Thanksgiving — the biggest holiday for supermarkets — is fast approaching. To make this Thanksgiving slavery-free, the Student Farmworker Alliance and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers are organizing the National Supermarket Week of Action, November 14-21. This series will bring you the story of how people across America are asking their local supermarkets to stand against the slavery and exploitation of agricultural workers and fight for fair food. You can check out the other part here.
National Supermarket Week of Action in California
When Liz Fitzgerald first set out to reform the American agricultural industry and fight for farmworkers' rights, she didn't realize her primary tools would be an acoustic guitar and an artfully re-written version of Lady Gaga's Alejandro. But that's exactly what Fitzgerald and a dedicated team of advocates will be bringing to a local Trader Joe's this week, as they demand the company sign an agreement with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) to raise farmworker wages and prevent slavery and exploitation in their supply chains. According to Fitzgerald, issues like workers' rights are too often left out of the sustainability considerations Trader Joe's prides itself on.
"Farmworker justice is an often-ignored component of sustainability." Says Fitzgerald. "Someone goes to the grocery store and buys a tomato, and they worry about pesticides and chemicals, but not the experiences of the workers who picked it."
But Fitzgerald wasn't going to let the women and men who picked her tomatoes be forgotten. So she joined the Student Farmworker Alliance's Dine with Dignity campaign, which targeted campus food service companies Aramark, Sudexo, and Bon Appetit. She worked with the companies to build dialogue and organized protests and community actions. After a year and a half, all three companies made agreements with the CIW.
Not ones to rest on their laurels, Fitzgerald and the rest of Bay Area Fair Food, a group of local CIW allies, are now participating in the National Supermarket Week of Action. They're holding "Traitor Joe's" accountable for their refusal to sign onto the CIW's Campaign for Fair Food -- with the power of Lady Gaga. The group will meet at Civic Center Park on November 20, enjoy free coffee and pastries from the local cooperative Arizmendi Bakery, and then march to a nearby Trader Joe's. But the real fun will start inside the store, when activists will perform a song and dance number to Lady Gaga's Alejandro to educate Trader Joe's customers about the company's refusal to work in partnership with the CIW to end modern day slavery in the fields of Florida. Check out a sneak peak here, with more after the jump.
The CIW's Fair Food Campaign may be focused on workers in Florida, but Fitzgerald knew she and other Californians would be affected halfway across the country,
"Just because the CIW is based out of Florida, doesn't mean the situation of farmworkers there isn't relative in California." Says Fitzgerald. "This movement as a whole is applicable to a lot of other industries, including the agricultural industry in California. People are so excited by the huge potential to change agriculture across the country.
If you're excited about the potential for change and you'll be in the Bay Area on November 20, join the movement by contacting Liz Fitzgerald at Liz(at)sfalliance.org. And if you'll be anywhere else, sign the petition asking Trader Joe's to stand up for fair food and against slavery. For more information about a Supermarket Week of Action event near you, check out the Student Farmworker Alliance website here.
Related Petition
Photo credit: ingridjee
Amanda Kloer is a Change.org Editor and has been a full-time abolitionist in several capacities for seven years. Follow her on Twitter @endhumantraffic
Bay Area Activists Fight Farmworker Slavery with Lady Gaga | End Human Trafficking | Change.org
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