As CIW members head north to Orlando to meet with local allies for another weekend of actions at Publix stores, the front lines in the growing battle for the soul of Florida’s “neighborhood grocer” just get hotter and hotter, including:

• a story on the campaign in Publix’s hometown paper, the Lakeland Ledger (“Publix targeted by farmworker group,” 10/30/09), in which Publix rolls out a new argument in its defense: “Publix pays fair market value for our tomatoes and we don’t determine that price.” What an wonderful use of the word “fair”…It ought to be interesting in the weeks and months ahead to see which definition Publix consumers prefer — “fair” as in a price so low that endemic farm labor exploitation is inevitable and slavery all too possible, or “fair” as in a price that other food industry leaders have agreed to pay to help farmworkers escape decades of degradation but Publix refuses to meet.
• an NPR story on the undercover filming scandal (“Publix employee films farmworker protest”, 10/29/09). Apparently it was the Publix employee’s “day off,” which didn’t, however, keep Publix from getting a copy of his film;
• and a mid-week protest at the opening of a new Publix in tony South Beach (above). Here are a couple more pics (below) to give you a sense of the action:

Check back soon for an update from this weekend’s protests!