Immokalee Farmworker
Chris Hedges on Immokalee Farmworkers vs. Publix: We Must check the Corporate Forces turning America into a Neo-Feudalist State
On Sunday, Nov 13th at 3 PM, a few dozen tomato pickers from Immokalee joined scores of students and members of local churches to picket outside the newest Publix supermarket that opened this week in Sarasota, Florida. Protestors are calling on Publix to take part in the CIW’s Fair Food accords, hailed by the New York Times this summer as “possibly the most successful labor action in the U.S. in 20 years.“
Some 30,000 farmworkers this season will have assured access to shade and water, the right to report abuses without fear of retaliation, and the ability to form health and sfaety committees in the fields, as well as zero-tolerance protections for forced labor and sexual harassment. Yet Publix refuses to pay a small fair-trade premium to lift farmworker wages a penny a pound, and Publix has not agreed to condition its tomato purchases on suppliers’ compliance with the new Fair Food code of conduct.
Pulitzer prize winning journalist, author Chris Hedges joined the protest in Sarasota and provided some interesting analysis. Check the video…
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