It’s just around the corner!
Walk for Farmworker Justice
Sunday Dec. 6
Gather, starting at 2:30 pm, for picket at 2515 S. Florida Ave., Lakeland (Southgate Plaza Publix)
Followed by 2.2 miles march down Florida Ave. to Kryger Park,
100-198 S. Massachusetts Ave., for a rally/candlelight vigil.
And click here to see the press release for the December 6th event. Here’s an excerpt:
| “Publix says it ‘won’t get involved in a labor dispute,’ but I want to make one thing perfectly clear: there is no labor dispute,” explained Gerardo Reyes of the CIW. “In fact, it’s never been easier to support Fair Food. We are now working closely with several growers who are willing to meet the higher standards called for by our agreements, all Publix has to do is buy from those growers under the same terms as all the other food industry leaders that have come to support our campaign.”
Earlier this year, the Ft. Myers News-Press reported that farmworkers enslaved in a forced labor ring prosecuted in December 2008 were taken to work on two southwest Florida farms that supply tomatoes to Publix. Just last week, Publix confirmed that it continues to buy tomatoes from the farms tainted by the slavery prosecution. According to the St. Augustine Record, “Publix spokesman Dwaine Stevens… said the chain does purchase tomatoes from the two farms but pays a fair market price.” Reyes continued, “The choice before Publix is stark: join other retail food leaders, tomato growers, and the CIW in forging a more humane agricultural industry, or continue supporting the brutal and dehumanizing status quo in Florida agriculture today.” |