Publix: “We will not intervene in a labor dispute.”

Silvia Perez of the CIW leads a delegation delivering a letter to a Publix representative Sunday night in Ft. Myers. The letter describes the inhumane conditions in Florida’s tomato fields and invites Publix to join other retail food industry leaders in supporting growers, like East Coast Growers and Alderman Farms, who have stepped up to institute labor reforms established by the Campaign for Fair Food.

Publix: “We will not intervene in a labor dispute.

CIW, East Coast Growers, Alderman Farms, Ladymoon Farms, Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary of Labor, et al: “What labor dispute?“…

As Publix resorts to public relations double talk, farmworkers and their allies deliver an unambiguous message: “Slavery shall be no more”…

Check out the Sarasota Herald Tribune’s video report on Sunday’s Publix protest in Sarasota:

[We are currently working through difficulties on the Herald Tribune site to embed the video,
but in the meantime, click here to see the video and come on back for more analysis.]

About two thirds of the way into the story, Publix spokesperson Maria Brous is quoted as saying:

“We cannot get in the middle of labor disputes between suppliers and workers.”

The CIW and hundreds of Southwest Florida allies held rallies in five different cities over the past weekend (Naples, Port Charlotte, Venice, Sarasota, and Ft. Myers) and at every stop a team of Publix representatives was there to face the press. And in every city, the Publix PR team had but one argument in the chain’s defense: “We do no intervene in the labor disputes of our suppliers.”

The argument is so remarkably inadequate it’s hard to know just where to start in response. We could ask: Since when is slavery considered a “labor dispute”? [Despite blistering criticism, Publix continues to purchase tomatoes from two Immokalee area farms tainted by last season’s brutal slavery prosecution.]

Or we could simply remind Publix that Taco Bell tried — and failed — to press that same argument nearly a decade ago. [After four years of a hard-fought boycott, Taco Bell learned that consumers actually expect the brands they trust to take action against human rights abuses in their supply chain, not to sell them food harvested in unimaginably harsh conditions.]

But instead, we’ll just say this: What labor dispute?

The simple fact is, there is no longer any dispute. For several months now, farmworkers and growers — and food retail giants — have been working together to improve farm labor wages and working conditions. It began with the announcement last June that Alderman Farms and Ladymoon Farms had agreed to implement the CIW’s Fair Food principles, together with Whole Foods. And it continued in spectacular fashion this past month when Florida’s third largest tomato grower, East Coast Growers, joined food service leader Compass Group in announcing that it too would implement the CIW’s agreements this coming season. At that announcement ceremony, held in Washington DC, the Secretary of Agriculture issued a strong statement of support for the new alliance, while no less an expert in labor disputes than the Secretary of Labor herself joined the press conference and called the news “a huge victory.

So… maybe it’s time for Publix to drop the “we don’t intervene in labor disputes” argument.

Today, the question before Publix is this: Will you be part of the solution and support workers and growers collaborating to build a more modern, more humane agricultural industry?

Or will you continue to be part of the problem, undermining progress and buttressing Florida’s old guard agricultural giants whose exploitative labor practices have brought shame upon the state for decades?

The weekend was full of spirited, colorful actions. Click here to see pictures from several of the actions.

Click here to see Ft. Myers Fox affiliate’s video report from the candlelight vigil

Click here to see another video report, from the Ft. Myers CBS affiliate.

Click here for a great photo gallery from the Ft. Myers News-Press.

And click here for an article on the Sarasota action from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.