… and the Pilgrimage crew visits with hundreds of Floridians in churches on the way to its Tuesday rendezvous with Publix CEO Ed Crenshaw!
Click here to see the latest photo report now

No rest for the weary this Labor Day weekend for our friends on the “Pilgrimage to Publix” bike tour! The intrepid crew continued its quest for a meeting with Publix CEO Ed Crenshaw, biking through Bradenton, Palmetto, Ellenton, and Wimauma on their way inland from the coast toward Lakeland.

Check out the very latest photo report here.

Read the Press Release for Tuesday’s big arrival at Publix corporate headquarters here. Here’s an excerpt from the release:

“‘What’s particularly frustrating,’ said CIW member Oscar Otzoy, ‘is that Publix’s PR department has consistently distorted the nature of the Fair Food program and our request that Publix help support this promising new day for our state’s farmworkers.’

Otzoy continued, ‘Their spokespeople call our new partnership with over 90% of Florida’s tomato farms ‘a labor dispute’; they argue the Fair Food initiative needs to ‘put the penny in the price,’ when that’s exactly how the program already works; they suggest the CIW wants Publix to pay workers directly, when Publix, like all the other retailers are doing, would simply pay a penny-per-pound premium that growers would distribute to their employees, much like Publix-brand fair-trade coffee.'” read more

And take a moment to read this wide-ranging piece on the Pilgrimage by the Bradenton Herald, entitled “Publix targeted by picketers: Group seeks fair wage for tomato pickers,” 8/3/11. Here’s how the story, which includes a nice photo gallery of the protest at a Bradenton Publix store, begins:

“Midge Barnes is a satisfied Publix customer and has been for years — except when it comes to tomatoes.

‘I never buy tomatoes there, and I tell the clerk why every time I go through the line,’ said Barnes. ‘I want the farm workers to have a living wage the same as I do.’

She joined farm workers and members of the Fort Myers-based Interfaith Action Group of Southwest Florida Friday afternoon in a picket outside of the Publix on State Road 70 just west of Interstate 75. The store was the latest stop in a 200-mile bicycle trip undertaken by the workers, who belong to the Coalition for Immokalee Workers, to spotlight Publix, the state’s largest supermarket chain.

Publix has declined to sign on to the coalition’s Fair Food Initiative, which has gained the support of four major fast-food chains and four of the nation’s largest food service companies. One of the initiative’s main features is a fund to which participating corporations — which include McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway and Aramark — to donate one penny per pound of tomatoes purchased.

The fund is intended to ensure tomato pickers in Florida receive at least minimum wage for their work. The initiative also includes a commitment from participating companies not to do business with tomato growers who do not follow a code of conduct that includes assurances like shade, water and clocked hours.

Participants in Friday’s picket included members of the Manatee United Methodist Church and the Faith United Church of Christ, both of which sponsored meals for the bike riders. The group held signs bearing sayings like “Farmworkers Suffer, Publix Profits…” read more

And, finally, after reading today’s report, click on the links below for earlier reports from the road and a full schedule of the tour:

• Third update from the road (Venice to Sarasota)
• Second update from the road (Punta Gorda to Venice)
• First update from the road (Immokalee to Ft. Myers)
• Tour schedule and logistics

Then check back again tomorrow for news from the big day in Lakeland!