Coalition of Immokalee Workers Scores Better Conditions for Farm Laborers

In a major victory for Florida farm workers, one of the nation's top three food service corporations, Sodexo, signed on this week to an agreement with The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), a community-based, farm-worker justice organization. Sodexo pledged to pay more for the Florida tomatoes it purchases and abide by a new, farmer-developed code for the food suppliers that provide Sodexo's tomatoes.

So why is this a major victory? Sodexo, a food management services corporation, serves 9.3 million meals each day in school cafeterias, universities, hospitals, and nursing homes across North America. Figure in all the salads, burgers, sandwiches, Italian entrees — that's a ton of tomatoes. Sodexo will pay an additional 1.5 cents to each pound of tomatoes it purchases from suppliers in Florida, the top tomato producing state after California. This raise will in turn boost the average farm worker's wages. The company will also require its suppliers to follow a strict code mandating fair and humane labor practices, and will "steer its tomato purchases toward those growers who make a genuine effort to meet the specific code of conduct," according to BusinessWire.

“We are happy to be working with an industry leader like Sodexo to advance fundamental human rights in Florida’s fields,” said CIW's Lucas Benitez.

Sodexo is just a recent example of the history of victories CIW has scored over the years. The organization offers a model for future grassroots organizing around farm worker's rights, a philosophy that is so essential for creating a sustainable food system. CIW formed in 1993 to pressure food industry leaders to reform their policies and follow national and international labor standards to improve the lives of the area's tomato workers. The area is extremely poor, and historically workers have lived and worked under intolerable conditions, some of which are considered slave-like. Since 1998, seven Florida farms have been prosecuted for slavery. Their laborers were forced to work under unsafe conditions for far more than eight hours each day and were paid very little or in some cases, not paid at all. Some workers were threatened with violence and one worker was locked in a tomato box for 15 hours.

To reform how the agricultural system impacts farm workers, CIW focuses on major players like fast food, food management, and grocery store corporations.  In 2001, the CIW launched its Campaign for Fair Food to pressure fast food, food management, and grocery store companies to recognize their role in unjust labor practices and enact policies to improve conditions. After years of intense boycotts, protests, and other national actions, Taco Bell, McDonald's, Burger King, Subway, and Whole Foods signed agreements to help raise wages for farm workers and commit to improved standards for supplier labor practices.

Just within the past year, CIW has pressured and convinced the food industry's other two giant corporations, Compass and Aramark, to sign on to the Fair Food Program. Under the deal, more students, patients, and customers will eat tomatoes grown humanely.

But grocery stores, except Whole Foods, have stubbornly refused to work with the coalition to change their policies. The CIW is especially keen to convince Publix, Ahold, Kroger, and Walmart, which make up the majority of all food sales, to sign on to the program. Here's hoping that with CIW's continued pressure, another victory should soon be on the way.

Photo credit: Chris R. via Flickr