Families of martyred farmworkers gather in front of mosaic of Cesar E. Chavez in the U.S. Labor Department auditorium. NCC photo by Shantha Ready Alonso.

by NFWM Director Virginia Nesmith

I was honored to be part of a U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) event that lifted farm workers up for national recognition. On March 26th, the “Pioneers of the Farm Worker Movement” were inducted into the DOL’s Hall of Honor and the Cesar Chavez Auditorium was dedicated. The event was spearheaded by Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, the daughter of a farm worker and a long-time champion of worker rights.

Nearly 400 people were in the audience as Secretary Solis, the Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack, the Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, and the Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council Cecilia Munoz were joined by Dolores Huerta – UFW Co-founder, Paul Chavez – Cesar’s son and Director of the Cesar Chavez Foundation, and Arturo Rodriguez – UFW President. Each paid tribute not only to Cesar’s vision and leadership but to all those whose commitment helped build the movement. It was a commitment which lead to the death of five UFW martyrs in the 1970’s who were killed during the strikes– killed simply for standing up for their rights. Their family members were present as Arturo told their stories and we applauded through our tears.

We applauded also those who carry on that commitment and the changes won by farm worker leaders who were present from around the country including Baldemar Velasquez –President of FLOC, Ramon Ramirez – President of PCUN, and Lucas Benitez – Co-Director of CIW. I was recognized for NFWM and for the importance of the faith community to the struggle. We were also reminded how much there is yet to do. Secretary Vilsack called us to keep up the fight for immigration reform. “Si se Puede” the audience thundered in response.

This movement is led by farm workers and it was given welcome praise at this event by caring political leaders. But it belongs to all of us who are connected to farm workers every time we eat. Their struggle is our struggle and it continues. Que Viva Cesar Chavez!

Virginia Nesmith, Ruth Farrell, Coordinator of the PCUSA Hunger Program & Gary Cook, Director of Church Relations, Bread for the World

Click here to view the DOL slideshow of photos of the event.

Click here to read the post about the event from the National Council of Churches, which quotes NFWM’s Virginia Nesmith.

Click here to read the Washington Post’s article about the event.

“This event is enormously significant in terms of recognition of farmworkers,” said Virginia Nesmith, director of National Farm Worker Ministry. “Farm workers have tended to be an invisible population.” Nesmith said. “Whether you start with orange juice in the morning, salad for lunch, or strawberries for dessert, you’re connected to farm workers. Yet most people are not aware of the sacrifices they make to provide our food, the kind of conditions they endure – the low wages, the exposure to toxic chemicals, the heat stress, they don’t know that people die in the fields every year.”
Excerpted from National Council of Churches News story, “Faith leaders join in honoring farm workers at Department of Labor hall of honor,” March 27, 2012

From the CIW press release for The Fast for Fair Food …

On Monday morning, March 5, farmworkers (the men and women who harvest the state’s $620 million tomato crop), Reverend Michael Livingston (former president of the National Council of Churches and current director of the NCC’s Poverty Initiative), other religious leaders, students, and consumers from Florida and beyond will begin a 6-day fast insisting that Publix – Florida’s largest corporation – finally recognize the humanity of the workers who pick its tomatoes and join the CIW’s Fair Food Program.

The Fair Food Program is a unique partnership among farmworkers, tomato growers, and ten leading food retailers — including Publix competitors Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe’s — that advances both the human rights of farmworkers and the long-term interests of the Florida tomato industry as a whole. It is the first large scale program for real, lasting social accountability in the domestic produce industry.

Fast for Fair Food details (Click here for more details):

Fast for Fair Food begins: On Monday morning, March 5, over 50 farmworkers and their allies will begin a 6-day fast outside Publix headquarters.

The Fast continues: Monday, March 5 through Saturday, March 10, fasters will be stationed around the clock outside of the main entrance to the Publix headquarters at Airport Rd. and Publix Corporate Pkwy., Lakeland. Nightly vigils will take place at Publix Supermarket locations across town.

The Fast is broken: At noon, on Saturday, March 10, Florida consumers will gather at the Publix Supermarket at 3636 Harden Blvd., Lakeland, and lead a solemn, 3-mile procession to Publix headquarters to join with the fasters in a moving, interfaith ceremony to break the fast.

CIW’s Fair Food Program combines the Fair Food Code of Conduct — a set of labor standards developed in a collaboration among farm workers, tomato growers, and the food industry leaders who purchase Florida tomatoes — with a small price premium to help improve tomato pickers’ wages. The goal of the Fair Food Program is to promote the development of a sustainable Florida tomato industry that advances both the human rights of farm workers and the long-term interests of Florida tomato growers.

“We are truly happy today to welcome Trader Joe’s aboard the Fair Food Program,” said Gerardo Reyes of the CIW. “Trader Joe’s is cherished by its customers for a number of reasons, but high on that list is the company’s commitment to ethical purchasing practices. With this agreement, Trader Joe’s reaffirms that commitment and sends a strong — and timely — message of support to the Florida growers who are choosing to do the right thing, investing in improved labor standards, despite the challenges of a difficult marketplace and tough economic times.”

Important Notice from CIW: The CIW thanks the tens of thousands of Fair Food activists around the country who helped make this tremendous step forward possible, especially those who had planned actions in over 40 cities this coming weekend. Naturally, in light of today’s great news, the CIW is calling off the actions planned for the new Trader Joe’s store in Naples. Similarly, we ask that all other actions planned for this weekend be cancelled, and that organizers and consumers who were planning to attend instead take a moment to congratulate Trader Joe’s for having joined the Fair Food Program.

Onward to Publix, and the rest of the supermarket industry…

For more new, visit http://www.ciw-online.org/

Darigold allowed representatives inside to deliver the petition, but, once again, they did not send out a representative to talk with the workers. The crowd responded by holding a press conference outside with a megaphone to be sure Darigold heard the workers message about the conditions at Ruby Ridge.

Former Ruby Ridge worker, Jose Juan Zamora told the crowd, “At this company, the work is very hard. They want us to do work in eight hours, but it’s impossible. It’s very hard work, and they didn’t give us breaks or decent water. The water they gave us was the dirty water from where the cows drink.”

Lynne Dobson , the Secretary-Treasurer of the Washington State Labor Council said, “When we drink our milk, we like to think that happy cows are on farms where the sun is shining, and people are working for some hours a day, working hard, but then treated right. That’s not what’s happening at Ruby Ridge. The workers didn’t have breaks. They’re not given their right to organize, which is a fundamental human right. This is wrong. The Washington State Labor Council and our 460,000 members urge Darigold to do the right thing. Be good corporate citizens. Call on Ruby Ridge to stop these practices, to treat their workers well, and to move forward. Let’s not have this milk go sour.”

The Ruby Ridge workers thank everyone who signed the petition and ask that you continue supporting their campaign for UFW representation and better working conditions.  Keep updated on the workers’ escalating campaign.

We hope that these interviews will help us look forward to the future of our involvement with the farm worker movement and also inspire others to join us!

Click here to see “The Costs and Joys of Discipleship”: Forty Years of the National Farm Worker Ministry.

Michael Szpak (AFL-CIO), Rick Goodman & Carol Blythe-Goodman (Alliance of Baptists), David Wildman (Executive Secretary, Human Rights & Racial Justice, Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church), John Hill (Director for Economic and Environmental Justice, General Board of Church & Society of the United Methodist Church), Virginia Nesmith (NFWM Exec Director), Ryan Nilsen (NC NFWM staff), David Anderson (Pullen Memorial Baptist Church)

On October 7^th,  NFWM led a delegation of religious leaders to North Carolina to visit farm worker labor camps there with staff of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee(FLOC).  Members of the National Council of Churches Justice and Advocacy Commission and representatives of the United Methodist Church and the Alliance of Baptists saw for themselves the deplorable housing conditions that North Carolina farm workers must return to each day.

The delegation met with workers from Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras in crowded bedrooms or standing outside. There is no place to receive visitors in the camps these workers call “home” for months or years. Several workers said they hadn’t seen their families in over five years.

These same conditions have been reported by MSNBC, which went to North Carolina to follow up on the report recently released by Oxfam America & FLOC, “State of Fear: Human Rights Abuses in North Carolina’s Tobacco Industry.” (see article in our News section and find a link there to the report.)

To read and view MSNBC’s reporting, click here, “Migrants’ woes: bed bugs, foul toilets, illness.”

Labor Camp Photos by David Anderson

Photo of a tobacco worker featured in Oxfams "A State of Fear" report.

“A company’s responsibility to respect [human rights] applies across its business activities and through its relationship with third parties connected with those activities—such as business partners, entities in its value chain, and other non-state actors and state agents.” – James Ruggie, UN special representative

On September 18, 2011, Oxfam America and the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) released the full report, A State of Fear. The report documents the conditions in the fields and camps for farm workers in North Carolina. It reveals serious violations of basic, internationally recognized rights to just and favorable work conditions, health and safety protections, and adequate housing.

The Oxfam Report: A State of Fear (pdf, 1.22 MB) includes an in-depth examination of the tobacco supply chain and first-person testimony of more than 100 tobacco workers in eastern North Carolina.

Click on the link above to read the report. And to read about the report launch event at FLOC’s Dudley, NC office, read Oxfam’s Irit Tamir’s blog.

OCIC members in action.

Michael Conroy

The Orange County Interfaith Committee to Aid Farm Workers (OCIC) will hold its 47th annual fundraising event for NFWM this coming Sunday, September 18th at St. Mark Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach, CA. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Michael Conroy, author of Branded! How the Certification Revolution is Transforming Global Corporations.

The event begins at 5:00 pm with socializing and silent auction browsing, followed by dinner at 6:00pm and the program at 7:00pm.  For more details see the most recent OCIC Newsletter (pdf, 866.49 kB).

Also in OCIC’s newsletter are reports on OCIC’s support in California of various farm worker campaigns and a tribute to Jeanne Giordano (1918-2011), co-founder of the Orange County Interfaith Committee to Aid Farm Workers.

Thanks to Barbara Johnson & Suzanne Darweesh for submitted their newsletter.