(Valmedia / Shutterstock.com)
The tale of Florida’s tomato workers is an inspiring story of grassroots action, with a very happy ending. For decades, the industry had a reputation for mistreating workers - with poor conditions, almost non-existent wages and physically abusive practices. In 2011, a group of tomato workers from the largely Hispanic, low-income area of Immokalee set out to turn that around.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
What if Martin Luther King Jr. Was Alive Today? [VIDEO]
5 Herbs and Veggies that Love Growing Indoors
A Political Megaphone for Everyday People
Backed by the worker-based Coalition of Immokalee Workers, the workers partnered up with mega brand buyers such as McDonalds and Walmart to pressure farmers to improve conditions in the tomato fields. To put the buyers’ influence in perspective, Walmart alone sells 20% of the fresh tomatoes in the United States - so they’ve got some clout.
Dubbed the Fair Food Program, the workplace monitoring system sees buyers paying a small premium - currently one cent per pound - which farmers pass on to their employees. Since the program’s inception in 2011, a whopping $15 million has been paid in fair food premiums, and over 100,000 workers have received assistance in claiming their rights. The system of market consequence - under which buyers keep buying tomatoes from growers only if their workers are treated according to the agreement - ensures farmers will continue to uphold a high standard of conditions for workers.
So far the agreements are limited to Florida’s tomato fields in Florida, which produce 90% of the tomatoes grown in the winter in the US. As well as being a good start to vastly improving conditions across the industry, the Fair Food Program presents a simple and effective model for worker-based human rights action around the world.
