|
| |
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Fair Food
For other reports on
worker justice >> |
|
Reports on the Fair Food Campaign and the Coalition of
Immokalee Farmworker's struggle in Florida, from 2005-06, are
archived on another page. |
Great news! Two growers agree to
pass penny to farmworkers!
[6-5-09]
From the FAIRFOOD e-newsletter of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Two
organic Florida growers have agreed to pass the penny per pound
along to workers and adhere to strict labor standards!
Alderman Farms and Lady Moon Farms have reached agreements with
Whole Foods Market to fully implement the principles of the Campaign
for Fair Food, effectively breaking the stalemate established nearly
two seasons ago when the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange threatened
to fine any of its members that sold tomatoes under the terms of the
CIW agreements. At that time, two Florida growers who had been
passing on the penny-per-pound increase under the Taco Bell
agreement ceased doing so.
As
Lucas Benitez of the CIW explained, "The Campaign for Fair Food is
bearing fruit. For nearly two seasons, the Campaign's promise of
fair wages for Florida's farmworkers has been held hostage by the
Florida Tomato Growers Exchange. Today, however, the higher wages
and fairer conditions we have fought for will begin to reach the
workers who so clearly deserve them, thanks to the leadership of
Whole Foods Market and the forward thinking growers at Alderman
Farms and Lady Moon Farms. Without a doubt, the food market is
changing, and for the better. Sustainability, social as well as
environmental, is the way of the future. Together we – as
farmworkers, farmers, and buyers – are forging a path toward that
better future."
Karen Christensen of Whole Foods Market – the first supermarket to
sign an agreement with the CIW – noted that "Lady Moon and Alderman
Farms are examples of Florida growers that Whole Foods Market is
proud to support. These farms are long term partners of Whole Foods
Market and we look forward to continued growth together."
For
more details and to read the complete press release as well as
statements from Senators Durbin and Sanders, visit
www.ciw-online.org
.
As we give thanks for this step forward, we recognize that we need
all Florida growers to help create a humane, human-rights based
tomato industry. As the writer of James put it bluntly, "Listen! The
wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by
fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the
ears of the Lord of hosts." (James 5:4)
While our work has born its "first fruit," continued advocacy is
needed.
By continuing to pressure top buyers in the grocery industry to make
agreements with the CIW to raise wages and standards in the fields
of their suppliers as Whole Foods Market has done, growers will need
to follow this new direction of the market.
So take a moment and contact Interfaith Action to order your
postcards now (info@interfaithact.org
). If you're in Florida, ask for Publix cards. If you're in the
Midwest, ask for Kroger cards. If you're in the Northeast, ask for
Ahold (parent of Stop and Shop and others).
Peace,
PC(USA) Campaign for Fair Food
The Rev. Noelle Damico
Campaign for Fair Food
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
noelle.damico@pcusa.org
NY Office: 631-751-7076
Mobile: 631-371-9877
www.pcusa.org/fairfood
|
|
From the Campaign for Fair Food:
CIW and Bon Appétit forge agreement
[4-30-09]The
Coalition of Immokalee Workers and sustainable foodservice leader
Bon Appétit Management Company have forged a new model for fair
labor standards in Florida's tomato fields! The new model for
advancing farmworkers' rights includes a new "minimum fair wage"
provision, new practices to protect against wage fraud, worker
empowerment, worker safety, and third-party monitoring which that
also involves farmworkers. Read all the details as well as the
Washington Post article on the agreement at
www.ciw-online.org .
More >>
More in this update from the
Campaign for Fair Food:
1. CIW and
Bon Appétit Forge Agreement
2. Human Trafficking Training at
Presbytery of Charlotte
3. Register for "The Big Tent" in Atlanta,
June 11-13, 2009
4. 40th Anniversary of Presbyterian Hunger
Program
1. CIW AND BON APPÉTIT FORGE AGREEMENT!
The CIW and sustainable foodservice
leader Bon Appétit Management Company have forged a new model for
fair labor standards in Florida's tomato fields! The new model for
advancing farmworkers' rights includes a new "minimum fair wage"
provision, new practices to protect against wage fraud, worker
empowerment, worker safety, and third-party monitoring which that
also involves farmworkers. Read all the details as well as the
Washington Post article on the agreement at
www.ciw-online.org .
Bon Appétit, which operates on 400
university and corporate campuses, is a large purchaser of tomatoes,
about 5 million pounds a year but not as large as Subway or
McDonald's. Therefore the company's needs can be met by sourcing
tomatoes from smaller Florida growers, who, unlike their larger
counterparts in the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange, may be incented
to meet these standards for the opportunity to do business with Bon
Appétit. Gerardo Reyes Chavez of the CIW "We see this as a golden
opportunity for Florida's smaller, family-scale farmers to gain
access to a market that has traditionally been beyond their reach,
and to help elevate Florida's agricultural industry in the process."
Bon Appétit is the first food
service corporation to forge an agreement with the CIW to step
forward since the Student Farmworker Alliance launched their "Dine
with Dignity" campaign this spring, through which students on
campuses across the country are insisting that their food service
providers work with the CIW to advance farmworkers' human rights. To
read more about the Dine with Dignity Campaign which is currently
focused on Aramark, Sodexo, and Compass, visit
www.sfalliance.org .
2. HUMAN TRAFFICKING TRAINING AT
PRESBYTERY OF CHARLOTTE
On September 3, 2009, the
Presbytery of Charlotte will be sponsoring a full-day human
trafficking training conducted by the Freedom Network Training
Institute, an educational effort co-founded by the Coalition of
Immokalee Workers that has trained US Department of Justice, FBI,
law enforcement, social service providers and clergy nationwide.
These trainings are able to be
offered for free for groups that can convene at least 70 people from
their communities. The trainings are designed for people on the
front-lines of contact with modern-day slavery survivors, which
include clergy. In November 2007, the Long Island Presbytery
sponsored a successful training that brought together members from
across their community. To learn about how your presbytery could
sponsor a training, contact the Rev. Noelle Damico of the PC(USA)
Campaign for Fair Food at
Noelle.damico@pcusa.org or 631-751-7076.
3. REGISTER FOR "THE BIG TENT" IN ATLANTA,
JUNE 11-13
The PC(USA) Campaign for Fair Food
will be a part of a church-wide conference called "The Big Tent" in
Atlanta, June 11-13. Ten ministries of the PC(USA) and many groups
are joining together for the event. The Rev. Noelle Damico will be
co-leading a workshop on modern-day slavery and a program for youth
at the event. To learn more and register, visit
http://www.pcusa.org/bigtent/ .
4. 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF PRESBYTERIAN
HUNGER PROGRAM
In July, the Presbyterian Hunger
Program will observe its fortieth year of working to end poverty and
hunger in the US and around the world. Come join us as we celebrate
what has been accomplished and explore new challenges and
possibilities for our work together. Our celebration will take place
during the Presbyterian Women's Gathering, on Tuesday, July 14 at
4pm. Fair trade give-aways, music and community-building will mark
our celebration.
The Rev. Noelle Damico
Campaign for Fair Food
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
noelle.damico@pcusa.org
NY Office: 631-751-7076
Mobile: 631-371-9877
www.pcusa.org/fairfood
|
Florida governor
will meet with Immokalee Workers
[3-11-09]On Monday,
March 9th at the State Capitol Building in Tallahassee, the
Coalition of Immokalee Workers and their allies held a dramatic
press conference and delivered over 39,000 signatures on letters to
Gov. Crist, calling on him to meet with the CIW to address
modern-day slavery in the fields. We endeavored, in the famous words
of the prophet Habakkuk, to make the vision plain.
We've just learned that Governor Crist has agreed
to meet with the CIW on March 25th in Tallahassee.
Your efforts in signing and circulating the
Religious Community Letter to Gov. Crist played a critical role in
gaining this meeting. Thank you! We'll keep you posted on the
outcome of the meeting and any other important news.
For a full update with photo essays, media
coverage and more, visit
www.ciw-online.org . Within
the next week there will be several essays from Presbyterians in
Tallahassee, reflecting on their experience at the press conference
and on being a partner through the church with the CIW as well as
the full text of the remarks by the Rev. Noelle Damico of the PC(USA)
Campaign for Fair Food available at
www.pcusa.org/fairfood
.
From
Campaign for Fair Food,
PC(USA)
The Rev. Noelle
Damico
noelle.damico@pcusa.org
|
| An
update from PC(USA) Campaign for Fair Food
Immokalee workers calling on Gov. Crist to take stand against
slavery
[3-9-09]
The Rev. Noelle Damico, of the Presbyterian
Campaign for Fair Food, reports on the ongoing efforts of the
Coalition of Immokalee Workers to end modern-day slavery in the
fields of Florida.
Dear Friends:
As we continue to work with the CIW to end
modern-day slavery in the fields and prepare for Monday's press
conference in Tallahassee, the lectionary Psalter for this Sunday
seems fitting to remember. The Psalmist proclaims that the whole
congregation will join in praise because God "did not despise or
abhor the affliction of the afflicted" or hide God's face (Psalm
22:24). Far from it, God frees and heals and calls all people in
society to create a world that ensures our common well-being. Sadly,
Gov. Crist has thus far hid his face from the brutal suffering faced
by Florida farmworkers. May that change this Monday.
In this email update:
1. Last chance to sign the
Religious Community Letter to Gov. Crist
on Modern-Day Slavery: Press Conference on Monday, 12 noon at the
Tallahassee Capitol steps
2. Sustainable Food
Leaders Visit Immokalee
3. Gourmet Magazine
Features CIW's Work Against Slavery
Peace,
PC(USA) Campaign for Fair Food
1. Last Chance for Gov. Crist Sign-on
Letter; CIW Heads to Tallahassee
If you've not already signed onto the letter to
Gov. Crist urging him to meet with the CIW to discuss how to address
modern-day slavery in the Florida fields, now is the time! Visit
http://www.interfaithact.org/GovCristLetter and encourage your
friends to sign too!
The letter will be delivered to Gov. Crist as a
part of the CIW's Press Conference on Monday, March 9th at 12 noon
at the Capitol in Tallahassee. The Rev. Noelle Damico will be
speaking at the event on behalf of the General Assembly of the
PC(USA). On Sunday the CIW will be visiting at a number of
Presbyterian Churches in Tallahassee including First Presbyterian
Church, Faith Presbyterian and Christ Presbyterian Church.
Please keep our witness on modern-day slavery in
your prayers. Visit
http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2009/09179.htm for the Presbyterian
News Service story.
2. Sustainable Food Leaders Visit
Immokalee
On Wednesday, over a dozen sustainable food
movement leaders – including authors Frances Moore Lappé (Diet for a
Small Planet) and Raj Patel (Stuffed and Starved) as well as Slow
Food USA president Josh Viertel and National Family Farm Coalition
president Ben Burkett-- came to Immokalee on a delegation to witness
firsthand the reality faced by farmworkers.
"Historically the [sustainable food] movement has
focused on the environment, health, and preserving small farms. But
we've completely missed the boat when it comes to work. Farmworkers
need to be part of this movement....Today we are making that
connection" said Josh Viertel, president of Slow Food USA, during
the delegation's press conference. Also during the press conference,
Raj Patel placed a call to Governor Crist's office to once again ask
the Florida Governor to meet with the CIW and address abuses in
Florida's fields. For more details on the delegation, visit
www.ciw-online.org
3. Gourmet Magazine Features the CIW's work in a March
Feature and online editorial
This month's Gourmet magazine also bridges
the gap between food and farmworkers with an article, "Politics of
the Plate: The Price of Tomatoes," which delves into the slavery and
abuses behind the tomatoes eaten across the country. The article
describes the story of Mariano Lucas Domingo, who was held as a
slave picking tomatoes for two and a half years. Gourmet
contributing editor Barry Estabrook also reports, "when asked if it
is reasonable to assume that an American who has eaten a fresh
tomato from a grocery store or food-service company during the
winter has eaten fruit picked by the hand of a slave, Molloy said,
"It is not an assumption. It is a fact."
Find the article in the March 2009 edition or
online at
http://www.gourmet.com/magazine/2000s/2009/03/politics-of-the-plate-the-price-of-tomatoes
Gourmet's online
edition follows up on the article by noting: "A little slavery is
okay, just not too much of it. At this writing, that appears to be
the official government position in the state of Florida, and it
could explain why the fields of the Sunshine State provide such
fertile ground for modern-day slavery."
The Rev. Noelle Damico
Campaign for Fair Food
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
noelle.damico@pcusa.org
NY Office: 631-751-7076
Mobile: 631-371-9877
www.pcusa.org/fairfood
|
Immokalee Workers leader addresses UN
[2-12-09]
This report comes from the Rev. Noelle Damico,
who staffs the Campaign for Fair Food, of the Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.), dated Feb. 11, 2009.
Yesterday, Lucas Benitez of the Coalition of
Immokalee Workers spoke at the United Nations to mark the first-ever
"World Day of Social Justice." He emphasized the practical steps
that state and federal government officials could take to address
the grave human rights abuses faced by farmworkers. Read on to learn
more.
The writer of 1 John exhorts us to love "in truth
and action." If you haven't already done so, do take a moment to
read and consider signing on to the Religious Community Letter to
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist concerning modern-day slavery. It calls
on the governor to meet with the CIW and to urge the Florida Tomato
Growers Exchanges to stop impeding the CIW's agreements with food
corporations. To read the letter, get background, and to sign on,
click here >>.
Please download the letter and encourage members of your church to
join in this important public witness.
Peace, PC(USA) Campaign for Fair Food
~~~~~~~~~~~
Lucas Benitez speaks at UN's first "World Day
of Social Justice"
At the invitation of the Honorable Mary Robinson
(President of the Ethical Globalization Initiative and former UN
High Commissioner on Human Rights), Lucas Benitez of the CIW spoke
yesterday at an event marking the first "World Day of Social
Justice," organized by the EGI, the International Labor Organization
(ILO) and the UN.
You can find the full text of his speech at the
CIW website,
http://www.ciw-online.org
The invitation to the
inaugural event, held at UN headquarters in New York, was a great
honor. Lucas spoke of the history of the CIW's struggle and of
practical policy steps that state and federal government actors
could take to help improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of
farmworkers. He concluded his presentation:
With this sort of
practical and political support from elected leaders, consumers
and the corporations that purchase produce will be able to
demand a new product from the US agricultural industry – not
just good, cheap, and safe food, but fair food, food that
respects human rights and doesn't exploit human beings.
Food is at the
very heart of any society. The workers who plant, pick, and pack
food throughout the US – and around the world – have suffered
generations of poverty and degradation. On this day, the very
first World Social Justice Day, let us recognize the fundamental
dignity of farm labor and the men and women who put the food on
our tables. Thank you.
The Rev. Noelle
Damico
Campaign for Fair Food
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
noelle.damico@pcusa.org
NY Office: 631-751-7076
Mobile: 631-371-9877
www.pcusa.org/fairfood
|
|
For justice for Florida farmworkers
Join in asking Gov.
Crist of Florida to oppose modern slavery in Florida’s fields, and
to support improvement for farmworkers
[2-10-09]
The Witherspoon Society
supports the PC(USA) Campaign for Fair Food, in inviting you to sign
on to and collect signatures for a letter from the religious
community to Florida Governor Charlie Crist. The letter calls upon
Gov. Crist to work with the CIW to address modern-day slavery and
abuses in Florida's fields and to urge the Florida Tomato Growers
Exchange to stop blocking improvements for farmworkers.
Read the letter here: http://interfaithact.org/GovCristLetter
Find more
background information about the letter here: http://interfaithact.org/GovCristFAQ
We invite you to
support this letter in one of two ways:
1. Print the letter
and collect signatures in your congregation, committee, and other
settings during the month of February. You can download the letter
and the addresses to mail it to --
just click here.
OR
2. Invite clergy,
individuals and organizations can also sign on to the letter
electronically by sending your name, city/state, and
congregation/faith tradition to
info@interfaithact.org
This letter is a
collaborative effort with Florida religious leaders and we are
seeking signatures both in Florida and nationwide to make a strong,
collective witness to the Governor’s need to take a leadership role
in ending slavery and abuses in Florida's fields. We ask that you
collect and mail the letters (or email your electronic sign-on)
during the month of February. If there is no response from Gov.
Crist, we will deliver the letters in early March.
Lamentably, fear
and violence are still part and parcel of Florida agriculture’s
business as usual. This past December saw the seventh prosecution of
modern-day slavery in the Florida agricultural fields. The brutality
and degradation endured by the tomato pickers who were held against
their will, locked in box trucks, chained, beaten and forced to work
in the fields of two prominent Florida growers, while unimaginable
to most of us, is a horrific reality for Florida farmworkers. More
than 1,000 men and women have been enslaved and these numbers only
include those cases which have been prosecuted.
Will 2009 be the
beginning of the end of modern-day slavery in the fields? That is a
question we can only answer positively if elected political leaders
also add their weight to the growing effort to eradicate this shame.
Gov. Crist of Florida is foremost among them. We encourage you to
sign onto the letter and share it widely with your congregation,
presbytery and friends. |
Two
sentenced for slavery; PC(USA) calls on Florida’s Gov. Crist to act
[12-23-08]The latest
from Noelle Damico, of the PC(USA) Campaign for Fair Food
For her complete letter, and links to other good
material >>
Dear Friends:
On Friday, December 19, two members of the
Navarette family were sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for
enslaving tomato pickers in Immokalee, Florida. The crew leaders
chained workers to a post and beat them repeatedly, locked them in a
box truck every night, and forced them to work without pay for two
prominent Florida growers, Six L's corporation and Pacific Tomato
Growers.
This human rights travesty is not without
precedent. The Navarette case is the seventh-case of modern-day
slavery to be successfully prosecuted in recent years. The Coalition
of Immokalee Workers has worked closely with the US Department of
Justice and the F.B.I. to free workers and assist with these
prosecutions.
Despite the epidemic of slavery in the Florida
fields, Gov. Crist has remained silent while his designated
spokesperson from the FL Department of Agriculture and Consumer
Services has characterized slavery as "rare" and denied that
"legitimate" growers have been involved.
On December 18, the PC(USA) and four Executive
Presbyters from the state of Florida, joined other prominent
signatories from the religious and human rights community in an
open-letter calling on Gov. Charlie Crist to publicly renounce
statements by a spokesperson for the Florida Department of
Agriculture which downplayed the existence and severity of
modern-day slavery in the fields, and to work with the CIW and
federal officials responsible for prosecuting slavery cases to use
the full resources of his office to address this scourge. Read the
full text at
http://www.ciw-online.org/Open_letter_to_Crist.html .
The open-letter was paired with statements from
Mary Robinson (former UN Commissioner of Human Rights and former
President of Ireland), Larry Cox (President of Amnesty
International), the R.F.K. Center for Human Rights, and the Rev.
Noelle Damico, National Coordinator of the PC(USA) Campaign for Fair
Food. To read Noelle's statement and pertinent General Assembly
policy visit
http://www.pcusa.org/fairfood/tallahassee-to-farmworkers.htm .
All statements noted above may be found at
www.ciw-online.org .
The open-letter was penned following an article by
the Ft. Myers News-Press in which Gov. Crist of Florida was
asked to comment on the rash of slavery cases and referred the
reporter to the FL Agriculture spokesperson who 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". [
http://www.ciw-online.org/CIW_response_to_Crist.html ] .
Given that seven cases of modern-day slavery
involving over 1,000 workers have been successfully prosecuted and
that crew leaders who engaged these practices worked for some of the
leading growers in the Florida tomato industry, it was
doubly-surprising that when asked by the Ft. Myers News-Press
to respond to the open-letter and statements, the spokesperson
incredibly defended his statement saying that "it is quite a rarity
when a case pops up." Read the full story at
http://www.news-press.com/article/20081219/NEWS01/81218093/1075
.
In the Ft. Myers News-Press report on the
slavery sentencing, it came as no surprise to learn Six L's and
Pacific Tomato Growers are members of SAFE, the Socially Accountable
Farm Employers program that you may remember growers set up with
McDonald's backing in 2006. SAFE was designed to counter the
stringent human-rights based agreement that the Coalition of
Immokalee Workers had made with Taco Bell to improve workers wages
and address human rights abuses in the field. To learn more about
SAFE visit
http://www.ciw-online.org/Tangled_Web.html .
Since then the CIW has won meaningful agreements
with McDonald's, Burger King, Subway and Whole Foods Market. But the
Florida Tomato Growers Exchange continues to impede the penny wage
increase from getting to the farmworkers and to cling to the anemic,
SAFE program which was designed and has been implemented without
worker input. During hearings before the Senate's Health, Education,
Labor and Pensions Committee this past April, you may recall the
FTGE trotted out SAFE as a fig-leaf to defend itself against the
widespread poverty and rampant exploitation that has been documented
over and over in the FL fields.
Will this most recent case of slavery be a
turning-point for the growers? For the governor? Over the Christmas
holiday, stay tuned to
www.ciw-online.org for breaking news.
In Advent the church looks forward to that time
when all barriers to Love's full reign in our world will cease; a
time when the world will embody the just-peace God has always and
ever intended; a time when our world will be ordered by love.
As we prepare to celebrate the incarnation of God
in Jesus of Nazareth at Christmas, we are reminded that our world
still desperately needs the justice-rooted love that our savior
embodied and shared. In our worship and in our witness may God's
"good news" be made known. Happy Advent and Merry Christmas.
The Rev. Noelle Damico
Campaign for Fair Food
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
noelle.damico@pcusa.org
NY Office: 631-751-7076
Mobile: 631-371-9877
www.pcusa.org/fairfood
|
| Gradye Parsons commends CIW and Subway on
agreement Accord sends ‘unmistakable
message’ to ensure human rights, he says
[12-5-08]
Jerry Van Marter of Presbyterian News Service
reports that the Rev. Gradye Parsons, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
General Assembly stated clerk, has issued a statement praising the
Dec. 2 agreement between the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW)
and Subway, the third-largest fast food chain in the United States.
The agreement commits Subway to take steps to
increase wages and improve working conditions for the Florida
farmworkers that harvest tomatoes for Subway’s suppliers. Subway
joins Yum! Brands – parent of Taco Bell – as well as McDonalds,
Burger King and Whole Foods grocery chain in partnering with the CIW
to improve the lot of Florida’s farmworkers and put an end to human
slavery in the fields.
“Subway’s decision sends an unmistakable message
to the rest of the retail food industry and to Florida growers,”
Parsons said. “The industry can and must ensure human rights for
farmworkers.”
He also wrote: “The significance of these
agreements is that they not only promise a significant wage increase
for farmworkers but that they also guarantee the full-participation
of farmworkers in creating and upholding a more just food system.”
The full report >>
For earlier reports of
the CIW - Subway campaign >> |
Subway signs agreement with Immokalee Workers!
Coalition tour continues with
new focus
[12-2-08]
This note has just come
from the Rev. Noelle Damico, PC(USA) staff person for the
Campaign for Fair Food, and liaiason to the Coalition of
Immokalee Workers
Dear Friends:
"O that You would tear open the
heavens and come down" we cried with the prophet Isaiah this
past Sunday. In a world tangled in injustice, we long for a
glimpse of God's promise of shalom. Today we received such a
glimpse.
Just a few hours ago, Subway signed
an agreement with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to improve
farmworkers' wages and address human rights abuses in the fields
of its Florida tomato suppliers.
The agreement was reached as the
CIW and members of the religious, human rights and student
communities, gathered at Subway's purchasing cooperative, IPC,
in Miami this morning, to launch the Subway NE Tour. A signing
ceremony took place inside IPC with Subway and CIW
representatives.
The CIW's Tour will continue to
journey through NC, Washington, DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia,
Boston, Providence, New Haven and New York City in the coming
week, however the focus will shift from Subway to the rest of
the food industry. Now that Subway, the largest fast-food buyer
of Florida tomatoes, has joined Yum!, McDonald's, Burger King,
and Whole Foods Market in working with the CIW, its time for the
rest of the grocery and fast-food corporations to join their
counterparts and partner with the CIW to elevate human rights
for farmworkers in their own supply chains.
Peace,
|
| Another step
for Fair Food Settlement reached in Smithfield Foods
labor struggle
[10-28-08]
This news has just come from Dr. Christian
Iosso, coordinator of the PC(USA)’s Advisory Committee on Social
Witness Policy (ACSWP).
Today's news indicates that an agreement on the conduct of a
(third) union representation election appears to have been reached
between the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) and Smithfield
Foods. The National Labor Relations Board had found the Company to
have violated workers' rights through intimidation and other
infringement on the "secret ballot" elections that were conducted in
the 1990's, prompting union supporters to push for the employee card
check method that is anticipated to receive support under an Obama
administration. The prospect of that election helping labor was
probably a factor in this settlement. Note that the company claimed
$900 million in losses due to a solidarity effort on behalf of the
workers at the world's largest pork processing plant.
Following a strong statement by the 2004 General
Assembly encouraging the monitoring of this employee rights/working
conditions situation, representatives of both Coastal Carolina
(where the plant is located) and New Hope (which originated an
overture) met with company, worker and union representatives and
were hosted in a visit to the massive pork packing plant by Joseph
Luter, III, President of the Company. The 2006 Assembly received a
"Response to Referral" from ACSWP describing the situation;
continued attention was recommended from the church, to include GAC
and presbytery follow-up.
Not mentioned in the story linked below is the
impact of ICE (formerly INS) raids on the Hispanic workers at the
plant. This decreased the proportion of Hispanic workers
substantially. African-American workers now again comprise the
majority of workers, with some Native Americans and perhaps 25%
Hispanic workers.
We anticipate further information from New Hope
Presbytery members who have been particularly concerned for the
situation, and we salute their engagement.
Click here for the news story >> |
| Whole Foods and CIW
reach agreement
Stated Clerk praises pact to improve wages and working conditions
for farmworkers [9-12-08]
Presbyterian News Service reports
that Whole Foods Market
has struck an agreement with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)-backed
Coalition of Immokalee Workers
(CIW) to help raise wages and improve working conditions for
Florida’s tomato pickers.
The Texas-based organic and natural
foods grocer is the latest to join the coalition’s Campaign for Fair
Food, agreeing to pay a penny more per pound for tomatoes it
purchases from Florida growers. The extra money would be passed
along to the harvesters.
The CIW, a Florida-based
farmworkers group, receives strong support from the PC(USA) and
other faith groups.
The Rev. Gradye Parsons, stated
clerk of the PC(USA) General Assembly, issued a statement commending
Whole Foods and the coalition on the agreement, which was signed
this week.
The full story and
photo >> |
|
Stated Clerk commends CIW
and Burger King on ‘historic’ agreement
[5-31-08]
Presbyterian News Service reports that the Rev.
Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.) General Assembly, has issued a statement commending the
church-backed Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) on its recent
deal with hamburger-giant Burger King Corporation (BKC).
See our earlier report on the agreement
>>
In his statement,
Kirkpatrick says:
On behalf of the
General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), I write to
commend the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and the Burger King
Corporation on their recent agreement to dramatically improve
farmworkers wages and working conditions in the tomato fields of
Florida. The agreement stands as a plumb line of justice,
granting a needed wage increase, establishing zero tolerance for
illegal acts, and involving farmworkers in the creation and
enforcement of a strong code of conduct for suppliers.
The Coalition of
Immokalee Workers (CIW) led a principled campaign in the face of
attacks to their integrity and accomplishments. Their courage
and dedication have inspired millions of consumers across the
nation to demand a new era of accountability, transparency and
human rights within the retail food and agricultural industries.
The full news
report and Kirkpatrick’s statement >> |
Immokalee Workers and Burger King
sign agreement!
[5-23-08]
This news just in from the Rev.
Noelle Damico, Campaign for Fair Food, Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.)
Today, the CIW and Burger King
Corporation signed an agreement to improve farmworkers' wages and
enforce human rights standards in the fields!
With great joy, I write to you from
Washington, DC, where a signing ceremony and press conference took
place in the US Capitol, just an hour ago, hosted by Senator Bernie
Sanders. Excerpts from the joint press statement released by CIW and
BKC can be found below. More news will be available soon on
www.ciw-online.org
and
www.pcusa.org/fairfood
.
Farmworkers from
the CIW and representatives of Burger King Corporation (BKC) were
joined by representatives of the PC(USA), the US Catholic Conference
of Bishops, the United Methodist Church, the Unitarian Universalist
Association and human rights and student leaders at the event.
Speaking at the event were Senator Sanders, Lucas Benitez from CIW,
Amy Wagner, Sr. VP, Investor Relations and Global Communications,
and John Carr, Executive Director of the US Catholic Conference of
Bishops.
Your prayers, your
participation in marches, the incredible number of signatures you
garnered in the petition campaign, and your ongoing letters and
emails to Burger King made this victory possible.
We read in Hebrews
11:1 that "faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the
conviction of things not seen." Through faith we know that this
agreement is a harbinger of that soon-coming day, when the entire
fast-food and grocery industry will embrace these human rights
standards, and farmworkers will enjoy a fair wage and humane working
conditions. As we celebrate this human rights victory, let us also
renew our commitment to keep walking together with the CIW until we
see that day dawns.
Please share this
good news far and wide! Some details on the agreement may be found
below.
Peace,
The Rev. Noelle
Damico
Campaign for Fair Food
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
noelle.damico@pcusa.org
NY Office: 631-751-7076
Mobile: 631-371-9877
www.pcusa.org/fairfood
You can also read the
Presbyterian News
Service report, written by Evan Silverstein >>
EXCERPTS FROM THE CIW-BKC PRESS
STATEMENT
BURGER KING CORP. AND THE COALITION OF IMMOKALEE WORKERS TO WORK
TOGETHER
BKC has agreed to
pay an additional net penny per pound to the Florida farm workers
who harvest its tomatoes. To encourage grower participation in this
increased wage program, BKC will also pay incremental payroll taxes
and administrative costs incurred by the growers as a result of
their farmworkers' increased wages, or a total of 1.5 cents per
pound of tomatoes.
BKC also joins
other fast-food industry leaders and the CIW in calling for an
industry-wide net penny per pound surcharge to increase wages for
Florida tomato harvesters. Together, BKC and the CIW have also
established zero tolerance guidelines for certain unlawful
activities that require immediate termination of any grower from the
BURGER KING® supply chain. The BKC/CIW collaboration additionally
provides for farmworker participation in the monitoring of growers'
compliance with the company's vendor code of conduct.
John Chidsey, chief
executive officer of Burger King Corp., said, "We are pleased to now
be working together with the CIW to further the common goal of
improving Florida tomato farmworkers' wages, working conditions and
lives. The CIW has been at the forefront of efforts to improve farm
labor conditions, exposing abuses and driving socially responsible
purchasing and work practices in the Florida tomato fields. We
apologize for any negative statements about the CIW or its motives
previously attributed to BKC or its employees and now realize that
those statements were wrong. Today we turn a new page in our
relationship and begin a new chapter of real progress for Florida
farmworkers.
"For more than 50
years, BKC has been a proud purchaser and supporter of the Florida
tomato industry. However, if the Florida tomato industry is to be
sustainable long-term, it must become more socially responsible. We,
along with other industry leaders, recognize that the Florida tomato
harvesters are in need of better wages, working conditions and
respect for the hard work they do. And we look forward to working
with the CIW in the pursuit of these necessary improvements. We also
encourage other purchasers and growers of Florida tomatoes to engage
in dialogue with the CIW in support of driving industry-wide
socially responsible change. "
Lucas Benitez of
the CIW added, "The events of the past months have been trying. But
we are prepared to move forward, together now with Burger King,
toward a future of full respect for the human rights of workers in
the Florida tomato fields. Today we are one step closer to building
a world where we, as farmworkers, can enjoy a fair wage and humane
working conditions in exchange for the hard and essential work we do
everyday. We are not there yet, but we are getting there, and this
agreement should send a strong message to the rest of the restaurant
and supermarket industry: Now is the time to join Yum! Brands,
McDonalds, and Burger King in righting the wrongs that have been
allowed to linger in Florida's fields for far too long."
The CIW has ended
its campaign against Burger King Corp. and its franchisees and will
work with the company to further foster improvements and sustainable
changes throughout the Florida tomato industry. The CIW and BKC will
also work together toward development of an industry-wide vendor
code of conduct and increased worker wages through encouragement of
full buyer and grower participation. |
|
More
on Burger King ...
Presbyterians and
farmworkers deliver petitions to Burger King
[5-7-08]
A May 6 report from
Presbyterian News Service begins: A delegation of Presbyterians
joined a group of farmworker advocates in delivering 85,000
signatures to Burger King’s Miami headquarters last week urging the
fast-food giant to join McDonald’s Corp. and Taco Bell to help
increase the wages of Florida tomato pickers and improve working
conditions in the growing fields.
The signatures from
all 50 states and 42 countries were gathered as part of a national
petition campaign launched in February by the Coalition of Immokalee
Workers (CIW), a community-based labor rights group in Immokalee, FL
that works in partnership with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and
other faith-based, human-rights and student organizations.
|
|
Immokalee Workers and allies
deliver 85,000 signed petitions to Burger King as the press traces
online attacks to BK’s VP
An update from
Noelle Damico, of the PC(USA) Campaign for Fair Food
[5-2-08]
Presbyterian leaders joined
farmworkers in delivering petitions with 85,000 signatures from all
50 states and 42 countries to Burger King headquarters in Miami on
April 28, calling for an end to slavery and sweatshop conditions in
Florida's fields. Petition signers pledged they are "prepared to
boycott Burger King." Is your signature on the petition? You can add
it by visiting
http://fairfoodnation.org/petition .
That morning the
Fort Myers News Press broke that Burger King vice president
Steve Grover had used his middle-school aged daughter's email
address to post unfounded and derogatory information about the CIW
on web sites.
The VP's online postings included
claims that CIW was taking money from Yum and McDonald's. Burger
King told the Associated Press Mr. Grover's comments were not the
company's official position. However, these comments quite
accurately reflected the company's position this past fall – a
position they've never publicly retracted, despite calls from
Clifton Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly and The
Carter Center.
Addressing the press on Mr.
Grover's postings, Gerardo Reyes Chavez of the CIW noted, "In these
commentaries, he has called us "the lowest form of life,"
"bloodsuckers," and has accused us of being ourselves "exploiters".
How is it possible, in Mr. Grover's eyes, that a community of
farmworkers struggling precisely to defend our fundamental human
rights can be considered something without humanity, "the lowest
form of life"? "Exploiters"? For bringing six cases of slavery to
federal court? "Bloodsuckers"? For demanding publicly that the
fast-food industry -- which is worth over $100 billion -- take
measures to end human rights abuses?"
"Burger King has the obligation to
clarify if the words of their vice president reflect also Burger
King's position as a corporation. If that is in fact the case, then
they should have the courage to declare it openly, now, and not like
cowards hiding in the shadows of the internet. And if their position
is different, they must clarify that today, and not with words, but
with concrete actions," concluded Reyes-Chavez.
In light of the enormous number of
signatures on petitions and the urgent human rights crisis in the
fields, the Rev. Dr. Arlene Gordon, Executive Presbyter of the
Presbytery of Tropical Florida stated during the press conference on
Monday, "It is my sincere hope that Burger King will heed the call
of its customers and the farmworkers who make its business possible,
and use its considerable power together with the CIW to advance
human rights for farmworkers without delay."
May it be so! Let the company hear
from you by signing the petition today
http://fairfoodnation.org/petition .
Read the PC(USA) report with
photos, quotes and links to speeches and more information about our
delegation at
www.pcusa.org/fairfood
Read the CIW's report with photos
and narrative at
www.ciw-online.org
Read Clifton Kirkpatrick's fall
2007 public letter to BK to retract false statements
http://www.ciw-online.org/images/CKirkpat to SGroverBK.pdf
The Rev. Noelle Damico Campaign
for Fair Food Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
noelle.damico@pcusa.org
NY Office: 631-751-7076
Mobile: 631-371-9877
www.pcusa.org/fairfood
|
|
An update from the Campaign for Fair
Food of the PC(USA) Last chance to sign petition to
Burger King to end slavery in the Florida fields
[4-25-08]
On Monday, the CIW and its allies,
including a national delegation of Presbyterians, will be presenting
signed Petitions to End Modern-Day Slavery and Sweatshops in the
Fields to Burger King in Miami. Please keep this historic action and
all who are involved in your prayers. If you haven't signed the
petition or circulated it among your friends, now is the time!
http://fairfoodnation.org/petition
In this update you'll find:
- CIW Petition – sign
online; delivery on 4/28
- Congressional Hearings
Expose Tomato Pickers' Exploitation
- Is Burger King Spying on
Fairfood Group?
- Interfaith Action is seeking
interns for summer and fall
1.
FINAL DAYS BEFORE DELIVERY OF CIW PETITION TO BK These are the
final days until the CIW and its allies deliver tens of thousands of
petition signatures from across the country to Burger King's Miami
headquarters on Monday, April 28th. So if you haven't yet had a
chance to sign the petition, do so online today!
http://fairfoodnation.org/petition Please take a moment to
forward the petition link to your friends and family so they can
sign online as well. For background on the petition see
www.pcusa.org/fairfood .
A delegation of Presbyterians will
join the farmworkers and other religious, human rights and student
leaders at the ceremonial delivery, including Dr. Arlene Gordon
(Executive Presbyter of the Presbytery of Tropical FL, where BK is
headquartered); the Rev. Greg Bentley (President of the National
Black Presbyterian Caucus); Ms. Nelia Senti (Treasurer of the
National Hispanic Latino Caucus); Rev. Miguel Estrada (Pastor of the
Immokalee-based Mision Peniel church); and the Rev. Kennedy McGowan
(Pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, FL). We hope
they'll be able to carry your petition signature! The ceremony will
take place at Burger King's Miami headquarters on 4/28 from
3:30-5:30pm. For more information on how to participate in this
event, visit www.ciw-online.org
.
Thank you to everyone who has
already mailed petition signatures that you have collected to CIW or
who has signed online! If you have not yet sent your petitions,
please call CIW at 239-657-8311 to arrange a way for them to arrive
so that we can ensure they are included in the delivery to BK
Headquarters. You can also fax petitions to 239-657-5055.
2.
CONGRESSIONAL HEARING EXPOSES TOMATO PICKERS' EXPLOITATION On
Tuesday, April 15, the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Committee of the U.S. Senate held the first-ever hearing into the
labor conditions of farmworkers in Florida. The Senators lambasted
the FTGE for obstructing the penny-per-pound payments to farmworkers
that are a part of the CIW's agreements with Yum! Brands and
McDonald's. You can see photos as well as listen to the Senators
remarks and testimony from CIW, the Collier County Police officer
responsible for Human Trafficking, the Southern Poverty Law Center,
as well as Reggie Brown of the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange and
Roy Reina of Granger Farms at
www.ciw-online.org . Read the Presbyterian News Service story:
http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2008/08309.htm .
3. IS
BURGER KING SPYING ON FAIRFOOD GROUP? Amy Bennett Williams of
the Ft. Meyers News-Press has published a chilling article that ties
Burger King to email and web attacks on the CIW and which further
alleges that Burger King may have hired a private security firm to
infiltrate the Student Farmworker Alliance. The story was picked up
and developed by Democracy Now, the Center for Media and Democracy
as well as The Nation. Read and listen to the reports which include
responses from Burger King.
For all links visit
www.ciw-online.org and
scroll down.
Link to the original story at
http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080412/NEWS01/80412019/1014
and the 4/23/08 Nation editorial at
http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20080423/cm_thenation/7314827
4.
INTERFAITH ACTION SEEKING INTERNS FOR SUMMER/FALL
Interfaith Action, the
Immokalee-based group that coordinates religious support for the CIW,
is looking for summer and fall interns to work in Immokalee on the
Campaign for Fair Food. Applicants may apply for Summer, Fall, or
both, and should be flexible to organize with both Interfaith Action
(http://interfaithact.org )
and Student Farmworker Alliance (http://sfalliance.org
) – in partnership with the CIW. For more information, and to apply,
visit
http://www.sfalliance.org/internship.html or contact
info@interfaithact.org
or 239-657-8311.
The Rev. Noelle Damico
Campaign for Fair Food
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
noelle.damico@pcusa.org
NY Office: 631-751-7076
Mobile: 631-371-9877
www.pcusa.org/fairfood
|
More
on the Congressional testimony by Immokalee farmworkers
[4-22-08]
We have reported earlier on the Senate
hearing on April 15 on working conditions for tomato pickers in
Florida. Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor of The Nation, has now
published a more detailed story on that event. She and co-author
Greg Kaufman write:
The hearing revealed
that even when multibillion-dollar corporations like McDonald’s and
Yum! Brands (whose subsidiaries include Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC,
Long John Silver’s and A&W) attempt to do the right thing — and pay
the workers more — powerful agribusiness interests have stood in the
way. These corporations agreed to supplement the workers at a rate
of an additional penny per pound for the tomatoes they purchase.
Doesn’t sound like much — and it isn’t for the corporations — but it
would result in about a 75 percent salary increase for workers who a
2001 US Department of Labor report described as “a labor force in
significant economic distress… [with] low wages, sub-poverty annual
earnings, [and] significant periods of un- and underemployment.”
As some growers began to
implement the Yum/McDonald’s agreement — an extra paycheck cut to
the farmworkers by the buyers, not the growers, mind you — the
Florida Tomato Growers Exchange (FTGE), representing 90 percent of
the state’s growers, said any members who adopted this policy would
be fined $100,000 per worker benefiting from the agreement.
The whole story >>
And don’t miss the
report from
the Coalition of Immokalee Farmworkers >>
And
Presbyterian News Service has just posted its own report >> |
|
Farmworkers tell Senate committee
of enslavement of tomato pickers
[4-17-08]
The Palm Beach
Post reported on April 16 about the testimony given to the
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee about the
realities of “slavery” in the tomato fields of Florida. For the
hearing, held on Tuesday, April 15, no
Republican committee members were in attendance.
Collier County
Sheriff’s Detective Charlie Frost said that “Today’s form of
slavery does not bear the overt nature of pre-Civil War society,
but it is nonetheless heinous and reprehensible,” explaining
that workers are held in “involuntary servitude” through threats
and actual violence against them and their families – often in
Latin America – and in a system of “perpetually accruing debt,”
in which they are overcharged for housing, food, water and
transportation.
Lucas Benitez, a
co-founder of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, told the panel
that tomato pickers regularly are abused, harassed, intimidated
and kept so deeply in debt that they are virtually in bondage.
Benitez said female pickers additionally are subjected to sexual
harassment and abuse.
But Reginald
Brown, executive vice president of the Florida Tomato Growers
Exchange, disputed the characterization as slavery in the
commercial tomato industry. Isolated cases have occurred among
private growers, he said, but “Florida’s tomato growers abhor
and condemn slavery. . . . We are on the same side on this
issue.”
|
More on farmworkers' testimony
to Senate committee
[4-17-08]The staff of Interfaith
Action of Southwest Florida sent their own report, with links to
reports from CNN/AP, and The Nation.
Sent: Wednesday, April 16, 2008 12:25 PM
Subject: [Interfaith Action] US Senate hearing examines FTGE
claimsHello everyone,
During yesterday's U.S. Senate hearing, Lucas
Benitez of the CIW; Detective Charlie Frost of the Collier
County Sheriff's Department Anti-Trafficking Unit; Mary Bauer,
Director of the Southern Poverty Law Center; and author Eric
Schlosser testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor,
and Pensions Committee about the poverty and abuses faced by
Florida tomato pickers.
Reggie Brown of the Florida Tomato Growers
Exchange (FTGE) also testified before the committee, where many
of the FTGE's claims came under intense scrutiny. Senator
Richard Durbin asked those in attendance to "join me in doing
the math" to examine the growers' claim that farmworkers earn an
average of $12.46/hour. He pointed out that to do so workers
would have to fill and empty a 32-pound bucket of tomatoes about
every two minutes all day long. "Is that possible?" Senator
Durbin asked, "I don't think it is." Senator Sanders
subsequently asked Mary Bauer of the Southern Poverty Law Center
about how easy it is for agricultural employers to falsify wage
and hour records. “Very easy,” she replied. After repeated
requests, Brown reluctantly agreed to turn payroll records over
to the General Accounting Office.
Senator Sanders also questioned Brown about
the FTGE's threatened fines for tomato growers that participate
in the McDonald's and Yum Brands agreements. Sanders explained
that two top law firms found the agreements sound and legal and
entered into the record a letter from 26 legal professors
specializing in labor law – including antitrust dimensions of
labor standards, who found that "The growers' ostensible
concerns over antitrust law are flatly mistaken. The only real
antitrust concern would arise if several growers agree among
themselves to not participate in the CIW-Yum or CIW-McDonald's
monitoring program."
Senators Kennedy, Durbin, and Sanders all
remarked that the hearing marked "just the start" of
Congressional inquiry into the wages and conditions faced by
Florida tomato pickers.
You can see the full report, a link to the
hearing and testimonies, and the extensive press coverage at
www.ciw-online.org
Read the CNN/AP article >>
For a detailed analysis of the hearing from The Nation >>
Brigitte,
Melody, Jordan, and Katie
Interfaith Action of Southwest Florida
Immokalee, FL ~ 239-986-0688
www.interfaithact.org
|
|
Congressional leaders sign CIW petition and call hearings
We can help
by circulating the petition, too.
[3-17-08]
Dear Friends:
Congressional leaders are doing
their part to sign and circulate CIW's petition. Please do
yours! Visit
www.ciw-online.org to download a copy of the petition, learn
more about modern-day slavery and the role of consumers in
holding the food industry accountable for bringing about change.
And check out our new Burger
King Campaign webpage which provides a chronology of the
PC(USA)'s engagement with Burger King and frequently asked
questions at
www.pcusa.org/fairfood (link to it from the right margin!)
Peace,
PC(USA)
Campaign for Fair Food
Congressional Leaders Sign CIW Petition
and Call Hearings
On Thursday, March 13th
Congressional leaders and representatives from the human rights,
labor, religious and student communities gathered on Capitol
Hill to sign the CIW's Petition to End Modern-Day Slavery and
Sweatshops in the Fields.
A press conference overlooking
the Capitol building was organized by Senator Bernie Sanders who
was joined by Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin,
House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Congressman
Dennis Kucinich, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, and RFK Center
Director Monika Kalra Varma. The Rev. Noelle Damico, National
Coordinator of the PC(USA) Campaign for Fair Food, was among
religious leaders who participated in the signing ceremony.
In addition to decrying the
exploitative conditions under which farmworkers in Florida labor
and the refusal of Burger King to work with the CIW as
McDonald's and Yum! Brands have done, Senator Sanders also
announced that a Congressional Hearing into the business
practices of Burger King and other food industry leaders and the
role of those practices in creating adverse conditions for men
and women harvesting tomatoes in the Florida fields, has been
scheduled for later this spring.
Senators Durbin and Sanders
also sent letters, along with Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and
Sherrod Brown (D-OH), to seven of the largest grocery and food
service companies urging them to participate in a proposed
initiative to increase the piece rate that tomato workers in
Immokalee, Florida are paid. These companies supply produce to
the US government.
Read an account of proceedings from Senator Sanders' website.
Stay tuned for CIW's update on
www.ciw-online.org
The Rev. Noelle Damico
Campaign for Fair Food
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
noelle.damico@pcusa.org
NY Office: 631-751-7076
Mobile: 631-371-9877
www.pcusa.org/fairfood
|
|
From the PC(USA) Campaign for Fair
Food Top officials of
the PC(USA) sign CIW petition to end modern-day slavery and
sweatshops in the fields
On Monday, March 10th, the Rev.
Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly,
and Ms. Linda Bryant Valentine, Executive Director of the
General Assembly Council, signed the Coalition of Immokalee
Workers' National Petition to End Modern-Day Slavery and
Sweatshops in the Fields.
"It is my sincere hope that by
my signing this petition other people of faith and conscience
will be inspired to make this commitment to advance human rights
as well," Dr. Kirkpatrick said. "And that Burger King, which has
worked so assiduously to avoid responsibility for shameful
conditions in the tomato fields of its suppliers, would change
course now and work with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers."
Read
the Presbyterian News Service story, "Petition drive to
end 'modern-day slavery' launched by church-backed
farmworkers: Campaign threatens boycott of Burger King."
Read Dr. Kirkpatrick's public statement on the signing
Read the CIW's petition and about the most recent slavery
case
Dr. Kirkpatrick and Ms.
Valentine join Presbyterians across the country who are already
at work collecting signatures for this petition which calls on
Burger King and other food industry leaders to work with the
Coalition of Immokalee Workers now to end exploitation in the
fields and indicates that signatories are prepared to boycott
Burger King now if the company fails to do so.
The Presbyterian News Service
story also describes the context of the petition and the
creative signature campaigns underway at First Presbyterian
Church in Hollywood, FL and at Louisville Presbyterian
Theological Seminary. Check out the links above and be inspired
to circulate this important petition creatively within your own
congregation, presbytery and community. Be sure to let us know
how you're circulating the petition by writing to
noelle.damico@pcusa.org
.
Peace,
The Rev. Noelle Damico
Campaign for Fair Food
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
noelle.damico@pcusa.org
NY Office: 631-751-7076
Mobile: 631-371-9877
www.pcusa.org/fairfood |
|
Coalition of Immokalee Workers launches petition campaign to end
modern-day slavery and sweatshops in the fields
[3-1-08] Taking a page
out of abolitionist history, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers
has launched a petition campaign calling on Burger King and
other food industry leaders to work with the CIW to pay a penny
more per pound to farmworkers harvesting tomatoes and to
establish a enforceable, human-rights based code of conduct to
end modern-day slavery and other abuses in the fields. The
petition puts the industry on notice that signatories "are
prepared to stop patronizing Burger King now and other food
industry leaders in the future, should they fail to do so." The
petitions will be presented to Burger King later in the spring
during a peaceful action at the company's Miami headquarters.
Presbyterians across the
country are already hard at work collecting signatures and
drawing attention to the exploitative effect that the purchasing
practices of Burger King and other retail food corporations are
having on the men and women who harvest our tomatoes. [Read more
and take action
www.ciw-online.org ]
The launch of this petition
campaign comes on the heels of a January 2008 federal indictment
for the seventh case of modern-day slavery to emerge from
Florida's fields in the past ten years. Petition campaigns and
consumer actions by British citizens helped hasten the abolition
of the British slave trade in 1807. The CIW petition campaign
honors the 200th anniversary of the US ban against the
importation of slaves (1808), and echoes the petition strategy
of the early abolitionist movement.
The PC(USA) Campaign for Fair
Food encourages Presbyterians to circulate this petition and to
do so in creative ways! For example, the First Presbyterian
Church of Hollywood, in Tropical FL Presbytery where Burger King
is headquartered, plans to collect thousands of signatures on
petitions designed as tomatoes, then assemble them into a plant
that will be part of the procession to present the petitions to
Burger King later in the Spring. Students and faculty at
Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary are gathering
signatures at their upcoming alumni event and plan to hold a
press conference and action highlighting the petition in light
of the fact that Louisville was a stop on the US slave depot 200
years ago.
What will you do? Get your
creative juices flowing: visit
http://www.ciw-online.org/2008_Petitions/join.html
. And send us your stories. How is are you planning to garner
signatures? Email your plans, events and photos to
noelle.damico@pcusa.org
so that your efforts can inspire others! |
|
For archives of earlier reports on the Fair Food Campaign and the Coalition of
Immokalee Farmworkers struggle in Florida:
|
| |
|
Some blogs worth
visiting |
|
Voices of Sophia blog
Heather Reichgott,
who has created this new blog for Voices of Sophia, introduces it:
After fifteen years
of scholarship and activism, Voices of Sophia presents a blog. Here,
we present the voices of feminist theologians of all stripes:
scholars, clergy, students, exiles, missionaries, workers, thinkers,
artists, lovers and devotees, from many parts of the world, all
children of the God in whose image women are made. .... This blog
seeks to glorify God through prayer, work, art, and intellectual
reflection. Through articles and ensuing discussion we hope to
become an active and thoughtful community.
Witherspoon’s Facebook page
Mitch Trigger,
Witherspoon’s Secretary/Communicator, has created a Facebook page
where Witherspoon members and others can gather to exchange news and
views. Mitch and a few others have posted bits of news, both
personal and organizational. But there’s room for more!
You can post your own
news and views, or initiate a conversation about a topic of interest
to you.
John Harris’ Summit to
Shore blogspot
Theological and
philosophical reflections on everything between summit to shore,
including kayaking, climbing, religion, spirituality, philosophy,
theology, politics, culture, travel, The Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.), New York City and the Queens neighborhood of Ridgewood by
a progressive New York City Presbyterian Pastor. John is a member of
the Witherspoon board, and is designated pastor of North
Presbyterian Church in Flushing, NY.
John Shuck’s Shuck and Jive
A Presbyterian
minister, currently serving as pastor of First Presbyterian Church
of Elizabethton, Tenn., blogs about spirituality, culture, religion
(both organized and disorganized), life, evolution, literature,
Jesus, and lightening up.
Got more blogs to recommend?
Please
send a note,
and we'll see what we can do! |
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Plan now for ...
GHOST RANCH PEACE & JUSTICE
WEEK
July 27 - August 2, 2009
Now's the time to make reservations to be a part of
the 2009 Peace & Justice Week at Ghost Ranch, July 27-August 2.
There are eight seminars to choose among, including the
Witherspoon-sponsored class “New Eyes for Peace & Justice from the
World Church” led by Clifton Kirkpatrick.
More
information >> |
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If you like what you find here,
we hope you'll help us keep this website going ... and growing!
Please consider making a special contribution --
large or small -- to help us continue and improve this service.
Click
here to send a gift online, using your credit card, through
PayPal.
Or send your check, made out to
"Witherspoon Society" and marked "web site," to our Witherspoon
Bookkeeper:
Susan Robertson
9650 Clover Circle
Eden Prairie, MN 55347 |
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Check out our report from the
Conference
on
Terror, Torture,
and Security |
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