‘It’s everyone’s responsibility’
Important prize for organization tomato pickers in Florida
Open letter:
Signatories congratulate Laura Germino of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers with the prize she received at the presentation of the tenth US “Trafficking in Persons” (TIP) report, from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Thanks to the efforts of her organization, many farm labor employers in Florida have been convicted and jailed on slavery charges and more than a thousand workers have been freed.
The fact that exploitation and slavery still exist today is a disgrace. Recent reports about the mushroom industry show that severe exploitation, unfortunately, also still exists in our country. The government here has to respond to that more seriously and buyers of agricultural products will also have to take responsibility for labor abuses in their supply chains. Above all it is important that courageous workers organize themselves and defend their rights.
Signatories have followed with admiration the work of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers for several years now. Special to their approach is that they do not only focus on farms with slavery or very poor working conditions, but they also focus in particular on the large corporations who purchase the products, and who, because of their market power, bear great influence on conditions in the agricultural sector. So far, fast-food companies like McDonalds and supermarket chains such as Compass have signed agreements with the Coalition. In such agreements, the buyers commit themselves to the principle of a decent wage by paying ‘a penny per pound’ extra to make this possible. They also commit themselves to adhering to a human rights-based code of conduct in which workers have a direct and permanent voice.
The prize shows respect for this approach. In the words of Secretary of State Clinton: “It is everyone? responsibility. Businesses that knowingly profit or exhibit reckless disregard about their supply chainsall of us have to speak out and act forcefully.”
The struggle of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers is important for the Netherlands because also Amsterdam-based Ahold is involved in this story. Ahold’s subsidiary supermarket companies in the U.S., Stop and Shop and Giant, appeared to buy tomatoes from at least one, if not both, growers tainted by the last major tomato slavery case.
Ahold was asked questions about this at the shareholders’ meeting last April in Amsterdam. Ahold said that it relies on laws and regulations and enforcement of labor laws in the U.S., and on a certification process that their suppliers participate in. But this certification can hardly be taken seriously: the aforementioned companies where the last tomato slavery operation was uncovered were certified themselves by that process. And just last year, in a crushing report, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) declared that enforcement in the field of labor violations was in a deplorable state. Through a visit to the headquarters of Ahold in Amsterdam last month, the Coalition made it clear that the answers given at the shareholders meeting were insufficient.
After corresponding about this public letter, Ahold informed the CIW that all acquisitions from the Immokalee area will be put on hold pending an independent investigation.
Ahold’s show of good will and serious attention to this matter are positive steps. However, the undersigned wish to emphasize that a real solution demands a concrete plan of action.
Decent working conditions prevent slavery from flourishing. The CIW has put together a set of vital, basic provisions regarding supply chain responsibility. Taco Bell, McDonalds, Burger King, Whole Foods Market, Aramark, Compass Group and Subway are already on board with the Coalition and have signed agreements to uphold these conditions.
Together with our congratulations to the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, we declare our hope and expectation that the granting of this prestigious prize to Laura Germino from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers will be an incentive for Ahold to take this up actively and follow the example of its competitors. We will closely follow the further proceedings and, where necessary, give active support.
Peter Gortzak, FNV
also on behalf of
CNV
BlinN, Bonded Labour in Nederland
Arbeidspastoraat DISK
Stichting OKIA
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UPDATE: Since this page was originally posted, Pacific Tomato Growers has agreed to participate in CIW’s Campaign for Fair Food and has adopted a comprehensive Code of Conduct that affords significant verifiable worker protections. This Code reconfirms Pacific Tomato Grower’s long-standing commitment to a zero tolerance for forced labor. While Pacific Tomato Growers was never the target or subject of the Federal prosecution’s Navarrette investigation, Pacific Tomato Growers agrees that all growers must do more to prevent the use of forced labor on their farms.