Withholding Good: The CIW's Ongoing Protest Against Publix
By Lauren Maxwell
UC Staff Writer
Scripture: Proverbs 3:27
Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbor, ‘Come back later; I’ll give it to you tomorrow’- when you now have it with you.This verse from the Book of Proverbs ran through my mind recently while I stood with a group of friends inside a Publix grocery store in Florida. We were speaking intensely to the store manager about the call to be in solidarity with migrant farm workers (mostly immigrants from Guatemala and Mexico) in our state for a living wage. Even as we explained the disturbing realities that thousands of migrant farm workers, specifically tomato-pickers, have had to face in Florida’s fields, from modern-day slavery to historically low wages, the store manager kept a stone-cold face and replied apathetically, “I can’t do anything to help better this situation.”
Yet as a person in a position of power, is his claim really true?
For the past several years, a grassroots network of migrant farm workers in Florida, known as the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), have been calling out the largest grocery store chain in the southeast United States, Publix, to join their Campaign for Fair Food.
According to the CIW’s website, “The logic behind the Campaign for Fair Food is simple. Major corporate buyers -- companies such as Publix, Ahold, Kroger and Wal-Mart -- purchase a tremendous volume of fruits and vegetables, leveraging their buying power to demand the lowest possible prices from their suppliers. This, in turn, exerts a powerful downward pressure on wages and working conditions in these suppliers' operations.”
Since 2001, the CIW has come to an agreement with over nine major corporations, including Whole Foods, Taco Bell, McDonalds and food service providers such as Aramark and Sodexo. The agreement is simple and is in the power of CEOs to do what is right: increase the wages of tomato pickers and enforce a Code of Conduct in the fields to uphold basic human rights for workers. Tomato pickers are paid by a piece rate, at an average of 50 cents for every 32 lbs. of tomatoes that they are able to pick. Do the math quickly and one can see this has continued to equal harsh poverty for workers in the fields.
The CIW only asks that corporations like Publix increase that rate to a penny more per pound, which would double the average yearly wages for a tomato picker. On top of that, farm workers have often had to fight off exploitation in other forms, including wages that have been withheld, being beaten for taking a water break and women who have been sexually harassed while in the fields. The most severe form of exploitation has been actual cases of modern-day slavery. Since 1997, there have been nine slavery rings discovered in Florida’s fields and federally prosecuted. These cases involved over 1,000 workers who were forced to work picking produce against their will, for no pay, often beaten, literally chained and threatened if they tried to leave.
The CEO of Publix, Mr. Ed Crenshaw, and others in position of authority of this major corporation have the power to act, yet they have continued to withhold justice from their neighbors. The CIW and their plethora of allies have been calling on Publix for over two years now to give to their neighbors what they deserve: a living wage and a dignified, safe working environment. As the Publix CEO has continued to give a deaf ear to the call for justice, I am reminded time and time again that only Jesus can ultimately bring transformation. Only Jesus can soften the stubborn heart of someone who has so much; may Mr. Crenshaw learn to be compassionate in a dignified manner towards our neighbors who do not have as much.
May we always be encouraged to continue to cry out to God to speak to Mr. Crenshaw to stop withholding good from our brothers and sisters who work to bring us food from the fields to our tables! Let us also realize that it is in our power to act in prayer, to cry out daily for transformation to come to this broken world, and to continue calling out to Publix to finally do what is right.
See the full photo report from a spirited 250-person, farmworker-justice picket on Sunday at a Publix grand opening near Tampa Bay here.
Lauren Maxwell is the co-founder of Villaluz, a ministry that seeks to bridge the socioeconomic divides of the Latino community. Lauren spends much of her time advocating around issues of immigrant rights and equality. She currently lives in Tampa, Florida.
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