Florida-based farm worker advocacy group the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) scored one more victory in their Fair Food campaign yesterday. After a 15 year stand off, the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange (FTGE) — a private cooperative of farm owners — has agreed to sign CIW's code of conduct, pledging to improve working conditions and pay farm workers an extra penny-per-pound of tomatoes harvested. This is a historic victory in the fight against farmworker slavery and exploitation.
CIW has been working to end farm labor abuse and slavery since the 1990s, well before the existence of modern day slavery was widely recognized. In a 1997 landmark case, they assisted in the investigation and prosecution of two men who enslaved hundreds of farm workers in Florida and South Carolina. Miguel Flores and Sebastian Gomez forced laborers (most of whom were migrant workers from Central America) to work long hours with little pay. Armed guards beat and even shot workers who attempted to escape. Both Flores and Gomez were charged with slavery — among other offenses — and sentenced to federal prison for 15 years.
CIW is perhaps most well known for successfully pressuring major fast food chains — including Taco Bell, McDonalds, Burger King and Subway — to monitor their supply chains and only buy tomatoes from farms that treat its workers fairly. As with the recent agreement with FTGE, the fast food companies also agreed to pay farm workers an extra penny-per-pound for tomatoes.
The Fair Food campaign was launched in 2001, partially in response to FTGE's unwillingness to eliminate worker abuse on their farms. The fast food victories no doubt helped leverage FTGE into compliance, by exhibiting that fair treatment of workers can lead to better consumer relations. In a press release, FTGE indicated that working with CIW to end slavery and worker abuse is, in the long term, good for business: "We are confident that... working together, [we can] build a stronger, more sustainable industry that will be better equipped than ever to thrive in an increasingly competitive market place."
In the same press release, CIW representative Gerardo Reyes announced the next front on the battle for fair treatment of Florida's tomato farm workers: supermarkets. "Key players in the fast-food and food service industries have already committed their support," he said. "It is time now for supermarket industry leaders to seize this historic opportunity and help make the promise of fresh—and fair—tomatoes from Florida a reality."
Last month, Change.org blogger Amanda Kloer wrote, "so far, the $550 billion supermarket industry, with the exception of Whole Foods, has refused to step up and bring their considerable purchasing power to the plate. Why won't grocery stores agree to protect farm workers from slavery?"
Why, indeed?
Do your part to ensure that supermarkets work to eradicate slavery in the supply chain of tomatoes. Sign the petition demanding that Trader Joe's join CIW's Fair Food campaign.
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Photo Credit: The Ewan
Anne Keehn was a media volunteer at the L.A.-based direct services organization the Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking and is currently the Zimmerman Fellow at Free the Slaves.
Florida Tomato Farm Owners Sign Historic Agreement to Stop Worker Abuse | End Human Trafficking | Change.org
