The National Latina and Latino Law Student Association (NLLSA) stands in solidarity with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) and their fast food campaign to hold fast food giants accountable for perpetuating abusive working conditions. McDonald’s, now faced with this human rights campaign, has tried to dodge the issue by announcing an insincere and unrealistic proposal called SAFE. NLLSA cannot accept McDonald’s SAFE initiative, which is really a slap in the face of workers and consumers and cannot be considered as a sincere proposal for improving farm working conditions.
For too long, students and consumers have been kept in the dark about the dire working conditions that their consumption makes possible. The exemption of agricultural employers from federal labor-relations laws has permitted US growers and the fast food giants to take advantage of farm workers in ways most Americans no longer believe is possible. The recent federal prosecution of a grower for running a slave operation in the fields of south Florida is only one of the more visible manifestations of the consequences of such unbalanced labor relations.
The prosecution momentarily shined a light on an industry that has operated in the shadows of impunity for too long. The important work of the CIW, who played a crucial role in the prosecution, has begun to bridge the gap between students and the workers who pick the food we eat. In March of 2005, the CIW won an important victory against fast food giant Taco Bell, resulting in a historic agreement that included a code of fair conduct.
Today, we are presented with another opportunity to move forward in establishing dignified working conditions for farm workers in the United States. Just as Taco Bell and Yum Brands have agreed to work with the CIW to ensure that its tomato suppliers pay a fair wage and maintain humane working conditions, McDonald’s has the opportunity to do the same. Unfortunately, McDonald’s has avoided tackling the real issue and has instead responded with a public relations maneuver, which it calls the Socially Accountable Farm Employers Initiative (SAFE). NLLSA agrees with CIW—the SAFE initiative is INADEQUATE and UNACCEPTABLE.
NLLSA opposes SAFE for two Super-Sized reasons.
First, the SAFE initiative is charged with enforcing fair working conditions in the fields. Two groups head the SAFE initiative—the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association (FFVA) and the Redland Christian Migrant Association (RCMA). The FFVA is an association of Florida growers united in the growers’ interests; the RCMA is a child care provider which receives most of its funding from the FFVA. Neither the FFVA nor the RCMA can be seriously considered as advocates for workers rights. McDonald’s has recognized its responsibility for many of the abuses carried out by the growers in their supply chain, however they have decided to partner with those same growers to improve the workers’ lot! We wait for McDonald’s to publicly recognize what they already know—that only by cooperating with the farm workers will they seriously and adequately confront the grim conditions in the fields. In the past, it has only been through such collaboration that substantial and permanent gains have been made; a serious proposal cannot leave out the workers.
Second, Supreme Court Justice Harlan once wrote that the danger of such false beneficence by employers is that they suggest “a fist inside the velvet glove.” The ludicrous SAFE initiative and its superficial concern for workers reflect a thinly veiled contempt for farm workers. By leaving the well-being of workers in the hands of those least likely to defend them and in whose interests it is to make certain that they are not protected, the strongest statement that McDonald’s is making is one of indifference for the plight of the thousands who are victims of inhumane labor conditions.
McDonald’s seems to underestimate the CIW’s circle of friends. With dozens of national networks made of students, churches, professionals and activists behind them, McDonald’s can be certain that farm workers are not alone in the fields of Florida. The dozens of national networks that support this effort are ready to do our part to convince McDonald’s to live up to its golden arches. As for NLLSA, the CIW counts on a national association of invested and vocal minority law students, willing and capable of convincing others to join us in this struggle. Hopefullly, it does not take too long for McDonald’s to recognize their shortsightedness. Until then, we will ensure that pressure will continue to build.
In Solidarity,
Salvador Sarmiento Torres
Pacific Region Director
On Behalf of NLLSA Board