2012 Northeast Tour
Philadelphia, PA
4/14/12
|
They were met there by the newly-formed Philly Campaign for Fair Food, comprised of two of Philly's finest young men... |
... and many more new allies, including students from U Penn and Princeton, Presbytery of Philadelphia Hunger Action Enabler Schanuel Steinnegal, and UFCW Organizer Aarti Patel (pictured here). |
A lively protest gave way to a delegation to drop off a letter to the manager, but when the manager stepped out of the store to cut the delegation off, an interesting dialogue ensued. As the delegation prepared to wrap up what began as yet another empty exchange, CIW member Nely Rodriguez (left) -- in a moment of exasperation -- refused to settle for the standard half-smile, handshake and assurances that the delegation's message would be "passed on." Nely pressed the store manager for answers, demanding at least a response -- anything, really -- after having made the trip all the way from Immokalee. |
Just then, a woman who identified herself as being from Giant Human Resources stepped in, confidently announcing that she actually did have a response for us -- the great news that Ahold had actually "signed on" to the Fair Food Code of Conduct. Nely explained that no, Ahold had not signed on to anything. She explained how Ahold is in fact taking a free ride on the hard work of farmworkers, the tomato industry, and the 10 corporations who have made actual commitments to the FFP, and why Ahold's position on the Fair Food Program -- refusing to pay the premium and claiming to buy only from participating growers -- is inadequate. Nely went on to explain that the Fair Food Program is the future of the industry, that it has been embraced by 10 other corporations and by the Florida tomato industry, and that a real, verifiable and enforceable code of conduct is something that consumers have come to expect as well. She asked how Ahold knows what farms are participating or not, or how they would know if abuses happen on any of their farms. She explained the difference between Ahold's hand-off approach and the extensive monitoring, investigation, and enforcement that happens through the Fair Food Standards Council and the Fair Food Program. Then there was this exchange, as reported by the Tour crew: Nely asked, "How often does Ahold inspect the fields of their suppliers to ensure compliance with their standards? Weekly? Monthly?" "Annually," came the answer. "Annually??" "Yes, annually... That's what we do, and that's the standard for lots of corporations like us." "That's exactly the problem," Nely replied, "that 'standard' on the part of Ahold and other corporations is what has allowed abuses like sexual harassment and wage theft to continue unabated for generations. Standards backed by a superficial visit once a year aren't real standards at all, and they certainly won't change a thing." |
And from there it was on to Chipotle on the U Penn campus... |
Where, again, the message was loud and clear... |
... and where again the Tour crew and their Philly allies were faced with a company that thinks that, not only it can somehow monitor human rights in its supply chain without partnering with the humans in its supply chain to do so -- because somehow, by some logic known only to Chipotle's leadership, such a partnership would be beneath them -- but that it can fool its customers into thinking that such an absurd proposition is reasonable, too. |
Well, from the looks of the reception the protesters got in the streets of the City of Brotherly Love, Chipotle wasn't fooling anybody. |
The protest was followed, as always, by a delegation to meet the manager. But this time, the University of Pennsylvania student allies came prepared with a statement of their own to back the CIW members' message, a statement to which -- if anyone at Chipotle remembers the days of the Taco Bell Boycott and its campus-based "Boot the Bell" Campaign -- company executives would do well to pay some attention. Here's the letter representatives from 10 U Penn student organizations delivered to the manager:
|
The Tour crew's visit to Philly wouldn't be complete without a visit to the birthplace of the CIW's own low-power radio station, Radio Conciencia (107.9 FM in Immokalee, aka La Tuya), the Prometheus Radio Project. Three Prometheus staff members gave the crew a tour of their office, and CIW members spoke about the power of Radio Conciencia for the CIW's community organizing -- sharing the fact that during that afternoon's protests, for instance, they'd been able to broadcast a report from the action live back to members listening in Immokalee! It was a great way to end the day, and to recharge for Sunday's action in NYC! |