HUGE news: CIW, grower write "new chapter in Florida agricultural history"

[Marc Rodrigues]

http://sfalliance.org | http://ciw-online.org

Pacific Tomato Growers, CIW Sign Landmark Agreement for Social Responsibility in Florida Tomato Fields

Farmworker organization, tomato industry leader join forces to root out abuses,
write "new chapter in Florida agricultural history"

A seismic shift occurred in Florida agriculture last week as Pacific Tomato Growers and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers announced a historic agreement to improve wages and working conditions and institutionalize farmworker voice and participation in the industry.

• Agreement press coverage
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• Upcoming Fair Food actions!

The agreement represents a significant step forward in the CIW's decade-long campaign for labor reforms in Florida's tomato industry. Not only is it the first formal agreement between the CIW and a major tomato grower, but the new accord establishes several practical systems designed to implement cooperatively the key principles of the Code of Conduct at the heart of the Campaign for Fair Food. Those principles include a joint -- and, when need be, external -- 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.

The agreement also provides for third-party auditing of both the systems needed to implement the Code and payment of the "penny-per-pound," the price premium designed to raise farmworker wages that is part of the CIW's agreements with nine major retail food companies, including sector leaders McDonald's, Whole Foods, and Compass Group.

The Campaign for Fair Food is far from over, and now pushes forward with more righteous urgency than ever before.