Human Right TO Work with dignity project

Fair Food Campaign
NESRI works in close partnership with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) to build support for its Fair Food Campaign aimed at transforming human rights conditions in the agricultural sector.  NESRI is a co-founder of the Alliance for Fair Food, a network of human rights, religious, student, labor, and grassroots organizations who work in partnership with the CIW.

The CIW is a community-based worker organization in Immokalee, Florida representing farmworkers facing oppressive working conditions who earn sub-poverty wages that have barely risen in over 25 years.  Although the farmworkers are employed by growers, it is the large corporate purchasers that ultimately determine the human rights conditions facing farmworkers in the fields.  These corporations are in a position to curb the abuses by a simple change of policy or priority. 

The Fair Food Campaign calls upon large food purchasers to pay an additional penny per pound to the farmworkers who pick the tomatoes they buy and to adopt human rights based participatory monitoring systems to prevent abusive labor practices in their supply chain.  Yum! Brands Inc., McDonalds, Burger King, Whole Foods and Subway have all entered into such agreements with the CIW.

CIW Wins Florida Governor Crist’s Support For Campaign for Fair Food
Following seven successful prosecutions by the U.S. Department of Justice since 1997 for slavery (which freed well over 1,000 farm workers in Florida), on December 19th of last year a federal court sentenced another set of Florida farm labor supervisors for enslaving tomato pickers, including beating, chaining, and locking them inside a truck at night.  When asked for a response to this sentence Mr. Terence McElroy, a spokesperson for Florida Governor Charlie Crist stated, "Of course, I say any instance is too many, and any legitimate grower certainly does not engage in that activity (slavery) but you're talking about maybe a case a year." The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) and the Alliance for Fair Food (co-founded by NESRI) immediately called upon Governor Crist to retract this statement and address the ongoing slavery crisis in Florida. 

When Governor Crist refused, NESRI’s Human Right to Work with Dignity Program helped organize a late December national sign-on letter to Crist, a February speaking engagement by CIW’s Lucas Benitez at the United Nations,  and participated in an early March street theater and press conference (which NESRI board member Patrick Mason facilitated) on the steps of the old Capitol in Tallahassee.

Finally, after months of struggle and advocacy, the Governor met with CIW representatives on March 25th and issued a letter of support.  In the letter Crist states "I have no tolerance for slavery in any form, and I am committed to eliminating this injustice anywhere in Florida..."  Crist also recognized the indisputable link between slavery and the failure to protect the economic and social rights of farmwokers, and stated "I support the Coalition's Campaign for Fair Food, whereby corporate purchasers of tomatoes have agreed to contribute monies for the benefit of the tomato field workers. I commend these purchasers for their participation, and I encourage the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange and its members to participate in the campaign so that these monies can reach and provide assistance to the workers..."

For More Info:

• Read the December ’08 Sign-on Letter to Governor Crist >>>
• Listen to CIW’s Lucas Benitez’s February ‘09 testimony to the UN >>>
• Read CIW’s Lucas Benitez’s February ‘09 testimony to the UN >>>
• View the photo gallery of the March ‘09 press conference and theater >>>
• Read Florida Governor Crist’s March ’09 Letter to CIW >>>