Protesters gathered outside Publix at 1400 East Colonial Drive Sunday to demand that the mega food corporation join the Fair Food Program, a unique partnership among farmworkers, tomato growers and ten leading food retailers, that improves the wages and work conditions of Florida tomato harvesters. For years, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), religious leaders and enlightened consumers have protested Publix’s refusal to join the Fair Food Program.
The Fair Food Program aims to have an increase of a penny-per-pound built into the price of tomatoes.
Although competitors Whole Foods and Trader Joes are part of the Fair Food Program, Publix, for years, has refused to take part. Other mega corporations that participate include, Subway, McDonald’s and Burger King.
Publix has falsely dubbed the Fair Food collaboration among buyers, tomato growers and farmworkers “a labor dispute” and says the company will not get involved in the labor disputes of its suppliers.
The company also wrongly suggests that the penny should be “put in the price” the industry charges for tomatoes which in fact is already the case. Publix has also claimed, again in error, that it won’t “pay employees of other companies directly for their labor.” This doesn’t happen – participating buyers in the Fair Food Program do not pay farmworkers directly, and Publix knows this.
Contrary to Publix’s false claims, the New York Times has called the Fair Food program “the most successful labor action in the U.S., in 20 years.”
Yesterday, protesters had an opportunity to speak with a Publix manager. Last Labor Day, after years of being ignored, several farmworkers rode their bicycles 230 miles from Immokalee to Publix Headquarters in Lakeland in order to invite CEO Ed Crenshaw to Immokalee. Crenshaw refused to meet with them.
So sad that a “family” business started by a family man George so many years ago fail to support the “family of workers” trying to support their familes!!!!!
Since learning of this unreasonable, “legalistic”, and morally indefensible posture that the current management of Publix has taken, I go to some lengths to buy tomatoes, and most other produce elsewhere. I have been a Florida resident all of my long adult life and have always loved shopping at Publix. Much of my business will go elsewhere though, until Publix reaches out to farmworkers, the most abused and yet among the most needed people in Florida.
, I deliberately avoid shopping at Publix, remembering the rudeness shown by the managers, while observing the consistent friendly but firm protests of the farm workers as I walked the streets as one of the protesters., There are other grocery stores that will meet my needs until Publix supports these wonderful farm workers.
Ann Myers
September 9, 2012
One of the people I recruited to take a letter to a Publix manager last weekend is a very active 88-year-old lady. She became so upset with the rude and dismissive conduct of the manager, that she has vowed to never “darken their door again”! She also intends to tell the members of the many groups she belongs to to do the same!
Susan Carter September 9 2012 at 7:35 am
Publix, how can you continue to ignore and even treat badly the workers who ask for only one penny a pound more and protection from abuse, exploitation, and slavery? Here’s why you should participate in the words of the Washington Post: “The CIW model is one of the great human rights success stories of our day. But the Fair Food Program won’t be sustainable unless the largest buyers of tomatoes — grocery stores — reward the growers in the program with their purchases and pay the price premium.”