Staff members of the CIW give a presentation on the CIW and Presidential Medal-winning Fair Food Program to students at Saint Leo University
Silvia Perez, farmworker and CIW staff member: “All these successful campaigns to get more Participating Buyers for the Fair Food Program have only been possible with the support of students and people of faith.”
Well, that’s a wrap!
The Spring of Consciousness tour, led by farmworker staff members of the CIW alongside allies, stopped in major cities across Florida including Tampa, Miami, and Orlando in order to educate consumer, student, and faith communities about the important role they all play in guaranteeing farmworkers’ human rights.
This statewide tour may be coming to an end, but we want to take a moment to thank all those who came out to listen to the presentations of farmworkers on the transformative impact of the Fair Food Program, as well as those who toured our mobile exhibit, which showcased the parallel worlds of agriculture: the exploitative conditions outside the FFP, and the industry-leading protections found within the program.
Over the last twenty years, the support of consumer allies has proved critical to the unprecedented success of the Fair Food Program. And as we expand and deepen the Program, we want to expand and deepen the national network of support. So if you are interested in learning more about how you can contribute to the expansion of the Presidential Medal-winning Fair Food Program, please email workers@ciw-online.org.
We also want to share an extended reflection on the Spring of Consciousness tour from a farmworker and senior staff member of the CIW, Silvia Perez, who gave presentations and connected with allies in several of the tour’s stops:
For me, the goal of the Spring of Consciousness tour was to educate students and others to know the reality of farmworkers’ lives. My job was to explain the Campaign for Fair Food that we have and why we are doing it, and to join with allies calling for more corporations to join the Fair Food Program–for these corporations to do the correct thing.
Right now Wendy’s, Kroger, and Publix are doing the wrong thing because they are refusing to join the Fair Food Program. That refusal means that they are failing to ensure that workers who grow and harvest the crops sold on their shelves are protected from forced labor, stolen wages, sexual assault by supervisors, and many other dangerous conditions, including exposure to pesticides and heat stress. That is why we embarked on this statewide tour. All these successful campaigns to get more Participating Buyers for the FFP have only been possible with the support of students and people of faith.
As part of the tour, we had a mobile exhibit. This exhibit explained the work the CIW has done for years with our anti-slavery investigations. There are still many farmworkers who are in the dark, who do not have rights. They do not have the right to report violations and are silenced… They are not paid, or they been fired for trying to speak up. They are also threatened as well as their families to keep them silenced. The CIW has helped in over 12 cases involving farmworkers living in conditions of modern-day slavery. In many of these cases, farmworkers were surveilled 24 hours and were threatened with weapons. That is why we are doing this mini-tour.
The mobile exhibit as part of the Spring of Consciousness tour, complete with information on modern-day slavery in agriculture as well as how the Fair Food Program has eradicated extreme abuse for tens of thousands of farmworkers
We are going to continue to connect with allies, giving presentations in congregations and with students so consumers can hear the realities of the field. This is important because our allies are part of the national consumer base who have tremendous power with these corporations. They buy and consume everyday. They go to buy coffee or a sandwich and also go to the grocery store.
Our consumer allies have the power to carry our message and support farmworkers.
For me, I would like the Fair Food Program to expand to other industries and types of produce. There are still many fruits and vegetables that are unprotected. There are many farmworkers that are unprotected. They do not have the right to speak up, they still have fear of reporting abuses because if they report then they are fired. They stay silent to not lose their jobs. We want those farmworkers across the country to be protected under the Fair Food Program one day.
Stay tuned for more exciting updates on the Fair Food Program and the Campaign for Fair Food!
