Farmworkers have justice on their side: Editorial

[Marc Rodrigues]

http://www.news-press.com/article/20100405/OPINION/4050314/1015/opinion/Farmworkers-have-justice-on-their-side--Editorial

http://www.ciw-online.org/freedom_march/

http://sfalliance.org/


Farmworkers have justice on their side: Editorial

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers has scored another triumph in its inspiring 
campaign for a better pay and conditions for the hard-working people who pick 
Florida tomatoes.

This remarkable grass-roots organization has succeeded in an age when labor and 
social activism appear to be declining. It has done so with a good deal of media 
and political savvy, but its greatest strength is its just cause.

It's hard for a person of conscience not to sympathize with field workers who put 
food on our obesity-inducing trays and tables in exchange for maybe $10,000 a 
year, working and living under conditions which, at their best, are nowhere near 
what most Americans would accept. The coalition wants them to make $16,000 or $17,000.

Philadelphia-based food service giant Aramark is the latest to agree to pay extra 
for Florida tomatoes produced under a strict code of conduct. Coalition partners 
favor Florida growers who meet higher standards and avoid those with a record of 
labor abuses. Students were a key to the latest success, brought on board with 
old-fashioned education.

Aramark joins Compass, the world's largest food-service company, fast food giants 
Yum Brands, McDonald's, Burger King and Subway; and the leading natural food 
grocery group, Whole Foods Markets.

Most resisted, but relented in part for a practical business reason: The public 
dislikes injustice in its food.



-- 
Marc Rodrigues | Student/Farmworker Alliance | (239) 292-3431
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