Pressure grows on Trader Joe’s…


As Friday march on Trader Joe’s headquarters approaches, religious leaders, press, Fair Food activists turn up the heat on “ethical grocer”…

The letter above — from Bishop Zavala, the longstanding and widely-respected Catholic Bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, to Trader Joe’s CEO Dan Bane — speaks for itself.

This week, protests gaining momentum across the country echo the Bishop’s eloquent and straightforward demand that Trader Joe’s respect the dignity of the workers whose undervalued labor helps build Trader Joe’s record profits. More on Trader Joe’s protests across the country in tomorrow’s update.

And come Friday, that same demand will be heard loud and clear in Monrovia, CA, as the Campaign for Fair Food lands at the doorstep of Trader Joe’s corporate headquarters. You can read the Press Release for Friday’s march here. Here’s an excerpt:

“Immokalee, FL (Oct. 12, 2011) – On Friday, October 21, after a noon picket at the Huntington Plaza Trader Joe’s, Florida farmworkers and their student, faith and community allies will march to Trader Joe’s corporate headquarters for the largest CIW rally in California since the successful conclusion of the Taco Bell Boycott.

Farmworkers and consumers will gather at the fast-growing company’s headquarters to express their growing impatience with Trader Joe’s refusal to participate in the widely-acclaimed Fair Food Program and will call on the company to agree to partner with the CIW to ensure supply chain transparency and verifiable, durable, and enforceable improvements in the company’s tomato supply chain.

Events on October 21st include:

Noon: Participants will gather outside of Trader Joe’s at 604 W. Huntington Dr., Monrovia
12:30 PM: Mile-long march heads east on Huntington Ave.
1 PM: Creative action & major rally at Trader Joe’s corporate headquarters at 800 S. Shamrock Ave.

‘Trader Joe’s has fiercely resisted the Campaign for Fair Food with public relations spin designed to create confusion,’ said CIW member Oscar Otzoy. ‘But the facts are clear. To date, Trader Joe’s refuses to sign a Fair Food agreement with the CIW. And without this binding agreement, there can be no supply chain transparency, no third-party verification, and no enforcement of the Code of Conduct.” read more

Check back soon for all the latest news as the march approaches…