Brigitte Gynther, shown here speaking at Epiphany Cathedral in Venice, Florida, last month with Romeo Ramirez of the CIW, was awarded the 2009 Cardinal Bernardin New Leadership Award by the Campaign for Human Development of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops “for her role in supporting and empowering farmworkers from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), as they pursue fair wages, improved working conditions, and an end to modern day slavery in the fields.”

November 14, 2009

Alliance for Fair Food wins “Benny” Award, Brigitte Gynther of Interfaith Action wins Cardinal Bernardin Award…

In a double dose of good news, the CIW and its allies received national recognition recently for the growing success of the Campaign for Fair Food and its fight against farm labor exploitation in Florida.

In a press release issued yesterday, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) announced that longtime CIW ally Brigitte Gynther of Interfaith Action of Southwest Florida had been chosen to receive the 2009 Cardinal Bernardin New Leadership Award.

According to the release, “The Cardinal Bernardin New Leadership Award honors a Catholic between the ages of 18 and 30 who demonstrates leadership in fighting poverty and injustice in the United States through community-based solutions. It is named for the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, former archbishop of Chicago and a leading voice on behalf of poor and low-income people, who understood the need to build bridges across ethnic, economic, class and age barriers.”

Bishop Roger P. Morin, Chairman of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee on the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, praised Brigitte and her work:

“Brigitte’s commitment to standing with the Immokalee workers is a powerful illustration of CCHD’s work to empower low-income people to address the root causes of poverty in their communities. Her support for the farmworkers’ struggle to ensure that human dignity and basic rights are protected is an illustration of the Gospel call for the faithful to stand in solidarity with those who are vulnerable (Lk. 4:18-20).”

Brigitte was also quoted in the press release speaking about the inspiration for her work:

“Catholic social teaching lifts up right relationships, working together in respect,” says Gynther, describing her work as building a bridge so that farmworkers and people from other backgrounds enter into genuine relationship with one another. Gynther also emphasizes the need “to look at root causes of farmworkers’ struggles and help people see that we can do something at the systemic level.”

Meanwhile, the CIW and the Alliance for Fair Food also won national recognition recently, this time from the Business Ethics Network (BEN), which selected the campaign as a co-winner of the 2009 Benny Award, its top prize for marketplace activism. Here’s an excerpt from the BEN press release:

“Top corporate campaign activists were honored in October at the 2009 BENNY Awards, given by the Business Ethics Network (BEN) in teleconference-connected ceremonies on both coasts. The Campaign for Fair Food and Think Before You Pink: “Yoplait–Put a Lid on It” campaign tied for the first place BENNY Award, and the campaign for Derechos de la Naturaleza, or Rights of Nature in Ecuador’s Constitution, won the second place BENNY Award. Each campaign won a significant victory in corporate transformation in the last year…

‘These campaigners won incredible victories on behalf of workers’ rights, human health, and the environment,’ said BEN Executive Director Michael Marx. ‘They are making corporations accountable to all of us.’”

Recognition like that represented by these two prestigious awards is deeply encouraging and fuels the commitment of CIW members and allies alike for the long road ahead in the battle for Fair Food. Congratulations go out to Brigitte and to everyone who has made the Campaign for Fair Food the force for change that it is today.

Ultimately, of course, the most important recognition is that of the food industry itself — the recognition that consumers and workers have a real voice in the industry, and with that voice we are demanding that those who do the backbreaking work to put food on our tables be guaranteed a fair wage and humane working conditions in exchange for their labor. And until that recognition is won, the Campaign for Fair Food will continue.