Farmworker Freedom March set to begin Friday with 9:00 am kick-off rally, 10:00 am press conference in downtown Tampa…

In less than 24 hours, we will begin a three-day trek that will take us from Tampa to Lakeland, home of Publix. But more than that, the march will take us one step closer to our ultimate goal: To bring about an agricultural industry in Florida based on the respect for human rights, not the exploitation of human beings.

“Why we march” is the title of a flyer we will be handing out along the march route starting tomorrow. Here below is what thousands of people between Tampa and Lakeland will be reading as they watch farmworkers and consumers file by, marching behind the Modern-Day Slavery Museum, on their way to Publix headquarters to deliver a simple, but urgent, demand — freedom from forced labor, poverty, and abuse:

Why We March

“We are Florida farmworkers marching 22 miles over 3 days from Tampa to Publix headquarters in Lakeland.

We march to call on Publix to work with us to end the human rights crisis in Florida’s tomato fields.

We march to see in our lifetime the day where we who toil at one of the most difficult and important jobs in society — harvesting the food enjoyed on America’s tables — will finally be treated with the respect we deserve.

We march because tomato pickers still earn 45 cents per 32-lb bucket of tomatoes, a rate stagnant for three decades, signifying that each worker must harvest over two and a half tons of tomatoes each day just to earn minimum wage. Our backbreaking labor has helped make Publix the richest privately-held company in Florida.

We march for freedom from forced labor, poverty and abuse. There have been seven federally-prosecuted slavery operations in Florida agriculture since 1997 involving a total of well over 1,000 workers held against their will and forced to work through threats and violence.

We march because slavery should not exist in America in the 21st century, and if we are to eliminate the poverty and powerlessness at the root of modern slavery, Publix, a major purchaser of tomatoes, must be part of the solution.

We march because we are on the road to creating a more humane agricultural industry. Our Campaign for Fair Food has resulted in eight major food companies — among them McDonald’s and Whole Foods — agreeing to work with us and with growers to bring change to Florida’s fields. Yet Publix has refused to do the same.

We march because our dreams and hopes are bigger than Publix’s excuses to not do the right thing. We believe the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.

Today we march because we love our families and want a better tomorrow for our children and for our children’s children, one based in respect for human rights.

We are Publix customers, too; people like you who refuse to accept that our food must be harvested in degrading conditions and who call on Publix to live up to its own words and act as ‘a responsible citizen in our communities’.”

Join us. Click here for more information on how.