Coalition of Immokalee Workers
Encyclopedia
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) is a non-profit organization
(calling itself "a community-based worker organization") in Immokalee, Florida
whose members are "largely Latino, Haitian, and Mayan Indian immigrants working in low-wage jobs throughout the state."
Founded in 1993, the group has seen major success on several fronts. The CIW's Campaign for Fair Food has resulted in agreements with major food retailers such as Taco Bell
, McDonald's
, Compass Group
, and Whole Foods Market
to improve wages and working conditions for farmworkers
in the tomato supply chain
. The campaign has also resulted in a historic agreement with the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange to implement these reforms on 90% of the state's tomato farms, affecting more than 30,000 farmworkers and 30,000 acres of production.
Additionally, the CIW has aided in the investigation and federal prosecution of several slavery
operations in Florida agriculture. In 2010, the CIW was recognized for these efforts by the U.S. Department of State as a “hero” in the global anti-trafficking movement. Luis CdeBaca, Ambassador-at-Large of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, stated during the recognition ceremony that the Coalition of Immokalee Workers "have been important partners and, more importantly, an independent and pressing voice as they uncover slavery rings, tap the power of the workers, and hold companies and governments accountable."
and leadership development. One of the CIW's first accomplishments was to establish a cooperative
to sell staple foods and other necessities at cost in order to combat price-gouging by local merchants. Today, the CIW also owns and operates WCIW-LP (107.9 FM, "Radio Conciencia"), a low-power FM radio station
that features music, news, and educational programing in several languages.
Between 1995 and 2000, the CIW organized several major actions to protest declining real wages for tomato harvesters as well as frequent violence from supervisors towards field workers. This period included community-wide work stoppages
in 1995, 1997 and 1999; a 30-day hunger strike
undertaken by six members in 1998; and a 230-mile march from Ft. Myers to Orlando in 2000. By 1998, these protests “won industry-wide raises of 13-25% (translating into several million dollars annually for the community in increased wages).... Those raises brought the tomato picking piece rate back to pre-1980 levels (the piece rate had fallen below those levels over the course of the intervening two decades), but wages remained below poverty level and continuing improvement was slow in coming.”
of Taco Bell in 2001, holding the company accountable for the wages and working conditions of farmworkers in its tomato supply chain. The CIW argued that when major buyers such as Taco Bell leverage their volume purchasing power to demand discounts from their suppliers, they create strong downward pressure on wages and working conditions in these suppliers' operations. A 2004 study by Oxfam America confirmed this trend: “Squeezed by the buyers of their produce, growers pass on the costs and risks imposed on them to those on the lowest rung of the supply chain: the farmworkers they employ.”
During the Taco Bell Boycott, the CIW worked closely with religious and community groups and a student network, the Student/Farmworker Alliance
, to pressure Taco Bell from different angles. On March 8, 2005, Yum! Brands, Inc., parent company of Taco Bell, agreed to all of the CIW's demands, including:
in Atlanta, Georgia. The agreement, which met the standards previously set by the Taco Bell accord, also included a commitment by McDonald's to work with the CIW to develop an industry-wide third-party mechanism to monitor conditions and investigate abuses in the fields.
In May 2008, at the U.S. Capitol, the CIW announced an agreement with Burger King. The world's second-largest burger chain had originally strongly opposed the campaign, even going so far as to hire a private investigative firm to provide information on the Student/Farmworker Alliance. As part of the announcement, Burger King’s chief executive, John W. Chidsey, apologized for prior negative remarks directed towards the CIW and went on to praise the group's efforts. Subway
, the largest fast-food buyer of Florida tomatoes, signed an agreement with the CIW six months later in December 2008. With this agreement, the world's four largest fast-food companies were now supporting the campaign. The CIW has an unresolved campaign against Chipotle Mexican Grill
.
"Dine with Dignity" campaign targeted the foodservice
industry since many of these companies operate on college campuses. During this period, the CIW reached agreements with Bon Appétit Management Company
, Compass Group
, Aramark
, and Sodexo.
. Karen Christensen, a Whole Foods executive explained, “We commend the CIW for their advocacy on behalf of these workers. After carefully evaluating the situation in Florida, we felt that an agreement of this nature was in line with our core values and was in the best interest of the workers.” The Whole Foods agreement marked the first time a retailer agreed to support the CIW initiative without extended public protests.
As of 2011, the CIW and its allies are focused on the supermarket industry leaders who remain uncommitted to the Campaign for Fair Food, including Publix
, Trader Joe's
, Kroger
, and Ahold
brands Giant and Stop & Shop
.
On April 15, 2008, the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
(HELP) held hearings on "Ending Abuses and Improving Working Conditions for Tomato Workers" in which Reggie Brown claimed farmworkers earned an average wage of "between $10.50 and $14.86 per hour." Lucas Benitez of the CIW and Senators Bernie Sanders
(VT-I) and Dick Durbin (IL-D) disputed Brown's claim by citing contradictory evidence. The senators also scrutinized the legal basis for the FTGE's resistance to the Campaign for Fair Food.
In the joint press release, FTGE Vice President Reggie Brown said of the agreement:
In the same release, Lucas Benitez of the CIW added:
In an editorial, the New York Times described the agreement as a "remarkable victory in a 15-year struggle for better pay and working conditions... The Immokalee victory won’t impose fairness overnight, but after generations of exploitation, part of the farm industry is pointing in the right direction."
The CIW is a founding member of the national Freedom Network U.S.A to Empower Victims of Slavery and Trafficking. Additionally, the CIW is a regional coordinator for the Freedom Network Training Institute on Human Trafficking (FNTI). In this capacity, the CIW trains state and federal law enforcement and NGOs on how to identify and assist people held in slavery operations.
Other selected anti-slavery partnerships and collaborations include
In 2010, the CIW developed a mobile Florida Modern-Day Slavery Museum that has toured the eastern U.S. extensively. The Village Voice wrote that the museum "may be Florida's most important new attraction."
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
(calling itself "a community-based worker organization") in Immokalee, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
whose members are "largely Latino, Haitian, and Mayan Indian immigrants working in low-wage jobs throughout the state."
Founded in 1993, the group has seen major success on several fronts. The CIW's Campaign for Fair Food has resulted in agreements with major food retailers such as Taco Bell
Taco Bell
Taco Bell is an American chain of fast-food restaurants based in Irvine, California. A subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., which serves American-adapted Mexican food. Taco Bell serves tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, other specialty items, and a variety of "Value Menu" items...
, McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
, Compass Group
Compass Group
Compass Group plc is a global contract foodservice and support services company headquartered near London, United Kingdom. It is the largest contract foodservice company in the world and has operations in over 50 countries...
, and Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods Market is a foods supermarket chain based in Austin, Texas which emphasizes "natural and organic products." The company has been ranked among the most socially responsible businesses and placed third on the U.S...
to improve wages and working conditions for farmworkers
Farmworker
A farmworker is a person hired to work in the agricultural industry. This includes work on farms of all sizes, from small, family-run businesses to large industrial agriculture operations...
in the tomato supply chain
Supply chain
A supply chain is a system of organizations, people, technology, activities, information and resources involved in moving a product or service from supplier to customer. Supply chain activities transform natural resources, raw materials and components into a finished product that is delivered to...
. The campaign has also resulted in a historic agreement with the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange to implement these reforms on 90% of the state's tomato farms, affecting more than 30,000 farmworkers and 30,000 acres of production.
Additionally, the CIW has aided in the investigation and federal prosecution of several slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
operations in Florida agriculture. In 2010, the CIW was recognized for these efforts by the U.S. Department of State as a “hero” in the global anti-trafficking movement. Luis CdeBaca, Ambassador-at-Large of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, stated during the recognition ceremony that the Coalition of Immokalee Workers "have been important partners and, more importantly, an independent and pressing voice as they uncover slavery rings, tap the power of the workers, and hold companies and governments accountable."
Early history
The CIW, initially called the Southwest Florida Farmworker Project, was formed in 1993 in Immokalee, Florida, the epicenter of the state's $600 million tomato industry. The group's organizing philosophy is based on principles of popular educationPopular education
Popular education is a concept grounded in notions of class, political struggle, and social transformation. The term is a translation from the Spanish educación popular or the Portuguese educação popular and rather than the English usage as when describing a 'popular television program,' popular...
and leadership development. One of the CIW's first accomplishments was to establish a cooperative
Cooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...
to sell staple foods and other necessities at cost in order to combat price-gouging by local merchants. Today, the CIW also owns and operates WCIW-LP (107.9 FM, "Radio Conciencia"), a low-power FM radio station
Low-power broadcasting
Low-power broadcasting is electronic broadcasting at very low power and low cost, to a small community area.The terms "low-power broadcasting" and "micropower broadcasting" should not be used interchangeably, because the markets are not the same...
that features music, news, and educational programing in several languages.
Between 1995 and 2000, the CIW organized several major actions to protest declining real wages for tomato harvesters as well as frequent violence from supervisors towards field workers. This period included community-wide work stoppages
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
in 1995, 1997 and 1999; a 30-day hunger strike
Hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most hunger strikers will take liquids but not...
undertaken by six members in 1998; and a 230-mile march from Ft. Myers to Orlando in 2000. By 1998, these protests “won industry-wide raises of 13-25% (translating into several million dollars annually for the community in increased wages).... Those raises brought the tomato picking piece rate back to pre-1980 levels (the piece rate had fallen below those levels over the course of the intervening two decades), but wages remained below poverty level and continuing improvement was slow in coming.”
Taco Bell Boycott
To overcome this impasse, the CIW launched a boycottBoycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
of Taco Bell in 2001, holding the company accountable for the wages and working conditions of farmworkers in its tomato supply chain. The CIW argued that when major buyers such as Taco Bell leverage their volume purchasing power to demand discounts from their suppliers, they create strong downward pressure on wages and working conditions in these suppliers' operations. A 2004 study by Oxfam America confirmed this trend: “Squeezed by the buyers of their produce, growers pass on the costs and risks imposed on them to those on the lowest rung of the supply chain: the farmworkers they employ.”
During the Taco Bell Boycott, the CIW worked closely with religious and community groups and a student network, the Student/Farmworker Alliance
Student/Farmworker Alliance
Student/Farmworker Alliance is a national network of students and youth formally organized in 2000. SFA organizes in direct partnership and solidarity with farmworkers, working to eliminate sweatshop conditions and modern-day slavery in the agricultural fields of the United States...
, to pressure Taco Bell from different angles. On March 8, 2005, Yum! Brands, Inc., parent company of Taco Bell, agreed to all of the CIW's demands, including:
- The first-ever direct, ongoing payment by a fast-food industry leader to farmworkers in its supply chain to address sub-standard farm labor wages (nearly doubling the percentage of the final retail price that goes to the workers who pick the produce);
- The first-ever enforceable Code of Conduct for agricultural suppliers in the fast-food industry (which includes the CIW as part of the investigative body for monitoring worker complaints);
- Market incentives for agricultural suppliers willing to respect their workers’ human rights, even when those rights are not guaranteed by law;
- 100% transparency for Taco Bell’s tomato purchases in Florida.
Fast food
After the Taco Bell Boycott, the Campaign for Fair Food shifted its focus to the rest of the fast-food industry. In response to the campaign, McDonald’s helped create an industry-controlled code of conduct known as SAFE (Socially Accountable Farm Employers) that the CIW and its allies deemed insufficient. On April 9, 2007, an agreement between McDonalds and the CIW was announced at the Carter CenterCarter Center
The Carter Center is a nongovernmental, not-for-profit organization founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn Carter. In partnership with Emory University, The Carter Center works to advance human rights and alleviate human suffering...
in Atlanta, Georgia. The agreement, which met the standards previously set by the Taco Bell accord, also included a commitment by McDonald's to work with the CIW to develop an industry-wide third-party mechanism to monitor conditions and investigate abuses in the fields.
In May 2008, at the U.S. Capitol, the CIW announced an agreement with Burger King. The world's second-largest burger chain had originally strongly opposed the campaign, even going so far as to hire a private investigative firm to provide information on the Student/Farmworker Alliance. As part of the announcement, Burger King’s chief executive, John W. Chidsey, apologized for prior negative remarks directed towards the CIW and went on to praise the group's efforts. Subway
Subway (restaurant)
Subway is an American restaurant franchise that primarily sells submarine sandwiches and salads. It is owned and operated by Doctor's Associates, Inc. . Subway is one of the fastest growing franchises in the world with 35,519 restaurants in 98 countries and territories as of October 25th, 2011...
, the largest fast-food buyer of Florida tomatoes, signed an agreement with the CIW six months later in December 2008. With this agreement, the world's four largest fast-food companies were now supporting the campaign. The CIW has an unresolved campaign against Chipotle Mexican Grill
Chipotle Mexican Grill
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. is a chain of restaurants in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada specializing in burritos and tacos, founded by Steve Ells in 1993 and based in Denver, Colorado...
.
Foodservice
Throughout 2009 and 2010, the Student/Farmworker Alliance'sStudent/Farmworker Alliance
Student/Farmworker Alliance is a national network of students and youth formally organized in 2000. SFA organizes in direct partnership and solidarity with farmworkers, working to eliminate sweatshop conditions and modern-day slavery in the agricultural fields of the United States...
"Dine with Dignity" campaign targeted the foodservice
Foodservice
Food Service or catering industry defines those businesses, institutions, and companies responsible for any meal prepared outside the home...
industry since many of these companies operate on college campuses. During this period, the CIW reached agreements with Bon Appétit Management Company
Bon Appétit Management Company
The Bon Appétit Management Company is a Palo Alto, California-based on-site restaurant company, owned by Compass Group, that provides café and catering services to corporations, colleges and universities. The company operates 400 cafes in 28 states. Princeton Review has named Bon Appétit the "No...
, Compass Group
Compass Group
Compass Group plc is a global contract foodservice and support services company headquartered near London, United Kingdom. It is the largest contract foodservice company in the world and has operations in over 50 countries...
, Aramark
Aramark
Aramark Corporation, known commonly as Aramark, is an American foodservice, facilities, and clothing provider supplying businesses, educational institutions, sports facilities, federal and state prisons, and health care institutions. It is headquartered at the Aramark Tower in Center City,...
, and Sodexo.
Supermarkets
In September 2008, the CIW broke ground in the supermarket industry by signing an agreement with Whole Foods MarketWhole Foods Market
Whole Foods Market is a foods supermarket chain based in Austin, Texas which emphasizes "natural and organic products." The company has been ranked among the most socially responsible businesses and placed third on the U.S...
. Karen Christensen, a Whole Foods executive explained, “We commend the CIW for their advocacy on behalf of these workers. After carefully evaluating the situation in Florida, we felt that an agreement of this nature was in line with our core values and was in the best interest of the workers.” The Whole Foods agreement marked the first time a retailer agreed to support the CIW initiative without extended public protests.
As of 2011, the CIW and its allies are focused on the supermarket industry leaders who remain uncommitted to the Campaign for Fair Food, including Publix
Publix
Publix Super Markets, Inc. is an American supermarket chain based in Lakeland, Florida.Founded in 1930 by George W. Jenkins, it is an employee-owned, privately held corporation. Publix is currently ranked No. 86 on Fortune magazine's list of 100 Best Companies to Work For 2010 and was ranked No...
, Trader Joe's
Trader Joe's
Trader Joe's is a privately held chain of specialty grocery stores headquartered in Monrovia, California. , Trader Joe's had a total of 365 stores. Approximately half of its stores are in California, with the heaviest concentration in Southern California, but the company also has locations in 30...
, Kroger
Kroger
The Kroger Co. is an American supermarket chain founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cincinnati, Ohio. It reported US$ 76.7 billion in sales during fiscal year 2009. It is the country's largest grocery store chain and its second-largest grocery retailer by volume and second-place general retailer...
, and Ahold
Ahold
Ahold is a major international supermarket operator based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Ahold is listed on Euronext Amsterdam and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.-History:...
brands Giant and Stop & Shop
Stop & Shop
The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company is a chain of supermarkets located mostly in the northeastern United States. Its main rivals are Shaw's Star Market and Hannaford in New England, while ShopRite and the A&P family of supermarkets are its main competition in New York and New Jersey.- History :Stop...
.
Resistance
In November 2007, the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange (FTGE), an agricultural cooperative that provides its grower members with limited antitrust protection for marketing their products, announced that the Taco Bell/Yum and McDonald's deals "will not be executed and now are considered moot." Citing antitrust concerns, the FTGE threatened its members with $100,000 fines for cooperating with McDonald's or Yum Brands. One month later, FTGE Vice President Reggie Brown explained, “I think it is un-American when you get people outside your business to dictate terms of business to you." As a result of the FTGE's resistance, the penny-per-pound funds accrued during the stalemate were held in escrow.On April 15, 2008, the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
The United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions generally considers matters relating to health, education, labor, and pensions...
(HELP) held hearings on "Ending Abuses and Improving Working Conditions for Tomato Workers" in which Reggie Brown claimed farmworkers earned an average wage of "between $10.50 and $14.86 per hour." Lucas Benitez of the CIW and Senators Bernie Sanders
Bernie Sanders
Bernard "Bernie" Sanders is the junior United States Senator from Vermont. He previously represented Vermont's at-large district in the United States House of Representatives...
(VT-I) and Dick Durbin (IL-D) disputed Brown's claim by citing contradictory evidence. The senators also scrutinized the legal basis for the FTGE's resistance to the Campaign for Fair Food.
Settlement
In November 2010, an agreement was reached between the CIW and the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange to extend "Fair Food principles – including a strict code of conduct, a cooperative complaint resolution system, a participatory health and safety program, and a worker-to-worker education process – to over 90% of the Florida tomato industry.". The agreement covers more than 30,000 workers and 30,000 acres of production. Funds held in escrow during the stalemate will be distributed to workers, as well as future funds collected under any new or existing agreements with retailers. Workers could receive an increase in annual wages from $10,000-12,000 a year to $17,000 if additional large buyers agree to the increase.In the joint press release, FTGE Vice President Reggie Brown said of the agreement:
We realize that this is a work in progress and this partnership will get stronger over time. It will not be completed overnight. As we move forward, we can be certain that labor complaints will continue to arise in the foreseeable future, but it is how we deal with these complaints in this new partnership that will serve to demonstrate that we are serious and that our approach is working. As time goes by, we are confident that we will be able to weed out the bad actors and, working together, build a stronger, more sustainable industry that will be better equipped than ever to thrive in an increasingly competitive market place.
In the same release, Lucas Benitez of the CIW added:
In an editorial, the New York Times described the agreement as a "remarkable victory in a 15-year struggle for better pay and working conditions... The Immokalee victory won’t impose fairness overnight, but after generations of exploitation, part of the farm industry is pointing in the right direction."
Anti-Slavery Campaign
The CIW has developed an internationally recognized "worker-based approach to eliminating modern-day slavery in the agricultural industry. The CIW helps fight this crime by uncovering, investigating, and assisting in the federal prosecution of slavery rings preying on hundreds of farmworkers. In such situations, captive workers are held against their will by their employers through threats and, all too often, the actual use of violence – including beatings, shootings, and pistol-whippings." The CIW is also attempting to structurally eliminate the root causes of modern-day agricultural slavery – farmworker poverty and powerlessness – through the Campaign for Fair Food.The CIW is a founding member of the national Freedom Network U.S.A to Empower Victims of Slavery and Trafficking. Additionally, the CIW is a regional coordinator for the Freedom Network Training Institute on Human Trafficking (FNTI). In this capacity, the CIW trains state and federal law enforcement and NGOs on how to identify and assist people held in slavery operations.
Other selected anti-slavery partnerships and collaborations include
- Legislature-appointed member, Florida Statewide Task Force on Human Trafficking
- Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement (FDLE), curriculum for Advanced Investigative Techniques in Human Trafficking
- Collier County Sheriff’s Department Anti-Trafficking Unit
- US Attorney’s Anti-Trafficking Task Forces, Tampa and Miami districts
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (F.B.I), Supervisory Special Agents In-Service trainings
- North Carolina State Troopers Training Academy, training
- U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Anti-Trafficking Unit, Washington, DC
In 2010, the CIW developed a mobile Florida Modern-Day Slavery Museum that has toured the eastern U.S. extensively. The Village Voice wrote that the museum "may be Florida's most important new attraction."
Awards and recognition
The CIW has received a wide array of honors and recognition, including:- 2010 TIP Hero Award, U.S. Department of State. On the occasion of the State Department's release of the 10th annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, which for the first time included the United States in its rankings. In recognition of "perseverance against slavery operations in the U.S. agricultural industry" and "determination to eliminate forced labor in supply chains."
- 2010 People of the Year, Fort Myers (FL) News-Press, in recognition of the CIW's "years of groundbreaking advocacy" and "landmark efforts, which have far-ranging implications beyond Southwest Florida."
- 2010 Adela Dwyer-St. Thomas of Villanova Peace Award, Villanova University, Center for Peace & Justice Education.
- 2008 Sister Margaret Cafferty Development of People Award, Catholic Campaign for Human Development.
- 2007 Anti-Slavery Award, Anti-Slavery International of London (world’s oldest human rights organization) for exceptional contribution towards tackling modern-day slavery in the U.S. agricultural industry.
- 2006 Paul and Sheila Wellstone Award, Freedom Network USA, for outstanding contributions to combating human trafficking and modern-day slavery in the U.S.
- 2005 Letter of Commendation from F.B.I. Director Robert Mueller.
- 2005 Benny Award, Business Ethics Network, for outstanding contribution to corporate ethics.
- 2005 Harry Chapin Self-Reliance Award, World Hunger Year, for leadership in the fight against poverty.
- 2003 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award, RFK Memorial Center for Human Rights.
- 2002 NOW Woman of Courage Award, National Organization for Women.
- 1999 Grand Prize Brick Award, Rolling Stone magazine and Do Something Foundation.
- 1998 Cardinal Bernardin New Leadership Award, Catholic Campaign for Human Development.
Further reading
- Bales, Kevin and Ron Soodalter. The Slave Next Door: Human Trafficking and Slavery in America Today. University of California Press, 2009.
- Bowe, John. Nobodies: Modern American Slave Labor and the Dark Side of the New Global Economy. Random House, 2007.
- Estabrook, Barry. Tomatoland. Andrews McMeel, 2011.