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,

CIW and Bon Appétit forge agreement

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.

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)

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.

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

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

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.

Join in asking Gov. Crist of Florida to oppose modern slavery in Florida’s fields, and to support improvement 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.

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. 

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 >>

Settlement reached in Smithfield Foods labor struggle

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.

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.

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.

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."

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.

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

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:

1. CIW Petition – sign online; delivery on 4/28
2. Congressional Hearings Expose Tomato Pickers' Exploitation
3. Is Burger King Spying on Fairfood Group?
4. Interfaith Action is seeking interns for summer and fall

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. 

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 >>

[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.”

The staff of Interfaith Action of Southwest Florida sent their own report, with links to reports from CNN/AP, and The Nation.

Hello 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 >>

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

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,

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.

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?

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.

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