Join the National Day of Action on June 20th calling on Ben & Jerry's to Stand for Dairy Farmworkers' Rights

Across Vermont’s rolling hills and pastoral landscapes, a broad-based movement, led by dairy farmworkers themselves, has been steadily building for years to confront egregious human rights abuses, including dangerous working conditions, no time off and substandard housing.

Dubbed Milk with Dignity, Vermont dairy workers are forging a solution, modeled on key concepts of the CIW’s Fair Food Program, to harness the market power of major retailers to enforce a set of worker-designed human rights standards and increase pay at dairy farms across The Green Mountain State. 

For several years, workers have sought to inform Ben and Jerry’s about human rights violations in its supply chain and call on the ice cream giant to become the first company to join the Milk with Dignity Program. Yet, Ben and Jerry’s has failed to make a commitment to dairy workers rights, instead promoting their “Caring Dairy” initiative, a farmer self-monitoring program that denies farmworkers a real voice in the decisions that affect their lives.

Demonstrating the power of the growing grassroots movement to call on Ben and Jerry’s to commit to Milk with Dignity, Migrant Justice is planning a National Day of Action on June 20th at Ben and Jerry’s scoop shops nationwide. 

In the words of farmworker leader Enrique Balcazar:

"Join us for a national day of action on June 20th calling on Ben & Jerry's to take responsibility for these conditions in their supply chain. They've stood up to protect cows and chickens but not farmworkers! We need Milk with Dignity!"

Will you join them and help ensure dairy farmworkers win the dignity and respect they deserve?

Get in on the action by planning a letter delegation or a solidarity action at your local Ben and Jerry’s! For action planning resources, head to the Migrant Justice site or contact info@migrantjustice.net / 802-540-8370.

Get up! Get Down! Milk with Dignity's Comin' to Town!

Midwest turns up for Wendy's shareholder meeting!

Wendy’s annual shareholder meeting began before 8 a.m. in the quiet Columbus suburb of Dublin, Ohio, on a cold, wind-whipped Monday morning.  Undaunted, some 75 people, inspired by the tireless organizing of Ohio allies, took the workday off to travel to the action, from as far away as Cincinnati and Ann Arbor.  Fair Food Nation members brandished their banners and signs, forming a funnel for the arriving shareholders.  The crew was made up of countless organizations, their bond now deep after two and a half years of organizing together in the Wendy’s campaign:  Ohio Fair Food, the Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center, the Central Ohio Workers Center, SFA at the Ohio State University, SFA at the University of Michigan, Real Food Challenge, Ohio AFL-CIO, Communication Workers of America and First Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbus, to name just a few!

Immediately before the meeting, the gathered protesters turned the gray day vibrant as they chanted and cheered in a jubilant send-off to CIW’s Lupe Gonzalo as she headed inside the meeting.  As the doors closed, the allies picked up their yellow flags and marched to the Wendy’s nearby flagship restaurant.  After a high-spirited protest there, the group gathered 'round for a spontaneous reflection.  When the circle finally closed, nobody was ready to leave without hearing the meeting report — so everyone piled into a nearby coffee shop to escape the wind and await the news.

At just about that time, inside the meeting, the moment had finally come for Lupe to address Wendy’s executives and shareholders alike.  Word for word, here is what she said:

Buenos dias. Mi nombre es Lupe Gonzalo. Soy un representante de la Coalición de Trabajadores de Immokalee. Estoy aquí el día de hoy por que hace 10 años ya, que enviamos una carta pidiéndole a Wendy’s a llegar a un estándar de ética mas elevado dentro de su cadena de surtidores, y a pagar un precio mas alto para los sueldos de pobreza que reciben los trabajadores del campo. 

(Click here for English version.)

Desde entonces, 90% de los rancheros del tomate de la Florida se han unido al Programa por Comida Justa, al lado de los cuatro competidores mas grandes de Wendy’s que han reconocido el Programa como un paso importante para modernizar sus cadenas de surtidores.

Sin duda, el Programa ha movido mucha de la industria del tomate en la Florida al siglo 21: eliminando esclavitud moderna y enormemente reduciendo el acoso sexual, entre otras cosas. Por eso, este año, la casa blanca nos premió con la Medalla Presidencial por esfuerzos extraordinarios en combatir al esclavitud moderna.

Pero, no queremos quedarnos ahi. No queremos que este programa solamente afecta a miles de trabajadores adentro de los campos del tomate en la Florida, sino que también a los cientos de miles de trabajadores en otros estados y otros vegetales. Con el compromiso de Walmart en 2014, ya estamos listos para esa expansion.

Pero se necesita el compromiso de Wendy’s para que los trabajadores en su cadena no quedan afuera. A la vez, participar en el programa le ayudaría a Wendy’s a prevenir el riesgo de relaciones publicas y poder dar a sus consumidores un producto que realmente es honesto.

Shareholders smiled and nodded in Lupe’s direction.  As she finished, heads turned back to the front of the room for CEO Emil Brolick’s response:

We are proud to partner with suppliers that share our commitment to ethical business behaviors.  We have previously communicated our stance on the Fair Food Premium: While we support the goals of an organization that seeks to improve human rights, we prefer to rely on our suppliers to act as signatories to the agreement.  We are in the process of developing a Supplier Code of Conduct by year-end, and will continue to consider the best means of promoting responsible business practices in our suppliers.

Next up was a statement prepared by Ohio State University SFA’s Amanda Ferguson:

Last year, my fellow student at OSU, Sara Stanger, stood here and informed you that after countless unanswered attempts at communicating with Wendy’s leadership, we were moving forward with a national campaign called Boot the Braids, wherein we — and students around the country — would be meeting with our administrations and organizing demonstrations on our campuses to end university licensing contracts with Wendy’s until the company commits to support the CIW’s Fair Food Program. 

In the year since then, Wendy’s has still not joined what the Washington Post called “one of the great human rights success stories of our day.”  And the reaction from millennials like myself has only grown stronger. […]

[…]  Two months ago, with still no word from Wendy’s, students from universities across the country with Wendy’s restaurants on campus took to the stage before thousands at the CIW’s Concert & Parade for Fair Food and announced a national student boycott of Wendy’s — to begin on my campus, OSU.  Since that time, the University of Michigan, whose students stand in support outside of this meeting space, has likewise adopted the boycott, and dozens of others are preparing to follow suit.

As a millennial, I recognize I am part of the target market of the fast food industry.  I speak for my generation when I say that new, flashy branding and modern restaurants are not enough to attract our business.  Our concerns for the food we eat goes beyond the menu.  As students and young people, we want to know that the food we consume does not come at the cost of another person’s dignity.  We want to know that this is a commitment of Wendy’s, too.

As the student boycott continues to grow, is Wendy’s ready to continue alienating young people and consumers rather than join a proven solution to farmworker poverty and abuse?

And with that, the meeting was adjourned and all were excused — though not before two shareholders approached Lupe to tell her how powerfully she had delivered the CIW’s message, and that they would be keeping an eye on this matter with their organizations’  pension funds in mind.

Fifteen minutes later, as Lupe walked through the double doors of the café where the protestors were gathered together with their warm drinks, the crowd burst into thunderous applause and cheers.  Moved by the unexpected, beautiful show of support, Lupe gave a powerful report-back from the meeting, letting them know that the presence and commitment of each and every one of them — and each and every person in the fair food movement, from the workers in Immokalee to those who are always ready to stand with them — not only make this struggle for justice possible, but enriching and joyous along the way.

Asheville turns out for farmworker justice at grand opening of city's first Publix!

Last week, as Publix prepared to open its doors to the good people of Asheville for the first time, a crew of farmworkers and allies from Immokalee also made the long trek to join Ashevillians in welcoming the Florida-based grocery chain with the message of Fair Food! 

Bright and early last Wednesday morning, a stalwart group of local allies joined CIW member Julia de la Cruz outside the store's grand opening. With banners, flags, and flyers in hand, the group positioned itself alongside the larger-than-life inflatable green grocery bag heralding the presence of Asheville’s newest supermarket.

As the inaugural customers turned into the parking lot, many of them stopped to ask about the campaign, expressing dismay over Publix’s refusal to join the Fair Food Program.  Local residents took part in a delegation to meet the new manager and deliver a letter, explaining that Asheville consumers would continue to organize alongside the CIW until Publix decided to "do the right thing."  Publix, of course, offered up the well-worn, well-refuted ‘labor dispute/put-in-in-the-price’ combo response that they so often give to Florida residents.

The rest of the day was spent in the classroom, sharing the latest Campaign news with students and professors at Warren Wilson College.  On campus later that evening, students and Asheville community members gathered for a screening of Food Chains.  The closing credits were met with robust applause and, after a wave of questions about both the expansion of the Fair Food Program into North Carolina and Publix’s confounding refusal to be part of the transformation in Florida’s fields, all the movie-goers committed to taking action.

The Immokalee crew returned to Publix on Saturday in true Campaign for Fair Food fashion -- along with over 60 Asheville allies, including members of Nuestro Centro, COLA, the Western North Carolina Workers Center, and buses of students from Warren Wilson College -- holding a high-energy picket full of art, accompanied by chants for justice over the beat of a tomato bucket drum.

Members of the manager delegation took with them a printed response to Publix’s misinformation about the Fair Food Program. CIW’s Julia de la Cruz explained that the Program has never been a labor dispute, but is instead an unprecedented collaboration between growers, farmworkers and major retail buyers — and that the penny is, in fact, in the price (a point the CIW first published back in 2011, which Publix has readily ignored).

At the protest, Bruno, a 15-year Asheville resident, expressed his astonishment at Publix’s resistance to the FFP, saying that he and many others wouldn’t be visiting the new store until they saw a change.  His sentiment was shared by one of the many Warren Wilson students who joined the delegation, one of whom shared that although she’d only just learned of the Publix campaign after seeing Food Chains, she felt fully committed to standing up for farmworker justice. 

The question voiced by many as the picket wrapped up  captured the energy and excitement of a community ready to take up the Fair Food banner in the Publix campaign: “What’s next?”

In the words of the day’s final chant, “We’ll be back!”

With unyielding actions taking place all across the Fair Food Nation, from Nashville to Asheville, we’re communicating that Publix cannot dream to win the loyalty of consumers in North Carolina without first making the commitment to human rights for farmworkers back home a reality. 

Statement of solidarity with Baltimore

We stand with the people of Baltimore and the millions of Black people across the country who, in the wake of the brutal murders of #FreddieGray and #MyaHall and #RekiaBoyd and too many more, have yet again come together to fight for their lives and livelihoods.

We honor the resilience and resistance of communities rising up to boldly lay claim to their humanity in the face of racism, poverty and state-sanctioned violence.

Today, as thousands in Baltimore and around the country take action in solidarity, we recommit to our work of standing with Black and Brown people laboring in the fields as they lead their struggle for justice and dignity, and to resolutely act in the making of a world where all #BlackLivesMatter.

In power and love,
The Alliance for Fair Food

From Nashville to Columbus, Fair Food Groups turn up the heat on Publix and Wendy’s!

Earlier this month, Nashville Fair Food turned up the decibel on the Publix campaign by taking Publix manager letter deliveries to a whole new level: they would host the “Amazing Race for Farmworker Justice” and hit all 30 stores in the Middle Tennessee area in a single day.

Their goal was to be able to talk to their Publix managers — local to local, away from corporate officials who travel from Florida to intercept the delegations at announced pickets — about why Publix needs to join the Fair Food Program. 

Nashville Fair Food expected a response from Publix, of course, but they didn’t know the lengths to which they would go. Two days before the action, Publix went so far as to hire attorneys, who sent letters to Nashville Fair Food and the CIW warning them in so many words that Publix would be ready to arrest customers simply for trying to talk to their local manager. 

In response, Nashville Fair Food created a powerful new social media campaign posing the prompt, “If Publix listened to all customers, I would have said…” Read the full play-by-play and check out the dozens of creative messages Nashville residents sent in response!

Meanwhile, on Monday, a coalition of Ohioans gathered outside the opening of the newest Wendy’s near the Ohio State University (OSU) campus, cutting the proverbial ribbon — and the afternoon air — with unflinching demands for Fair Food. The action came just one month after the Student/Farmworker Alliance (SFA) took to the stage at the Concert for Fair Food before thousands to announce a national student boycott of Wendy’s, to begin at none other than OSU, Wendy’s hometown university. 

The declaration was not just a local announcement of the boycott, however, as OSU student and SFA steering committee member, Amanda Ferguson, says, but also “a call to action going out to thousands of students across the country to boycott Wendy's until they, too, are part of the solution.” And so this weekend, students all around the country are heeding that call by planning actions at their local Wendy’s, with some twenty universities slated to participate.

The chorus calling on Wendy’s and Publix is only growing louder this spring! Stay tuned to hear how it all rolls out…

Valentine's Weekend of Action takes Wendy's by storm!

From coast to coast, hundreds of people of all ages and communities asked Wendy's to find its heart and respect farmworkers this Valentine's Day – the lone fast food holdout saw actions all around the country and a flood of social media pressure from the Fair Food Nation! The CIW Women's Group and their children led the charge with a glitter-filled Valentine drop off to Wendy's in Immokalee, and the Fair Food Nation followed suit with creative V-Day actions from performing in-restaurant theatre pieces to delivering Fair Food Valentines and more. 

Here’s a city-by-city overview of the national Valentine’s Weekend of Action: 

DENVER

On Valentine’s Day, the Denver Fair Food crew rose bright and early to meet with three different Wendy’s managers in the Denver suburb of Thornton! They delivered an overflowing box of handmade Valentine’s cards bearing the Fair Food message to three receptive, intrigued and polite managers. Once the managers received their cards, Denver Fair Food finished the action by performing an original skit featuring their own Fair Food tomato proposing that Wendy’s join the Fair Food Program, which was received with a surprising round of applause from behind the counter.

DC
Like our friends in Denver, the DC Fair Food crew opted for a morning letter delivery and theater piece performance at their local Wendy’s. But, in this skit there were no happy endings. Although some tears were shed, these were their words to Wendy’s: “Last year we asked you to join the Fair Food Program. A year later, you still haven’t joined. And today, we’re breaking up with you!” 

TREASURE COAST, FL
By combining efforts and multi-tasking at their two-day art workshop, Treasure Coast Fair Food created an interactive art feature, marching signs, and Valentines to Wendy’s and Publix! The group made double-header appearances for Valentine’s Weekend of Action: First on Valentine’s Day, debuting their art piece at the One Billion Rising for Justice event in Stuart, FL and wowing the crowd who joined them in posting selfies to Wendy’s on social media. The next evening, TC Fair Food visited the Unitarian Universalist Church in Vero Beach, FL for a discussion forum about the “Food Chains” documentary and the importance of the Fair Food Program! 

GAINESVILLE, FL
A Gainesville delegation of Interfaith Alliance for Immigrant Justice members, UF students and local community members, turned out to deliver a letter to the manager at the local Wendy's, urging the hamburger giant to meet with CIW and join the Fair Food Program. Carrying posters with Valentine's Day slogans, such as "Have a heart, Wendy's," the delegation had a polite conversation with the local manager who promised to forward the letter to corporate. 

NEW YORK
New York Fair Food went on a selfie spree by inviting local groups, such as WESPAC NY and SUNY Purchase to join them and the rest of the Fair Food Nation in sharing tons of V-Day selfies to Wendy’s on social media! On Valentine’s Day, the group flooded the local Galleria Mall with Wendy’s campaign flyers, detailing the hamburger giant’s complicity in refusing to join the Fair Food Program, and culminated their visit by dropping off a huge Valentine to the Wendy’s manager in the mall’s food court! 

DUBLIN, OH
The First Unitarian Universalists of Columbus visited Wendy’s Headquarters in Dublin, Ohio, to deliver letters, cards and Valentines signed by over 100 children and adults in the congregation, in hopes of engaging in a dialogue with Emil Brolick, Wendy’s CEO, to urge him to do what is right and respect farmworkers! However, Mr. Brolick and other executives hid behind their corporate veil and the group was told he wasn’t available to meet and address their concerns. The group exited the headquarters with more energy and will to continue pressuring Wendy’s to come to the table with farmworkers and join the Fair Food Program! 

WALNUT CREEK, CA
With Valentine’s Day signs in hand, a delegation of 6th graders from the Beth Chaim Congregation paid a visit to the Walnut Creek Wendy’s to let the local manager know that there is an order of business to be dealt with, and it’s called the Fair Food Program! The manager heard the youngsters out, agreed to pass along the letter to corporate, and even posed for a photo with the group! 

BROOKLYN
Seventh and 8th graders at Kolot Chayeinu / Voices of Our Lives Congregation in Brooklyn busted out scissors, cardboard and markers for an art and music-filled class – targeting Wendy's for the lack of respect it shows the farmworkers who pick their tomatoes! The students got creative and strummed up a Fair Food tune for Wendy's, asking the multi-billion dollar corporation to shell out just one penny more per pound and support human rights for workers! 

PENSACOLA, FL
The Panhandle Fair Food crew staged an action outside their local Pensacola Wendy's restaurant, delivering a Valentine's Day card and over 100 manager letters, in an effort to invite the local community to learn more about the Fair Food Program and join them for not one, but two Food Chains screenings lined up for next month in Pensacola and Mobile, Alabama! 

SOCIAL MEDIA BLITZ
On the social media front, hundreds submitted V-Day selfies holding decorative and creative Fair Food messages to Wendy’s, amplifying the message of farmworker justice through the far reaches of the Fair Food Nation squarely onto Wendy’s virtual doorstep! 

Below is a preview of the most creative V-Day selfies, but visit our Facebook album to view them all! 

CIW Awarded Presidential Medal for Extraordinary Efforts to Combat Modern Slavery

"...[our] efforts, born in a forgotten community’s desperate struggle for survival, were celebrated in the halls of power of the highest office of the land.” - CIW

In case you missed it, just a few short weeks ago the CIW was awarded the 2015 Presidential Medal for Extraordinary Efforts to Combat Trafficking in Persons. Presented at the White House by Secretary of State John Kerry,  the award reads: 

“For its extraordinary efforts to combat human trafficking by pioneering the Fair Food Program, empowering agricultural workers, and leveraging market forces and consumer awareness to promote supply chain transparency and eradicate modern slavery on participating farms, we award this Presidential Award.”

This week, news of the award has continued to make waves, with an excellent analysis in the Huffington Post titled  "This Human Rights Group Is A Model For How The U.S. Can End Slave Labor." The piece, which lays out the power of the Fair Food Program model the CIW has created, reads, in part:

"The White House noted the 'excellent work' being done through CIW’s Fair Food Program, which connects farmers, farmworkers and retailers to ensure all workers are paid fairly and working conditions are humane.

According to The White House, the program’s unique approach to promote consumer awareness and leverage market power — working with such giants as Walmart, McDonald’s and Subway — has helped to fight labor trafficking within the Sunshine State’s tomato industry."

In its presentation following the award at the White House Forum on Combating Human Trafficking in Supply Chains, the CIW used the opportunity to stress the total failure of traditional corporate self-monitoring standards, in which corporations claim to uphold human rights in their supply chains through empty, PR-driven vendor codes.

In contrast, the CIW  outlined the innovative model in which workers play the principal role in designing, implementing and monitoring their own rights, sharing their vision to strengthen and expand the historic gains underway in Florida's fields, saying:

“It was a humbling moment, and the medal represents a solemn responsibility to continue this fight so that the full potential of the worker-driven social responsibility model may be reached in low-wage worker communities throughout the agricultural industry and around the world.”

Kerry further recognized the incredible work of the CIW and the transformational role the Fair Food Program has played in bringing justice for farmworkers to the fields:

“The Coalition of Immokalee Workers have organized communities, stood by tomato workers for more than 20 years, and changed the face of this industry. They’ve pioneered a zero tolerance policy that puts workers and social responsibility at the absolute center. Their program ensures a price premium which buyers agree to pay directly to the farm worker, and the Coalition provides worker-to-worker training sessions on site around the clock. They make certain that there are health and safety committees... on every farm. And they’ve already enlisted the major support of buyers from McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway, to Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Compass Group, and Fresh Market.”

The moment was celebrated around the country, with shout-outs from Civil Eats and Eva Longoria to Chief Assistant US Attorney Doug Molloy, and even one special message the CIW themselves:

“We want to close with a warm thanks to all of the close allies who have accompanied us for the twenty years leading up to this moment.  The medal first and foremost honors thousands of farmworkers — the victims of forced labor, the resolute witnesses, and the many other courageous men and women who have been fighting to eradicate abuse from an entire industry.  But it also goes out to the many, many people across the country (and the world) who have marched beside them for the past two decades.”

ANNOUNCED: Parade & Concert for Fair Food on March 21st

It’s official — the CIW’s major spring action will be Saturday, March 21! Get ready for an unforgettable Parade & Concert for Fair Food!

Sometimes its hard to believe that we’ve come as far as we have. Just fifteen short years ago, farmworkers were making their first national call to would-be supporters in all corners of the country to join them in a vision, a vision wherein every person doing the undervalued, underpaid, back-breaking work of harvesting in the fields could do so with fair wages, just working conditions, and their right to return home at the end of the day with their dignity in tact.

It was a vision created so collectively, articulated so intelligently, led so powerfully that the farmworkers to whom it belonged galvanized communities all over the country to join them in their new, national Campaign for Fair Food.

Today, in 2015, it’s hardly a vision anymore. It’s a reality. 

Today, the fourth full season of the Fair Food Program has seen protections in the Florida tomato industry stronger than ever before, with over twenty thousand workers educated by their CIW peers on their new rights: the right to report abuse without fear of retaliation; the right to form participatory health and safety committees; the right to work free of wage theft, sexual harassment, slavery. In the recent words of one worker: “Our dignity has been restored.”

We see a new horizon now, one not of a just Florida tomato industry, but of a just US agricultural industry. Indeed, the Fair Food Program is poised for a steady expansion into other states and crops, with the potential to affect tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, more workers.

But the proliferation of these rights across industries is not inevitable. It requires, more than ever, the participation of allies around the country to heed the call of the CIW and convince remaining corporate holdouts, principal among them Publix and Wendy’s, to stop their futile attempts to turn back the clocks and join this proven solution to decades-old farmworker abuse. 

So this spring, we’ll take to the streets of downtown St. Petersburg toward Publix and Wendy’s — but this time, parade-style. Because though their intransigence is unconscionable, we have cause to celebrate — and we’re certainly not going to let them turn us ‘round. Our vibrant procession, full of original artwork, puppets, and even floats, will wind its way until arriving at Vinoy Park for an unmatched Concert for Fair Food, which promises unforgettable dusk-time performances on the edge of the water.

So whether you’re in the Northeast or Midwest, California or Texas or Tennessee — and absolutely if you’re in Florida — start talking about caravans! This movement has derived its power from the unbreakable relationship between brilliant farmworker leadership and unflappable commitment of ally communities. This major action is our moment to demonstrate our collective power to Publix and Wendy’s — and it’s also a time for us to build. It’s a time for us to join together, in person, after eleven months of common cause despite geographical difference, and ground our continued work together in our relationships with one another and the transformation we’ve already begun in the fields today.

We’ll be back soon with more details — who is coordinating rides from which cities, where to fly in, and, of course, which artists will be performing — but for now, start spreading the word, and get ready. This a moment you’re not going to want to miss. 

Fresh Market signs Fair Food agreement with CIW

Thirteenth Fair Food agreement contains two new key provisions: increased tomato purchases from the Fair Food Program and the commitment to support the Fair Food Standard Council’s monitoring of the Program.

We congratulate the CIW on this incredibly significant development! Check out the full press release below:

Contact:
Coalition of Immokalee Workers
workers@ciw-online.org
239-986-2364

Carly Dennis
BRAVE Public Relations
cdennis@bravepublicrelations.com
404-233-3993

THE COALITION OF IMMOKALEE WORKERS AND THE FRESH MARKET ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP FOR FAIR FOOD

Specialty Grocer to Join CIW’s Fair Food Program, Increase Purchases from Participating Florida Growers in Support of Groundbreaking Human Rights Initiative

IMMOKALEE, FL (January 7, 2015) – The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) and Greensboro, N.C.-based The Fresh Market are proud to announce their national partnership to support fair farm labor conditions and verifiable, worker-driven social responsibility in US agriculture.

The collaboration breaks new ground in the CIW’s award-winning Fair Food Program in two significant ways. First, starting with the 2015-2016 season, The Fresh Market will increase its purchases by 15% year-over-year from Florida tomato growers participating in the Fair Food Program. This is an important new precedent that recognizes and supports growers who are making significant investments to improve labor conditions on their farms with increased market share.

Second, The Fresh Market will make an annual contribution to support the Fair Food Standards Council (FFSC), the third-party monitoring organization that oversees compliance with the Fair Food Program’s unique human rights standards. The essential work of the FFSC includes investigating and resolving workers’ complaints, auditing farms for compliance with the Fair Food Code of Conduct, and enforcing the FFP’s standards. Through the FFSC’s diligent efforts, the Fair Food Program has become the gold standard for social responsibility in US agriculture, recognized by longtime labor and human rights observers as “the best workplace monitoring program in the US” and “one of the great human rights success stories of our day.”

“We are pleased to enter into this partnership with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and to be a part of the Fair Food Program,” said Lee Arthur, The Fresh Market’s merchandising vice president – produce, floral and gift center. “We continuously look for ways to source the best products, and being a part of the FFP helps us to know we are sourcing from growers whose practices are fair and socially responsible. This allows us to provide our customers with food they can feel good about purchasing and enjoy sharing with friends and family.”

“This agreement truly takes the Fair Food Program to a new level,” said the CIW’s Guadalupe Gonzalo.  “The FFP is pioneering a new form of social responsibility, one in which we as workers ourselves take a leading role in protecting our own rights in the fields.”

“But we can’t do this alone,” continued Gonzalo. “The FFP is a day-to-day, careful partnership with growers and buyers alike aimed at ensuring that the workplace environment in Florida’s fields is second to none. We have achieved that goal. And now, with this agreement and its new provisions in support of participating growers and the Fair Food Standards Council – two elements essential to the Program’s success — we have laid the groundwork to sustain and scale up those gains well into the future.”

To learn more about the Fair Food Program, please visit www.fairfoodprogram.org

###

About the Coalition of Immokalee Workers

Based in Immokalee, Florida, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers is a worker-based human rights organization internationally recognized for its achievements in the fields of social responsibility, human trafficking, and gender-based violence at work. To learn more about the CIW, please visit http://ciw-online.org/about/ 

About The Fresh Market, Inc.

Founded in 1982, The Fresh Market, Inc. is a specialty grocery retailer focused on providing high-quality products in a unique and inviting atmosphere with a high level of customer service. The company currently operates 168 stores in 27 states across the U.S.  The Fresh Market is an equal opportunity employer.  For more information, please visit www.thefreshmarket.com.

Click here to download a PDF version of the release

2014 Year in Review: Building a new day of human rights in the fields

It has been an extraordinary year for the Campaign for Fair Food, with unprecedented gains underway towards justice and dignity for farmworkers building a new day in the fields. 

But, there is much work still left to be done, as Publix, Wendy’s and other corporate holdouts still refuse to join the Fair Food Program to respect the rights of farmworkers in their supply chain. 

Please donate to the Alliance for Fair Food to continue building on these historic human rights gains!

Here is a look at the incredible work we’ve done together in 2014: 

JANUARY
In January, in a packing shed outside of Immokalee, the world’s largest retailer, Walmart, sat down with farmworkers of the CIW to sign an agreement to join the Fair Food Program. The agreement not only brought the retail giant’s unprecedented buying power behind the Fair Food Code of Conduct and to pay the “penny per pound” premium, but also set the stage for expansion into other crops and states beginning in the next year, which will ensure new rights for tens of thousands more farmworkers. 

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MARCH
In March, the CIW and the AFF took off on the 10-day, 10-city “Now is the Time” tour across the Southeast to pressure both Wendy’s and Publix to join the Fair Food Program. The journey included 50 farmworkers and their families from Immokalee who joined with hundreds of allies in stops across the country, anchored by an 800+ strong march to Wendy’s headquarters in Dublin, OH and a 24-hour vigil outside a Publix store in Lakeland, FL, culminating in 1000+ taking to the streets to march to downtown for the tour’s finale.

APRIL
In April, the feature-length documentary Food Chains, featuring the struggle and success of the CIW, premiered to raving audiences at the Tribeca Film Festival, setting the stage for a successful theatrical release in the fall. That same weekend, the Fair Food Program was profiled on the front page of the New York Times, where it was called “the best workplace monitoring program” in the United States.

MAY
May brought Wendy’s annual shareholder meeting at their headquarters in Dublin, OH, where a CIW member and student and faith allies spoke directly to executives about the urgent need for them to join the Fair Food Program. Their message was amplified by an action led by Ohio Fair Food outside the HQ and a national call-in day that left Wendy’s phone lines buzzing off the hook; meanwhile, 20 religious leaders published a letter to board chair Emil Brolick while over 40 T’ruah tomato rabbis published one of their own. 

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SEPTEMBER
September marked the annual SFA Encuentro, an in-depth weekend of strategizing, relationship-building and reflection to prepare for the season of action to come, especially focused on the Boot the Braids campaign to cut Wendy’s contracts with universities across the country. The CIW was also awarded the Clinton Global Citizen Award, honoring the tremendous human rights gains in the fields through the Fair Food Program. 

OCTOBER
In October, the CIW launched the long-awaited Fair Food Program label, the product of two decades of farmworker organizing in Florida and over a decade of consumers mobilizing alongside CIW across the country. The label is now being displayed at Whole Foods stores across the Southeast and will soon be rolled out at Compass Group cafeterias and other Fair Food Program participating retailers in the future. 

NOVEMBER
November marked the launch of the Alliance for Fair Food, a response to the outpouring of new involvement in the campaign that builds on our greatest strengths as a network. The launch coincided with the national release of Food Chains, a smash hit at the box office and in the streets as it premiered in cities across the country. With sold out screenings from Tampa to New York to San Francisco, thousands took in the big screen story of resistance and transformative change, spilling from the theaters and heading straight to the doorsteps of Fair Food holdouts Publix and Wendy’s.

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As we continue building on the historic human rights gains before us, please consider becoming a sustainer of this work or increasing your financial support. Our work together, called “one of the great human rights success stories of our day” in the Washington Post, depends on the contributions of individuals. Each year, your support allow us to sustain our collective work and to continue to build toward our shared vision of dignity and respect for the people who harvest this country's food.