs, and as aresult, we have to struggle every day just to survive."

Representatives of the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association, which represent farm owners, have refused to sit down with workers to discuss working conditions and wage increases. The groups that participated in the fast delivered a unified proposal to the governor last month asking him to intervene and create dialogue sessions, but he has refused, saying farming is a private industry.

This year, members of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers marched from Immokalee in South Florida, along the streets and highways of the Gulf Coast, to the headquarters of the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association's headquarters in Orlando. But association representatives refused to talk with the workers.

Staff Writer Timothy O'Hara can be contacted at 742-6158 or
tim.ohara@herald-trib.com.