Every tomato you eat is harvested by the poorest of the poor workers in Immokalee, FL.
The tomato pickers wake up at 4:30 AM and wait for buses to pick them up. There is no job security. Once they get out to the field, they pick tomatoes as fast as possible. Each 32 pound bucket will give them 45 cents. That's the same wage as farmworkers were paid in 1979. At the end of the day they go home to a tiny trailer that they share with 12 or more people
Senator Bernie Sanders said it best “In America today we are seeing a race to the bottom, the middle class is collapsing, poverty is increasing. What I saw in Immokalee, is the bottom in the race to the bottom.”
Luckily, there is a fight going on to help these workers.
History of the Campaign For Fair Food
In 2000, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, an unofficial union, joined with students, clergy, and many others to end the abuse, and raise farmworkers wages. Since these big agribusinesses sell tomatoes in bulk to giant corporations, they decided to target them one at a time. This strategy of targeted step by step boycotts has been incredibly effective.
Taco Bell was first on the list. It took years of protests, marches, and boycotting, but finally in 2005 Taco Bell signed on to all of the demands. They were to pay 1 penny more per pound, which might seem small but amounted to a 75% raise for the workers wages. They also established complete transparency for who they do business with, and .
Next Up McDonalds boycott. That corporate giant fought the agreement initially, but agreed 2 years later in 2007.
Burger King came just a year later in 2008. That same year, Whole Foods signed on. In December '08, Subway, the largest fast food purchaser of FL tomatoes signed on. In April, 2009, Bon Apetit Management, a major food service company signed on. And just a few weeks ago on April 9th, 2010 Aramark, another big food services company signed on.
However, there's still a ways to go, and now, Publix, Giant, Kroger, and Stop and Shop (all supermarkets), Sodexo (food service), and Chipotle (restaurants) are all being targeted for boycotts.
Next weekend (April 16, 17, and 18) I'm asking you to be a part of the campaign.
Farmworker Freedom March
Next weekend, April 16, 17, and 18, there will be a big march and rally to protest Publix for refusing to sign onto the penny per pound agreement with the workers. The march is going from Tampa, FL to Lakeland, FL for a rally at Publix headquarters.
I know it's tough for most of you to get to Florida on such short notice, and even the Floridian Kossacks probably have better things to do. But even a few hours on one of the days will make a big difference.
If you can't make it, please join in the boycotts of Stop & Shop, Giant, Publix, and Chipotle.
(you can read more about the march and register here)
7 Reasons you should go
- It will make a real positive impact in these worker's lives
- It leads to more corporate accountability in other areas
- Raising the lowest wages will help other workers get better pay.
- Protests, Marches, and Activism like this had a huge impact in the 50's 60's during the Civil rights movement. Remember, the Civil Rights Movement started with a few sit-ins in segregated bars, and it was focused in a few cities in the south, but eventually it had national implications and led to legal interracial marriage, integration, voting rights, and other movements for economic justice and peace.
- The teabaggers wingnuts are louder and more active than progressives have been. Let's show the media that more Americans care about workers rights and poverty than "keeping the government out of medicare". If this has a big turnout, it will inspire other people and lead to a better world.
- It should be a fun time. You can beat a drum, chant, sing songs, make your own signs.
- In a time when our country is scared and directionless, it shows us all who the real enemy is. Big corporations. Huge majorities of democrats, independents, and even republicans oppose the supreme court decision, so corporations are clearly good villains in any campaign today.
Elections and online activism are certainly important, but as we've seen with the public option and other disappointments, there is only so much that they can achieve on their own.
Please sign up.