Amaizing Victory: Coalition of Immokalee Members-Compass Group Accord
Submitted by Andrea Ortiz on September 26, 2009 - 7:35pm.
Eric Schlosser, author of "Fast Food Nation" and award-winning journalist, said: "There's no question that this is the greatest victory for farmworkers since Cesar Chavez in the 1970s"Vi
The
CIW and Compass Group -- the nation's leading foodservice company with
$9 biillion in revenues last year -- announced alongside U.S. Secretary
of Labor Hilda Solis "sweeping changes to benefit tomato harvesters" at
a press conference yesterday in Washington D.C.
Compass
Group -- which manages over 10,000 accounts in the US, for schools,
hospitals, corporate offices, cultural centers, private events and
more-- will pay an additional penny per pound for all tomatoes they buy
to boost farmworker wages; they will also implement a robust code of
conduct to improve working conditions. Furthermore, Compass Group will only
purchase tomatoes from growers willing to pass the raise on to their
workers and meet the standards set out in the Code of Conduct, which
were jointly drafted with the CIW.
Batista
Madonia, Jr., head of sales for East Coast Growers, announced at the
press conference that his company will meet the required conditions,
adding that East Coast desires to "help the people who work tirelessly
to feed our great country every day." East Coast recently dropped out
of the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange, an industry lobby that had
barred growers´ participation in the CIW´s Fair Food accords, in order
to pass the penny-per-pound wage increase on to farmworkers, becoming
the first major Florida tomato grower to take part in the CIW's
landmark agreements.
Secretary
Solis congratulated the CIW farmworkers and stated, "This is a huge
victory... This partnership is good for workers and it's good for
business." Secretary Solis, who told those gathered that her father
was at one time also a migrant farmworker, additionally read a
statement on behalf of Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack,
declaring: "This agreement not only represents an important step
forward for tomato workers in Florida, it is an expression of the
essential value of farm workers to our agricultural sector as a whole."
For more on the remarkable announcement, don't miss today's must-read Washington Post article by clicking here:
The
CIW-Compass agreement -- which will apply to all companies operated by
Compass, including Wolfgang Puck Catering, Chartwells and Restaurant
Associates among many others -- will ensure that:
- Workers will receive an immediate raise based on the penny-per-pound, with the ultimate goal of a guaranteed minimum fair wage
- Workers will be paid for every hour worked, with a system of clocking in/out to accurately record working hours
- Workers will have the ability to voice their concerns over safety and working conditions, and report Code violations, without fear of retribution
- Suppliers will allow education of workers as to their rights on company time and within the worksite by the CIW
- Suppliers will permit third party auditing for full transparency
For
more on the landmark CIW-Compass accord, including an exclusive photo
report and a great media round-up, visit the CIW website at www.ciw-online.org.