Letters to the editor, letters to Publix CEO Ed Crenshaw, piling up in wake of Fast…
The Fast for Fair Food touched many people — across the state of Florida and around the country — very, very deeply. And it didn’t just move those observing the Fast from the outside. Its effect was so powerful that it knocked some longtime CIW veterans off their feet, too. In the words of CIW member Nely Rodriguez, “We set out to transform Publix, and in the process we transformed ourselves.”
So it’s hardly surprising that such an intense action led many a Fair Food activist to take pen in hand (or keyboard, as the case may be), and put his or her feelings about Publix and the grocery giant’s refusal to meet with the CIW about the Fair Food Program into words. We’ve received quite a number of such letters, one of which we shared at the end of the recent post on continuing violence against farmworkers. Today we’ve chosen a few more recent letters to share with you, to give you a sense of what the mailbag at Publix must be looking like these days. Enjoy:
 Letter to the Editor, Lakeland Ledger:
Publix and Tomato Growers “Publix Is Not at Fault,” a March 15 letter, gives Publix’s side of the embarrassing PR fiasco. It was caused by company leaders’ refusal to join the Fair Food Program, by which retail buyers of tomatoes are jointly taking a stand against farmworker mistreatment and poverty. Letter writer John R. Edwards asks, “Why is it Publix’s fault that tomato growers … who hire the workers to pick tomatoes, refuse to increase the workers’ pay?” Oxfam America, the hunger-relief organization, answers that in a 2004 study analyzing the role multibillion dollar supermarkets play in using their economic might to squeeze Florida growers. It reports: “In 1990 growers received 41 percent of the retail price of tomatoes; by 2000 they were receiving barely 25 percent. Value is passed up the chain, while workers at the bottom pay the price.” In other words, Publix buys tens of millions of pounds of tomatoes annually — tremendous market power that enables Publix to demand ever-lower prices from suppliers, who must simultaneously confront rising costs for fuel, tractors and pesticides. The one place growers maintain shrinking margins is by keeping labor costs stagnant, signifying deepening poverty over the last several decades for farmworkers and their families. Yet, Mr. Edwards argues that growers are to blame, not Publix, which made $1.5 billion of profit this past year. Sadly, his is a prevalent misunderstanding that has impeded Publix from finally doing right by those whose unconscionably undercompensated labor has helped fuel Publix’s financial gain for countless years. While we all would be remiss to overlook Publix’s remarkable generosity in providing charity to the poor, we must also admit that Publix’s purchasing policies actually impoverish farmworkers and their families — and it doesn’t have to be that way. MAYRA HIDALGO SALAZAR |
| Letter to Publix CEO Ed Crenshaw:
March 25, 2012 Dear Mr. Crenshaw: I am writing to you for two reasons: first, to say that I will personally fast next week in the hope that this gesture will help you to recognize the reasonable request of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and secondly, to advise you that I, my family and as many friends as I can convince, will no longer shop at Publix until you sign an agreement for just wages and decent working conditions for the farm workers. Your public stance that the Coalition should negotiate with the growers for increased wages and better working conditions is spurious. You and other major purchasers of farm produce have negotiated such a low price with the growers for their products over the years, they are not in position to increase wages. This is recognized by other large purchasers of farm products who have entered into separate agreements with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. You are asked to do the same. I challenge you to spend but one day in the fields and do the work of the farm workers so that you can appreciate, from experience, their situation. Currently they must fill the 35 pound basket with tomatoes, deliver it to the truck (about 100 feet away) and return to pick more tomatoes EVERY 4 MINUTES TO MAKE THE MINIMUM WAGE OF $7.50 PER HOUR! We, your customers, will be happy to pay an extra penny per pound of tomatoes. We only ask that you collect it from us and pass it on to the farm workers. Please change policy and come to an agreement with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. Thank You. Sincerely, |
| Letter to Publix:
I just finished reading the profile of your CEO in the Feb 1 2010 edition of the Tampa Bay Business Journal entitled “Ed Crenshaw of Publix: “Doing the right thing a top priority”. Is this the same Ed Crenshaw who refuses to meet with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, who refuses to recognize the legitimacy of their concerns, who remains behind closed doors while people from all walks of life are on his door step fasting for justice? I have been following the CIW’s fair food campaign for many years and am astounded by the intransigence of the management of Publix. I’ve been a Publix shopper for forty years, for many of those years driving past other grocery stores to get to the nearest Publix. I have never been disappointed. When my children moved to other states, their biggest complaint was “no Publix”. Thus far, the CIW has not called for a boycott of Publix. When they do, I’ll be shopping at Whole Foods and Trader Joes who have signed with Kathryn Shannon |
| Letter to the CIW:
My husband likes the bread at Publix. Well, I decided to go into the store with him today. While he was buying bread, I went to the young lady at at the Customer Service Desk and when she asked, “What can I do for you?” I told her, in a very sweet way, that my husband was buying bread in this store, but nothing else, and I won’t be shopping here at all, even though I like the store, and it was because of the way they are refusing to be fair about the tomato pickers. She sighed and nodded, and said, “Did you want to tell this to our manager? He’s right there.” The poor guy was on his knees unloading something from a large cart. When she spoke to him to tell him that a customer wished to speak to him, I walked over and told him, jokingly, to get off his knees. And we both laughed. Then I told him the same thing and encouraged him to let the folks in management know that a customer, who was visiting this Florida store from Wisconsin, was choosing to boycott the store over their refusal to honor the reasonable demands of the people who pick tomatoes for their supplier. I hope they change their tactics, and that I can shop there next year when I return. Meanwhile, Godspeed! Lorrie Greco |
That’s all for now, but there’s much more coming soon from the Campaign for Fair Food!