"Como trabajadores y mujeres, tenemos que luchar por nuestros derechos y contra la violencia tanto en la labor como en la casa"
"As women and as workers, we have to fight for our rights and against violence both in the fields and in our own homes"
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The bucket pyramid made an appearance in Immokalee
yesterday, adorned this time with a number of
new accessories, including a shiny four-foot
tall penny symbolizing the raise Immokalee workers
are demanding from Yum Brands and a banner that
spells out the equation of exploitation in Immokalee
in no uncertain terms: "2 Tons
of Tomatoes = $50 Pay = Unfair Trade".
The pyramid, banner, and penny would serve as
the backdrop for the rest of the day's activities.
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But before the press conference was to start,
there was time for participants to meet and
discuss the issues of the day. Here, Minor Sinclair
of Oxfam shares notes with the Honorable Mary
Robinson, who is not only the former UN High
Commissioner on Human Rights, but also a former
President of Ireland.
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As the press got into place, final touches were
put on the pyramid...
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... then it was time for the press conference
to begin. Oxfam America
President Raymond C. Offenheiser kicked
off the presentations by announcing the release
of Oxfam's study on the impact of corporate
concentration in the agrifood industry entitled,
"Like Machines in the Fields: Workers
without Rights in American Agriculture,"
stating, "It is unacceptable that
huge profits are being made off the back of
the hardest working and lowest paid workers
in the world. It is unconscionable for that
to be happening right here in the United States."
He added, "We publicly
call on the CEO's, the boards of directors and
the major investors in these leading [food]
companies to guarantee that their supply chains
adhere to the highest standards of respect and
responsibility for workers rights."
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Francisca Cortez of the CIW followed, describing
in compelling detail the reality of life as a
farmworker in Immokalee, and concluding her remarks
by identifying three of the fundamental rights
as defined by the United Nations Universal Declaration
of Human Rights (the little blue book that she
is holding at the podium) that are systematically
violated in Florida's fields -- the right to organize,
the right to a decent wage, and the right to work
free of slavery. |
Next was Bishop Thomas Hoyt, President of the
National Council of Churches. Bishop Hoyt was
equally strong in his presentation, declaring
that the CIW's campaign is a "wake up call"
to all us -- to the agricultural industry, to
the religious community, to the media, and to
consumers generally, saying, "This is an
historic moment – a sacred moment when each
and every one of us is called to decide: will
we use our power to put an end to exploitation
or will we hide ourselves among what Dr. King
called the “fraternities of the indifferent?”
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Rev. Noelle Damico read excerpts of a statement
from Clifton Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk of the Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.): "We are particularly concerned
with the role Yum! Brands has played, or more accurately,
has not played in this situation. As a purchaser
of tens of millions of pounds of tomatoes, Yum!
benefits by being able to purchase these tomatoes
cheaply on account of the poverty wages earned by
farmworkers. As such, we believe that Yum! Brands
has a clear moral responsibility to take leadership
to assure just working conditions and compensation
for the very persons who provide the products which
are at the heart of its operation. Any corporation
which benefits through the exploitation of others
is gravely implicated in such exploitation and has
a moral and ethical responsibility to end that exploitation.
Mr. Novak, as the CEO of the largest fast-food company
in the world, we need your leadership. We sincerely
hope that by its words and actions Yum Brands! will
join with farmworkers and its tomato suppliers to
create just working and living conditions that promote
human well-being " |
Lucas Benitez of the CIW followed Rev. Damico, drawing
clear and compelling connections between Immokalee's
poverty and Taco Bell's fast-food profits. "There
is a very simple reason that brings us all here
today: Quite simply, we are all disgusted that violations
of human rights keep happening here, here in the
United States" he said. "Behind the shiny
and happy images of Taco Bell commercials on TV
is the reality of the farmworkers who contribute
to the fast-food giant's businees and wealth with
their sweat and with their blood." |
Finally, President Mary Robinson spoke. Quoted in
the Palm Beach Post, she said, "This is a real
human rights issue -- a fundamental human rights
issue," said President Robinson. "I'm
very aware that there are many people working at
Yum who would be proud of their company."
But, she continued, they might do well to visit
Immokalee, to "go out at four in the morning
at the start of a working day" and see the
horrendous conditions workers must suffer. Then,
she said, the company might reexamine its "purchasing
strategy" that relies on the cheapest of labor.
Yum has "great purchasing power and they use
it to buy the cheapest products, and the burden
of that is falling on the workers," she said. |
Following her tour of
Immokalee's housing conditions, President Robinson
told the press, "I know the conditions the
workers left; they came here hoping for the American
dream. They must be so disappointed, because now
they are so exploited. These workers are excluded
from core labor standards, and we saw people living
in containers, and mobile homes with six or seven
men in one room. It was stuffy on a warm day like
today but I can't imagine what it must be like
in the heat of summer. It's important to recognize
the purchasing prices paid by YUM and Taco Bell
have a direct connection with the conditions the
workers face. It would be good for a senior representative
of YUM to visit Immokalee and see the situation
on the ground here."
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