National Farm Worker Ministry an interfaith organization supporting farm workers as they organize for justice member organizations include nearly 40 national, state and local religious bodies
Guest Farmworkers Say Contractors Cheat Them on Salaries -- Associated Press, June 2, 2007 Kenny Jesus Zavala, one of nearly a dozen H2A guestworkers in central Florida who told The AP about being forced to pay contractors kickbacks an in Florida, Zavala said that as soon as he cashed his check, the contractor would steal a third of the pay. The contractor told us that if we spoke up, no one would want to hire us again. It's worse than for the illegals because you're not free to go. You have to stay with the contractor that brought you." Full article
Ag-Mart faces fine for housing violations - Palm Beach Post, May 17, 2007 Ag-Mart, grower of the popular Santa Sweet grape tomato, "intentionally" violated federal laws that guarantee clean, safe and licensed housing for nearly 2,000 of its migrant farm workers at the company's farms in north Florida, a federal judge has ruled. Full article
CIW & McDONALD'S REACH AGREEMENT!
April 9, 2007 - The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), and McDonald’s USA, working with McDonald’s produce suppliers, announced plans to work together to address wages and working conditions for the farmworkers who pick Florida tomatoes. Full press release
Yum Brands extends Taco Bell agreement to its four other brands! At its 2007 shareholder meeting Yum Brands confirmed that it has extended the Taco Bell agreement with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to cover KFC, A&W Restaurants, Pizza Hut, and Long John Silvers. This means Florida farmworkers who pick tomatoes for these restaurants are receiving an extra penny per pound for those tomatoes and working under a code of conduct against abuses in the fields.
In Homestead, immigrants' anxieties rise - NPR's Marketplace, April 28, 2006 immigrant-rights groups called for street protests on May and an economic boycott, federal agents arrested hundreds of illegal immigrants in Florida this week.
Changes may be coming for farmworkers - Naples News, March 20, 2006 Senate votes unanimously to pass transportation safety bill; More improvements likely on the way for agricultural workers
Alliance for Fair Food announced in Immokalee, FL - March 8, 2006 The coalition of 56 groups, including NFWM, wants the U.S. fast-food industry to buy tomatoes only from growers who guarantee fair wages and conditions for their laborers. The first target is McDonald's, based in Oak Brook, Ill., in part because of the company's name recognition. Read article.
NFWM Miami staff, Selene Echeverria, at announcement.
Female farmworkers face many obstacles - Bradenton Herald, October 30, 2005 Dirty, back-breaking work. Language barriers. Criminal exploitation. Improper health care. Lack of affordable day care. Few resources. Many fears.
Hurricane Wilma hits Florida Farmworker Communities Florida farmworker communities were hit hard by Hurricane Wilma on October 24, 2005. In rural Hendry County, where many of the residents are farmworkers living in trailers, an estimated 60 percent of the homes were damaged or destroyed; in Immokalee, another farmworker center, at least 100 housing units were destroyed and many more heavily damaged. The storm caused more than $1 billion in damage to farms, groves, nurseries and packing plants. There are estimates that more than 30,000 workers will be out of work throughout the winter season and many will not qualify for disaster assistance due to lack of proper documentation. Others with documents don't access assistance programs out of fear that getting assistance will count against them when they seek legalization. Without cash and disaster unemployment assistance workers will have to move on and lose the opportunity to work in replanting and harvesting as agriculture recovers in the coming months. Pictures of the Hurricane’s effect on the Immokalee farmworker community are available at the CIW website.
Developments continue in cases of pesticides and birth defects among Florida tomato workers - Fall, 2005 Three children whose mothers were Immokalee tomato workers were born with severe birth defects last winter. One of the babies has a cleft palate and facial abnormalities. One child was born so disfigured her sex couldn't be determined until her body was autopsied. A baby boy was born in December with no arms and legs. These three mothers had worked at Ag-Mart. On October 7, Ag-Mart Produce, the giant Florida tomato grower at the center of an investigation involving three deformed babies born to fieldworkers, announced it will no longer use five pesticides that have been linked to birth defects. Among chemicals they will continue to use is Methyl bromide, one that has been suspected to carry reproductive risks when applied at high dosage levels. Andrew Yaffa, the attorney representing one of the three babies, said the decision is "essentially an admission that the chemicals they've been knowingly exposing these workers to do cause harm." On October 12, the Collier County Health Department released a report saying it is unlikely that pesticide exposure caused three Immokalee babies to be born deformed On October 13, Ag-Mart was ordered to pay $111,200 in fines for pesticide misuse by the Florida Department of Agriculture. Of the 88 violations cited, 65 involved harvesting crops before a required seven-day waiting period. In some cases, workers picked the vegetables the day after they were sprayed. On October 14, agriculture officials in North Carolina cited Ag-Mart for 369 pesticide violations that its investigators found on two farms operated by Ag-Mart in that state. The violations and potential fine, as much as $184,500, are believed to be the largest ever in North Carolina. Results of environmental investigators in New Jersey, where the company also grows tomatoes, are expected soon. On October 22, Publix Super Markets confirmed that it will not sell AgMart’s Santa Sweet tomatoes in its 866 stores in five states. A spokesperson said that in light of the seriousness of this situation, they want to do a more thorough investigation This summer a fourth child with severe birth defects was born to another Florida tomato worker. Cristina Matias, who worked for Pacific Tomato Growers says that early in her pregnancy she got so sick from the smell of chemicals at work that she would drop down next to the tomato plants and heave. She says she never received training in pesticide safety at the company and pesticides were sprayed while she was in the field. Her son was born 2 ½ months ago with a cleft lip and cleft palate.
Farmworker Association of Florida health assessment of dangerous violations on farm and nursery sites - Fort Myers News-Press, April 29, 2005 The Association interviewed hundreds of workers and reviewed working conditions at about 200 vegetable farms, nurseries and citrus fields in Hendry, Collier, Dade, Volusia and Orange counties. They found 123 violations ranging from a lack of required warning signs that pesticides had been sprayed to actual spraying of dangerous chemicals directly behind a worker.
Florida pesticide monitoring draws fire - Palm Beach Post, April 25, 2005 Florida employs only 40 to 45 pesticide exposure inspectors for all its 43,000 farms, livestock operations and 200 million square feet of nursery foliage Critics say monitoring and inspection program is drastically understaffed, underfunded and undermined by political pressures
Migrants Working in the Shadows - News Journal, March, 2005 An excellent 4-part special report on the lack of enforcement of the laws protecting immigrant workers in Florida ferneries. Editorial:Hypocrisy down on the farm as owners, public profit off immigrants
Broad Coalition in Florida pushes immigration reform bill - Daytona Beach News-Journal, February 25, 2005 Those speaking out in support of the AgJOBS bill included Tirso Moreno of the Farmworker Association of Florida, Catholic Bishop Thomas Wenski of Orlando, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson and Nancy Powers of the Florida Catholic Conference. The bill is also supported by the state's largest citrus organization, Florida Citrus Mutual, and the Florida Nerserymen, Growers and Landscape Association.
Florida second only to California in transportation deaths among farm workers. - South Florida Sun Sentinel, January 7, 2005 An Associated Press review of state and federal record showed transportation related deaths to be the main cause of work-related deaths for farm workers in Florida. Mandating seatbelts for farm worker vehicles in California resulted in a dramatic drop in farm worker deaths. Editorial:In Florida, field hands are roadkill - Palm Beach Post, May 8, 2005
Growers try to stop food and water to farm workers after Hurricane Frances Free supplies seen as free ride -Daytona Beach News Journal, September 24, 2004
CATHOLIC BISHOPS OF FLORIDA NAME NOVEMBER 9, 2003 FARMWORKER JUSTICE SUNDAY This is the 1st time the Catholic Bishops of Florida have set aside a Sunday to "recognize the human dignity of their brothers and sisters in the fields and to consider their own moral obligations to work for justice in labor and living conditions" before celebrating Thanksgiving Day. The National Farm Worker Ministry has invited congregations from Protestant, Jewish and other traditions to dedicate their weekend services to this observance.
THREE MEMBERS OF COALITION OF IMMOKALEE WORKERS WIN THE 2003 ROBERT F. KENNEDY HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD. Lucas Benitez, Julia Gabriel, and Romeo Ramirez are chosen in recognition of their work fighting modern-day slavery and their leadership of the national Taco Bell boycott. RFK Center press release
