But, apparently not.
The
Independent of England has a harrowing tale of modern slavery in the tomato fields of Florida. Three men had to punch their way out of a van they were chained in, ran to freedom, and told a tale that sounds like it's straight out of
Harriet Beecher Stowe. Fruit pickers are being forced to sleep in vehicles they are charged rent for, substandard food they are charged for, and showering 'fees' so they can bathe with plastic buckets.
Fred Grimm, of the Miami Herald, tells the story of another worker who was beaten for asking for a sick day.
The Nation Magazine continues the story of migrant workers who formed a nine-mile march to Burger King's corporate HQ in Miami to demand justice for this intolerable situation.
It is out of these struggles, these horrendous conditions, that groups like the
Coalition of Immokalee Workers are born. It is not some vanity campaign for
rich college kids that these folks are fighting for (although some may wish to label it so). When they took on Taco Bell and McDonald's (
and won) it was to fight brutal working conditions like this. More recently, the CIW has aimed its sights on Burger King and Whole Foods Market (whose marketing strategy is to promote itself as a 'green' employer
out to change modern agriculture for the bettter, (despite its
long anti-labor record).
Burger King and Whole Foods are fighting against this campaign to improve the situation for tomato-pickers. BK claims that it doesn't directly employ the pickers, and so is in no position to improve their pay. Simultaneously, they're also commenting on the fact that the CIW is not asking for much money (one penny more per pound of tomatoes picked by workers) as a reason for not ceding to the CIW.
"If we agreed to the penny per pound, Burger King would pay about
$250,000 annually, or $100
per worker. How does that solve exploitation
and poverty?"
That's a novel argument by management--that the workers' representatives aren't
asking for enough money to make a real difference.
You can read Francisca Cortes' story
here. She picks tomatoes for a living.