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On May 23, the fast-food giant, Burger King Corporation (BK), agreed to
pay farmworkers an additional one cent per pound to pick tomatoes in
central Florida and to change working conditions.
The agreement was reached with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers
(CIW), a farmworkers organization in the impoverished central Florida town
of Immokalee. This would be the first significant raise for most
farmworkers since 1978. The penny raise means a 40 percent salary
increase for workers.
Human rights organizations, journalists, and many others have described
farmworker conditions in Central Florida as "modern-day
slavery." The CIW has uncovered over 1000 cases of outright
slavery in Florida—enforced by beatings, firearms, and sexual assault.
The CIW hailed the agreement as another milestone in its "fair
food" campaign, endorsed by nearly 100 student, labor, human
rights, and religious organizations. The campaign included nationwide
demonstrations at fast-food restaurants, mass rallies, and other
activities, many led by students.
Previous CIW agreements including a penny raise were made with
McDonald’s (2007) and YUM! Brands (2005), owners of Pizza Hut, Taco
Bell, and Kentucky Fried Chicken (see the CIW’s informative website: www.CIW-ONLINE.org).
Said CIW leader Lucas Benitez, "We are prepared to move forward,
together now with Burger King, toward a future of full respect for the
human rights of workers in Florida tomato fields. Today we are one step
closer to building a world where we, as farmworkers, can enjoy a fair
wage and humane working conditions. We are not there yet, but we are
getting there."
Melody Gonzalez, of the Student Farmworker Alliance, told Socialist
Action, "It’s a very big step forward, especially after so much
resistance. It sends a strong message to other buyers and growers to
transform their industry into a more humane one." Gonzalez said
workers were "excited by the possibility of change." CIW’s
next "fair food" campaign will be aimed at the food chains
Subway, Whole Foods, and Chipotle.
Central Florida farmworkers earn $10,000 to $12,000 annually, according
to 2006 Department of Labor records, and typically work a 10 to 12 hour
day. But even those income figures are too high since 21% of the DOL
records include supervisors and managers. To earn the minimum wage for
a 10-hour day, a Florida farmworker must harvest over two tons of
tomatoes! Many of the tomato pickers are undocumented immigrant
workers.
The Burger King (BK) agreement and similar CIW agreements have met
strong opposition from the reactionary Florida Tomato Growers Exchange
(FTGE). Due to grower opposition, most farmworkers have not received
raises in CIW agreements with fast-food chains.
FTGE spokespersons have labeled the agreements "un-American"
and "racketeering." In November 2007, the FTGE threatened
growers with a $100,000 fine for paying the extra penny. Most growers
complied. However, days before the BK agreement, the FTGE said it would
not impose the fine but would still maintain its opposition.
Under the terms of the BK and similar agreements, growers would pay
workers their raise, but with money provided by fast-food chains. The
deal even includes an additional half-penny-per-pound payment to
growers for "payroll taxes and administrative costs," thus
making the raise costless, if not profitable for growers. Even so, that
was too big a concession for the rabidly anti-farmworker FTGE.
Fast-food chains purchase directly from Florida growers, who provide
them with 80 percent of their tomatoes.
According to the CIW, changes in work conditions in the BK deal include
farmworker participation in monitoring compliance with a vendor
"code of conduct" and "zero tolerance" for unlawful
grower activity. The agreement is "confidential" and
available only to CIW members and BK, say Student Farmworker Alliance
members.
The battle with Burger King
The penny raise was strongly resisted by BK, whose worldwide annual
sales are over $11 billion. "Florida growers have a right to run
their businesses how they see fit," a BK spokesman told the St.
Petersburg Times.
Although BK adopted new rules in 2007 on the humane treatment of hogs
and chickens, they continued to oppose humane treatment for
farmworkers. The company advised farmworkers to apply to work at Burger
King if they wanted more money. BK even hired a security firm to spy on
the CIW and student activists, which it has admitted and now says it
has stopped.
CIW’s BK campaign included a lively nine-mile march through Miami to
the national BK headquarters last November. The march drew 1500
protesters.s. First along the route was the big investment firm Goldman
Sachs, which owns one of three controlling blocks of BK stock—a
valuable source of profits, which doubled its investment in three
years.
After reaching an agreement with CIW, a BK statement said the company
must be "socially responsible" to be "sustainable"
and apologized for previous "negative statements about the
CIW." The agreement includes a "code of conduct" and
"zero tolerance" for unlawful violations by growers.
BK’s "socially responsible" raise will cost the corporate
giant a mere $250,000 a year, according to Eric Schlosser, author of
"Fast Food Nation."
Growers block raise
Thus far, only two large growers have given the penny raise to about
1000 workers out of the approximately 20,000 workers that should
receive it, says student activist Melody Gonzalez. The money for the
remaining workers is being held in a bank until the issue is resolved,
she says.
Although the corporate types at McDonald’s, YUM! Brands, and BK may
have discovered a marketable tool as "socially responsive,"
they’ve done little to pressure growers to comply with the raise. For
example, they have not cut back a portion of their huge tomato
purchases to punish the FTGE for their refusal to recognize farmworker
rights.
In any case, the Florida tomato season is over until the fall.
Meanwhile, discussions are ongoing between the CIW, fast food chains,
and some growers.
Whatever the outcome of the CIW agreements in the short term, the
struggle in Immokalee illustrates the strengths as well as the limits
of consumer pressure tactics as an alternative to direct worker action,
strikes, and militant labor solidarity. Unfortunately, farmworker
strikes in Immokalee during the 1990s received virtually no labor union
support and were not successful.
However, the 2006 May Day demonstration and strike by two-million
immigrants revealed that immigrants, including "illegals,"
can be a powerful ally in the struggle for the rights of all labor. The
rest of the U.S. labor movement must step up to the plate and mobilize
its members and resources in defense of immigrant worker rights,
especially farmworkers.
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