News & Public Affairs

Immokalee workers protest Publix in Lakeland listen

04/19/10 Kelly Benjamin & Seán Kinane
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Tags: Immokalee farmworkers, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, slavery, Publix, Lakeland

As WMNF reported Friday, over the weekend, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers marched from downtown Tampa to the Publix Supermarket headquarters in Lakeland as part of their "Campaign for Fair Food."

They are calling on Publix to pay one penny more per pound to tomato pickers, and to issue a statement condemning slavery in the agricultural fields of Immokalee where several cases have come to light in the past few years.

On Saturday, farmworkers and supporters...

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Coalition of Immokalee Workers kicks off march to Lakeland listen

04/16/10 Kate Bradshaw
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Tags: Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Publix, Charles McKenzie

Today, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) began a three-day march from Tampa to Lakeland. The group and its supporters are demanding that Publix, which is headquartered in Lakeland, spend a penny more per pound of tomatoes it buys from Florida growers. Coalition co-founder and staff member Lucas Benitez says his group wants to send Lakeland a message about its successful hometown company.

*We wanted to share with them our reality...

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Farmworkers March For Justice

04/15/10 Robert Lorei
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Tags: farmworkers, slavery, Publix, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, tomatoes, minimum wage

Good afternoon, welcome to Radioactivity. I'm Robert Lorei. A caravan of farm workers from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) – and hundreds of consumers from across the country will march for three days from Tampa to Lakeland on April 16-18 to demand that Publix join a growing partnership among farm workers, Florida tomato growers, and retail food giants aimed at ending decades of farm labor abuse in Florida. The march will culminate on Sunday afternoon, April 18, with a public concert...

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Immokalee workers reach deal with Aramark listen

04/02/10 Seán Kinane
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Tags: Coalition of Immokalee Workers, farmworkers, Aramark, Publix

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers has reached an agreement with another food giant to increase wages for tomato pickers. The food service company Aramark will pay an extra penny and a half per pound for tomatoes picked in Florida, and most of that premium will be distributed to the workers. We spoke with Marc Rodrigues with the Student Farmworker Alliance which advocates for the Immokalee workers.

*The c...

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Publix refuses to negotiate with farmworker coalition listen

03/01/10 Joshua Lee Holton
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Tags: Coalition of Immokalee Workers, fair wages, farm workers, Publix, protesters

Tomato pickers are still lobbying for better wages for farm workers in operations they call modern-day slavery. Last Saturday Tampa residents including University of South Florida students and people of faith protested in front of a Publix supermarket because it has not agreed to work with Florida tomato pickers to end a range of alleged exploitations in its supply chain.

*What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now! What do we want? Justice! When do we wan...

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Farm workers protest Publix in Lakeland listen

12/07/09 Glenn Pendergrass
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Tags: Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Publix

A group of Florida farm workers took their demand for a wage increase directly to the state’s biggest grocery chain on Sunday. The Coalition of Immokalee Workers marched to the Lakeland headquarters of Publix.

The tomato harvesters were asking for an additional penny per pound but so far have met with resistance from the grocery chain. That frustrates Maria who marched with 300 others the 2 miles from a Lakeland Publix to the corporate offices.

Publix spokesperson Shannon Patton says th...

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200 CIW farm workers and allies protest Publix listen

11/16/09 Seán Kinane
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Tags: Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Publix, labor, Eckerd College, social justice

A penny per pound of tomatoes. That's the pay increase a group of Florida farm workers is asking for. But the supermarket chain Publix does not want to get involved in negotiations.

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) campaigned across Pinellas County over the weekend. On Sunday, close to 200 farm workers, church members, college students, and other social justice activists marched the five blocks from one Publix to another in south ...

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The Coalition Of Immokalee Workers campaigns for tomato harvesters

11/10/09 Robert Lorei
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Tags: farmworkers, penny for pound wage increase for tomato pickers, modern day slavery, Publix, fair wages

The farmworkers of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) have been on a campaign for better wages for Florida tomato pickers. Yum Brands (owner of Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC), McDonald's, Burger King, Subway, Whole Foods, food-service giant Compass Group, and Bon Appetit are all working with the CIW to improve wages and conditions for those who pick their tomatoes. According to the CIW: “this resulted in a breakthrough agreement with Florida's third largest tomato grower and two smaller or...

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