D.C. Youth to Picket Giant Supermarket, Demand Fair Food

On April 16, 1862, all slaves were legally emancipated in America's capitol. But nearly 150 years later, the residents of the District of Columbia still eat the fruits of slavery -- quite literally. That's because Giant grocery stores, one of the major chains in the area, has failed to take basic steps to prevent the abuse and enslavement of the farmworkers who grow the food they sell. So this Saturday, students, youth, and community members are planning a demonstration outside a Washington, D.C. Giant store to commemorate the anniversary of the emancipation of D.C. slaves and call for the emancipation of those who still harvest food for D.C.

The demonstration is part of a larger campaign asking Ahold USA, the parent company of grocery chains Giant and Stop & Shop, to join a growing partnership of farmworkers, Florida tomato growers, and retail food companies aimed at ending decades of farm labor abuse in Florida. So far, nearly 1000 Change.org members have signed a petition to Ahold USA asking them to work with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) and join their Campaign for Fair Food to prevent the exploitation of farmworkers. But Ahold USA has refused, claiming that despite well-documented evidence of abuse of tomato industry workers in Florida, their own internal audits found nothing amiss. Therefore, they're not interested in working with CIW to improve farmworker wages of reducing slavery.

Florida farmworkers have faced brutal working conditions for decades, including stagnant sub-poverty wages, widespread labor rights violations, sexual harrasment, and modern-day slavery. But by joining the CIW's Campaign for Fair Food, retailers are making huge strides towards preventing those abuses by agreeing to a penny-per-pound piece rate wage increase, a strict code of conduct, a cooperative complaint resolution system, a participatory health and safety program, and a worker-to-worker education process. Last November, the CIW and the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange (FTGE) signed an agreement which would extend these principles to over 90% of Florida's tomato fields. But grocery chains need to do their part to implement the changes.

Ahold USA, however, is refusing, and in doing so significantly diminishing CIW's landmark agreement with the FTGE. That's because ending farm labor exploitation requires participation of all the major purchasers of Florida tomatoes -- including grocery stores. If buyers like Ahold USA don't contribute their fair share, the pay raise and code of conduct won't reach their full potential.

So a group of local fair food activists, hoping to inspire Ahold USA to action, has organized a protest on Saturday, April 16, 2011, at 5:00 PM at the Giant Supermarket in Columbia Heights, D.C. Strong turn-out is expected. Anyone interested in joining should meet at the store at 1345 Park Rd. NW at 5:00 p.m. And if you can't make it to D.C. this weekend, sign the petition asking Ahold USA to support fair food. Because, as the FTGE's Reggie Brown said, "Everybody in the system has to be invested for it to work."

Photo credit: NESRI