Publix takes a pass…

Posted on by CIW
A Publix spokesperson, above right, who met the delegation of CIW bikers outside of security at the entrance to Publix’s long corporate driveway, asks the bikers to “wrap it up” after a brief back and forth at the culmination of the 200-mile Pilgrimage to Publix.

Publix CEO Crenshaw refuses to meet with bikers, rejects invitation to Immokalee; Publix spokesperson sticks to non-responsive, nonsensical talking points…

After eleven days on the road, 200-miles logged on the saddles of borrowed bikes, and more than a few bumps and bruises along the way, the CIW bike tour crew and about 75 allies who gathered in their support outside Publix’s corporate headquarters in Lakeland yesterday were given the cold shoulder by Publix CEO Ed Crenshaw. Mr. Crenshaw made it known through his spokesman that he had no interest in meeting with farmworkers or Publix customers — some of whom carried a bag of hundreds of Publix receipts to demonstrate the value of their purchases to the company — about the exploitation of farmworkers in the Publix’s supply chain and the company’s refusal to support the Campaign for Fair Food.

Meanwhile, his spokesperson repeated the same timeworn public relations bromides — “we don’t pay the employees of other companies directly“… “put it in the price“… “this is a labor dispute“… — that Publix spokespeople have rolled out for nearly two years in response to the Campaign (or should we say non-response, given the fact that the Campaign for Fair Food is not a labor dispute but a unique partnership between farmworkers and employers, the Fair Food premium is in fact built into the price in the same way the Fair Trade premium is built into the fair trade coffee Publix purchases, and the Fair Food program doesn’t require retail companies to pay the penny-per-pound to farmworkers directly, rather the premium is passed through the grower and paid to workers, by the grower, on the workers’ regular payroll check… Ugh, it’s getting painful just to repeat the debunking at this point…).

Here’s a quick media round-up from yesterday’s action as we continue to work on our own photo report on the day’s events, which, despite Publix’s disappointing indifference, were in fact remarkably inspiring: