Inhumane Society

Did you know that nearly half of the tomatoes consumed in the USA grow in the Sunshine State? It’s true. Florida is the leading winter provider of the delectable fruit, with the industry’s biggest clients comprising of major fast-food corporations. But did you know that within these Florida tomato fields lies the dirty underbelly of corporate greed and human injustice, the truth behind commercial farming and migrant workers?

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) is a “community-based worker organization,” with members largely representing Hispanic, Haitian and Mayan Indian immigrants, “working in low-wage jobs throughout the state of Florida.” The organization strives to achieve fair treatment of its people and their families. As of late, the CIW is asking large tomato buyers to pay an extra cent per pound picked.

To break this down, I digress: Tomato laborers are asking for three-cents less than what Hollywood writers went on strike for. The same writers that earn well over minimum wage and work inside of air-conditioned offices.

However, The Florida Tomato Growers Exchange (FTGE) often times set-up unethical roadblocks along CIW’s path.

As reported online by The Economist, the CIW reached a “ground-breaking” agreement with Miami-based fast-food giant, Burger King. The company agreed to pay a full cent more per pound of tomatoes workers pick and better their working conditions. An agreement reached after reports that two Burger King officials bad-mouthed tomato-field workers, calling them “blood suckers” and “the lowest form of human life.”

The one-cent increase is the first that the FTGE has approved in 30-years. In fact, when Taco Bell agreed to pay an extra cent per pound in 2005, the FTGE threatened anyone who paid the extra penny with a $100,000 fine. The group represents nearly 90% of Florida tomato growers, thus making it nearly impossible for workers to receive the slightest pay increase.

FTGE’s website reassures web surfers that they are a just coalition, claiming that harvesters earn nearly double Florida’s minimum wage and only work 25-hours per week. The FTGE also denies any reports that say tomato pickers make the same hourly rate as they did 30-years ago.

I call bullshit. These immigrant farm workers are subject to scorching heat and exposed to chemically compounded pesticides. Slave-like conditions have prompted CIW to investigate such accusations and start an anti-slavery campaign. As recently as January 17, 2008, six Immokalee employers were indicted by a federal grand jury. They were accused of beating workers and locking them in U-Haul trucks, among other chargers.


The unjustifiable treatment they receive is indisputably the polar opposite of what the 13th Amendment stands for.

Surely workers are not earning the same wages they were 30-years ago; labor laws prevent that. But workers do need to collect 480-pounds of tomatoes per hour to even match Florida’s $6.79 minimum wage—on foot. The FTGE’s sickening threats towards companies willing to help laborers earn a little (emphasis on little) more money is disturbing, as is their wage justification on the official FTGE website: “Florida’s tomato producers pay their workers a fair, competitive wage for what is an entry-level, low-skilled job.”

It may be a low-skilled job, but it’s obviously an invaluable position. Without these farmers the Florida tomato industry would not be as large as they are today. These migrant workers are the unrecognized epicenter of FTGE’s sickening success and rather than praise, they’re treated discriminatorily. A one-cent victory is only a stepping-stone for The Coalition of Immokalee Workers battle against Florida’s inhumane agricultural society.

To find out more about The Coalition of Immokalee Workers, please visit:
www.ciw-online.org

Cheers,
Victor