November 2, 2010
Take Action!
Supermarket Week of Action (Nov. 14-21) starts one week from Sunday.
Tell your local grocer it's time to give thanks to
the farmworkers whose poverty has driven their profits for years!
Video extra: Check out the great new Quiznos protest video, where the Denver Fair Food crew calls on Quiznos to sign an agreement "Glee"-style...
With Halloween behind us, Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and with it comes the supermarket industry's busiest time of the year. What better time to let your local grocer know that you are one of the growing number of consumers and farmworkers -- and Florida tomato growers -- working together to bring about a fairer, more humane produce industry?
Our friends at the Student/Farmworker Alliance are spearheading this year's Supermarket Week of Action, and they have kindly assembled everything you could possibly need to take action -- however big or small -- this November, including this impressive action tool kit.
So, visit the SFA website today, get together with your friends and neighbors, and be part of the action this November. Whether you simply drop off a manager's letter and chat with your local grocer, or you organize a picket and really make some noise, every action counts, and helps us keep building the momentum behind the Campaign for Fair Food.
And don't forget to take pictures! Once the week is over, we'll be posting reports from around the country, and we want to highlight your action here.
We've never been closer to making our dream of a more modern, more humane Florida tomato industry a reality. Now more than ever, your action counts. But if you're still not convinced that now is the time for action, check out this Supermarket Campaign video and then decide. A picture is worth a thousand words, even more so when those pictures are moving.
And speaking of exciting videos... We leave you today with the much-anticipated, remarkably-choreographed, wonderfully produced and edited "Quit Stalling, Quiznos" video, courtesy of Denver Fair Food. So, with no further ado, here it is -- enjoy!:
October 27, 2010
Now is the time
for Fair Food!...
In the wake of recent agreements, the Campaign for Fair Food is heating up, with Quiznos on the clock in Denver (right), supermarket protests across the country, a must-read op/ed on the recent agreements from the St. Petersburg Times, and a very nice surprise out of Nashville!
While the CIW has been busy taking care of business in Immokalee (reaching game-changing agreements with tomato industry leaders Pacific Tomato Growers and Six L's), Fair Food allies across the country have been quite busy themselves, organizing protests at Quiznos, Publix, and Trader Joe's stores from Oakland to New York City.
Buoyed by the victories in Immokalee, Fair Food allies are taking to the streets with renewed energy and an unassailable message, captured in the words of this sign at the big Quiznos protest in Denver:
"Quiznos: The world is changing. When will you?"
October 24, 2010
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| An ally from the Florida Immigrant Coalition holds a blown-up photo of Publix's new Fair Trade coffee during Thursday's early morning protest. Anger over Publix's glaring double standard on Fair Trade coffee and Fair Food tomatoes sparked a protest at last week's big store opening in Naples. |
"You say GreenWise, we say GreenWash!"
Publix's double standard on display as protesters picket last week's "GreenWise" store opening in Naples, Florida;he
CIW, allies call out Publix for aggressively marketing Fair Trade coffee while stubbornly turning its back on Fair Food tomatoes...
[See a great local CBS news video of protest here]
As readers of this site may remember, Publix -- eyeing its competitor Whole Foods and the organic giant's highly successful connection to the growing market for sustainable food -- recently launched a new line of groceries under its exclusive "GreenWise" label.
The GreenWise Fair Trade coffee label (pictured above), for example, extols the virtues of Fair Trade, saying, "Fair trade prices help small farmers provide employees with livable wages and work conditions. Which fosters the same values we do: community, well-being, and a nicer world.”
Sounds great, huh? If only there were some way Publix could apply those same principles to its Florida tomato supply chain and support a collaboration of farmworkers and tomato growers right here in Florida...
But while Whole Foods lost no time in addressing the contradiction between its socially conscious brand and the exploitation of farmworkers in Florida's tomato fields -- signing a Fair Food agreement with the CIW in 2008 -- Publix stubbornly continues to reject participation in the rapidly expanding Campaign for Fair Food.
Which is why scores of protesters gathered at sunrise in Naples, Florida, at last Thursday's ribbon-cutting ceremony outside Publix's newest store to prominently feature the "GreenWise" line. Among them was a sizable delegation of local clergy who personally delivered a truly persuasive letter to company leadership on-hand for the grand opening (right). The religious leaders' missive -- signed by eight Naples pastors hailing from eight different denominations, nearly all of whom lead congregations based no more than a few miles from the new Publix -- expressed a shared hope that Publix swiftly start to join with the CIW to "make a powerful contribution toward ending the human rights crisis in Florida’s fields." Read the full religious leaders' letter here.
October 21, 2010
MORE great news out of Immokalee!
Six L's -- Florida's largest tomato grower -- joins forces with CIW for Fair Food!
With the the 2010 tomato season just around the corner, momentum for the Campaign for Fair Food and its industry-changing standards for real social accountability just keeps growing!
Today, the CIW and Immokalee-based Six L's made it official: Florida's largest tomato grower is joining the Fair Food program.
Six L's has agreed to pass on the penny-per-pound and to adopt the Code of Conduct at the heart of the campaign, including a cooperative complaint resolution system, a participatory health and safety program, and a worker-to-worker education process aimed at insuring that farmworkers themselves are active participants in the social responsibility efforts.
Gerardo Reyes of the CIW said: "With this news, we take one giant step closer to a world where farmworkers and growers can work together in genuine partnership for an industry that we can all be proud of -- an industry that starts with fair wages and modern working conditions in the fields. When that new industry becomes a reality, we will be able to stand with our employers and proclaim that, together, we produce the best, and fairest, tomatoes in the market."
Kent Shoemaker, CEO of Six L's, said: "The workers of our company are the foundation of our success. We have a long tradition of mutual respect. We look forward to building upon this foundation with this new initiative."
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With Fair Food standards gaining ground by the day within Florida's tomato industry, it is now more important than ever that the retail food corporations that buy Florida tomatoes step up and support the Campaign. With every new supermarket and restaurant chain that joins the growing movement for Fair Food, wages for Florida tomato pickers on the participating farms will increase, and the purchasing power buttressing the new, more modern standards will grow.
Click here to see the excellent new Supermarket Campaign video and learn how you can help farmworkers fight for Fair Food.
October 21, 2010
BIG CIW/Pacific agreement news page now up!
News of CIW's breakthrough agreement with Pacific Tomato Growers so big that
it gets its very own news page...
Coverage of last week's announcement of the CIW's agreement with Pacific Tomato Growers -- the first direct agreement with a grower in the history of the Campaign for Fair Food and a major step forward on the road toward a more modern, more humane Florida tomato industry -- got so big that it threatened to take over the front page of our humble website.
So, as a service to our readers, we have gathered all the coverage -- from the Wall St. Journal story to the editorial round-up and the exclusive CIW photo gallery report -- and put it all on one convenient page.
A story this big needed its own page, and now it has it. Check it out today!
October 11, 2010
Must-see new video launches
CIW Supermarket Campaign!
Ready to take action now? You're in luck:
- First - Click here to send emails to the CEO's of Publix, Ahold (owner of Stop & Shop and Giant), Kroger, and Trader Joe's, demanding they work with the CIW for farm labor justice...
- Then - SAVE THE DATE! - Campaign for Fair Food announces dates for BIG spring action... or should we say actions!
By leveraging its high-volume purchasing power, the U.S. supermarket industry plays an active role in farmworker exploitation.
Publix, Ahold, Kroger and Trader Joe's all pack a very heavy punch when it comes to their market power in the produce industry. And with great power comes great responsibility -- both for the poverty and brutal working conditions from which they have profited for so many years, and for the work of reforming farm labor conditions in their supply chains that lies ahead.
With the four largest fast-food companies (McDonald's, Yum Brands, Burger King, and Subway) and three largest foodservice providers (Compass Group, Aramark, and Sodexo) having signed Fair Food agreements with the CIW, the focus now falls squarely on the $550 billion supermarket industry. And with the exception of Whole Foods, the natural food leader that signed an agreement with the CIW nearly two years ago, it's time now for the major grocery chains to step up and bring their considerable purchasing power to the plate.
If we are to end Florida's decades-old Harvest of Shame, the supermarket giants must do their part. And for that to happen, the Campaign for Fair Food needs YOU to take action.
- Send an email today to the CEO's of Publix, Ahold, Kroger, and Trader Joe's to demand they quit stalling and start working with the CIW to protect human rights in their Florida tomato supply chain.
- Then, take out your calendar and SAVE THE DATE: This coming spring, farmworkers from Immokalee and allies from across the country will be gathering not once, but twice, for farmworker justice!
- Sunday, February 27th, join us in Quincy, Massachusetts, for a protest at Ahold's U.S. headquarters. Then, following a week-long tour back down the east coast...
- Saturday, March 5th, we'll be back in Tampa, Florida, for a second major protest, this time in Publix's backyard.
- Sunday, February 27th, join us in Quincy, Massachusetts, for a protest at Ahold's U.S. headquarters. Then, following a week-long tour back down the east coast...
During the first several years of the Campaign for Fair Food, we focused our efforts on the fast-food industry. Then, last year, the campaign turned to the foodservice industry, and won agreements with the three largest companies in that sector.
This year, let's end this struggle. The supermarket giants are the only thing standing between us and a future of respect for human rights in Florida's fields, between a food industry based on farm labor exploitation and degradation today and a more modern, more humane industry tomorrow.
Let's send them a message -- loud and clear -- that it's time for the supermarket industry to join the growing movement for Fair Food.
September 27, 2010
If only Publix executives could appreciate the simple justice behind Fair Trade coffee captured so eloquently on this label (pictured on right)...
Oh... Wait a second. That's the label from the new Publix-brand Fair Trade coffee.
Never mind...
It just makes sense. "Fair Trade prices help small farmers provide employees with livable wages and work conditions."
That's the fundamental principle behind the growing Fair Trade market. And it's the fundamental principle behind the Campaign for Fair Food, too.
A penny more per pound for Florida tomatoes and a rigorous code of conduct help Florida growers provide the wages and working conditions necessary to build a more modern, more humane Florida tomato industry.
Yet while Publix embraces those wholesome values -- "community, well-being, and a nicer world" -- when it comes to marketing its new Fair Trade coffee (the front label of which is pictured here on the left), the supermarket giant has stubbornly resisted joining the growing movement for Fair Food when it comes to buying Florida tomatoes.
And that's despite the fact that the workers who pick Florida tomatoes don't live thousands of miles away from Publix's Lakeland, Florida, headquarters, but in the very same communities (broadly speaking) as Publix executives.
Publix can't have it both ways. Either its claims to ethical trading principles are a hollow marketing sham, or it is time for Publix to change course on the Campaign for Fair Food and join with the CIW in improving wages and working conditions for Florida's hardest-working, worst-paid, least-protected workers.
A "nicer world" begins at home. Let's hope Publix's support of Fair Trade makes its way to our shores before too much longer. Florida farmworkers could use their support.
September 3, 2010
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The image above is from an excellent video by Honolulu's KITV on the news of yesterday's indictment. You can watch the video by clicking here. |
Recipe for Slavery: Take US farm labor relations, add "guestworker" visas, and voila... Forced labor!
Federal prosecutors in Honolulu unseal indictment charging forced labor ring active in 13 states including -- yet again -- Florida;
Multi-state operation involves guestworker recruiting giant Global Horizons in what prosecutors are calling "the largest human trafficking case in US history"...
Labor Day weekend will be celebrated with a little more meaning this year by 400 farmworkers from around the country whose bosses were charged yesterday by Justice Department officials in Hawaii with "conspiracy to commit human trafficking."
Six people in the US were charged in the case, including four employees of Global Horizons Manpower, Inc, a labor recruiting company that specializes in the overseas recruitment of "guestworkers," foreign workers brought to the US to work in agriculture under an H2A visa for temporary employment in agriculture. Two more people based in Thailand were also indicted in the case. This is not the first time that Global Horizons has been accused of violating farm labor protection laws.
FBI Special Agent Tom Simon described the latest case to KITV News in Hawaii, where the indictment was filed:
"It's a classic bait-and-switch what they were doing. They were telling the Thai workers one thing to lure them here. Then when they got here, their passports were taken away and they were held in forced servitude working in these farms...” read more |
August 23, 2010
Sodexo signs Fair Food agreement
with CIW!
Big Three foodservice industry leaders now squarely behind growing movement for Fair Food!...
Saying, "Sodexo is committed to protecting and upholding the rights of all workers, whether employed directly by us or by our business partners and suppliers,” Arlin Wasserman, Sodexo vice president for sustainability and corporate social responsibility, announced today that his company has signed an agreement to work with the CIW to improve wages and working conditions in the fields of its Florida tomato suppliers.
Speaking on behalf of the CIW, Lucas Benitez added:
“We are happy to be working with an industry leader like Sodexo to advance fundamental human rights in Florida’s fields. Social responsibility takes a genuine, sustained engagement with workers and growers on the ground, and a determination to support, with increased business, those growers who agree to comply with the highest standards.” |
See the joint announcement in its entirety here.
This is very big news for the growing Campaign for Fair Food. The foodservice industry -- the companies that, operating largely behind the scenes, manage cafeterias in the nation's grade schools and universities, hospitals and hotels, government agencies and institutions, and more -- is comprised, almost in its entirety, of its three largest members, Compass, Aramark, and Sodexo. With today's announcement, all three of those companies have now signed Fair Food agreements and will be implementing those agreements in their supply chains this coming season. This marks the conclusion of the Student/Farmworker Alliance's remarkably successful "Dine with Dignity" campaign, a campaign that combined energetic campus activism with smart tactics to bring all three industry leaders to the table in just over one year.
With the four largest fast-food companies -- McDonald's, Yum Brands, Burger King, and Subway -- likewise having signed Fair Food agreements with the CIW, the focus now falls squarely on the supermarket industry. And with the exception of Whole Foods, the natural food leader that signed an agreement with the CIW nearly two years ago, it's time now for the major grocery chains to step up and bring their considerable purchasing power to the plate.
Publix, Ahold, Kroger and WalMart -- which alone sells fully 25% of all food sold in US grocery stores -- all pack a very heavy punch when it comes to their market power in the produce industry. And with great power comes great responsibility -- both for the poverty and brutal working conditions from which they have profited for so many years, and for the work of reforming farm labor conditions in their supply chains that lies ahead.
If the goal of a more modern, more humane Florida tomato industry is to be fully realized, the supermarket giants must do their part.
And so, with today's great news from Sodexo, the Campaign for Fair Food completes its first decade -- with the support of the vast majority of the fast-food and foodservice industries now behind us -- and turns to the supermarket industry. This coming season, the battle for the future of Florida's farmworkers will be joined in the produce aisles of your local grocer.
