2012 Northeast Tour
Landover, MD
4/19/12
|
... and a picket by ROC-DC (restaurant employees organizing for fairer wages and working conditions in Washington, DC) outside the National Restaurant Association building. The protest was part of a campaign to raise the minimum wage for tipped employees in DC (which is currently $2.13 - a rate that hasn't changed in two decades... sound familiar?). |
Then it was on to the CIW protest in Landover outside the headquarters of the Giant supermarket chain. The crowd of nearly 100 Fair Food activists included students who came all the way from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, more students from the DC area schools including American University, Georgetown University, University of Maryland - College Park, and George Washington University, allies from Baltimore and representatives from the irrepressible folks at DC Fair Food, the National Family Farm Coalition, STITCH, SOAW, and the ever-faithful PC(USA). Just another day in the Campaign for Fair Food! |
Of course, it wouldn't be a protest at Giant headquarters without a popular theater piece that includes some picking action... though this particular performance (some of which you can see here on this short video shot at the protest) was far more elaborate than the last time the CIW crew was in town. |
|
... and Ben Burkett, President of the National Family Farm Coalition, who pleased the crowd to no end by ending his address with the popular picket chant: "Down, down with exploitation. Up, up with the Fair Food Nation!" |
[And we will remind readers that Rev. Livingston is not just a man of fine words, he is also a man of action, having joined CIW members for the entire six-day Fast for Fair Food -- braving a scorching sun, driving rain, and a serious cold! -- last month outside Publix headquarters in Lakeland, Florida.] |
And no Ahold action would be complete without the pro forma meet and greet with low-level company representatives. At every headquarters protest (and Ahold has several throughout the Northeast), men like the two pictured here above are sent out like some kind of ritualized sacrifice by company executives, who themselves remain comfortably tucked away inside the headquarters while their unlucky subordinates are forced to listen to CIW members and their allies plead the case for Ahold's participation in the Fair Food Program. |
This particular Ahold representative had a unique style of suffering his own 10 minutes in purgatory, but the results were, lamentably, anything but unique - once again the delegation of CIW members and allies was met with a polite, but firm, "thanks but no thanks." But despite the doomed conclusion, the participants gamely played their respective roles out to the end, beginning with Cruz Salucio of the CIW, speaking for his community of workers from Immokalee and throughout the state of Florida without whose undervalued labor Giant's produce shelves -- and profits -- would look a lot less healthy than they do today... |
... followed by Joe Parker of the Student/Farmworker Alliance, making the case, from the perspective of student and youth, for Giant to make real their claim to social responsibility by partnering with the CIW... |
... from Joe the floor was ceded to Kathy Ozer, Executive Director of the National Family Farm Coalition. She talked about her frustration as a part of the NFFC, but - more importantly - as a part of the DC Metro area community of consumers. She talked about how many people gathered were customers of Giant, and wanted their supermarket to do the right thing. She added that members of the local community would be very interested in speaking further with Giant executives about the importance of the Fair Food Program. The Ahold representatives said... wait for it... nothing. |
Last up was Rev. Livingston who took his own shot, speaking from his own experience, "as a religious person and someone who's spent a lot of time with the farmworkers, I understand both the moral and practical importance of this program. I see how it works, and hear how transformative it has been"... and... after politely waiting for the delegation to run out of steam, our friends from Ahold called it a day and thanked everyone for coming out... |
Their feelings, and those of the entire Tour crew and allies gathered there that day, were captured in the final remarks by the CIW's Nely Rodriguez, who wrapped up the day with a reflection on the celebration of Emancipation Day in Washington DC and the continuing struggle for freedom and human rights in the fields. She thanked everyone for coming out and said: "Together we are going to win. So far, we've seen that Giant is content to ignore the problem, hiding it's head in the sand. But if we -- as farmworkers, as consumers, and as members of communities throughout the region -- keep the pressure on, never give up educating them and educating their customers, Giant will not be able to hide in ignorance forever." Nely finished, adding a final comment inspired by the employees who were sent out to stand in the sun and hear the delegation's arguments, "Perhaps the executives themselves should do that every day this week, get out of their air conditioned offices and spend some time in the sun. Then they might get a little taste of what it's like to work 12-14 hour days in the fields, under a burning sun, and understand the importance of a collaboration for real social justice, like the Fair Food Program." |