NAPLES DAILY NEWS

March 10, 2005 

Immigration reform the real battle for farmworker coalition

By BRENT BATTEN

Taco Bell's sudden reversal in agreeing to pay an extra penny per pound for Florida tomatoes represents a win for the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, which had organized a three-year boycott against the fast food chain.

In its most positive light, the move will put more money into the pockets of field workers and it will generate a favorable perception of the chain that will move other tomato buyers to take similar action.

But it is not a foregone conclusion that the most positive light is the one that will ultimately shine on the outcome.

Taco Bell does not buy directly from field workers, so in spite of the good intentions, there is no real guarantee that the extra money will trickle down to the pickers. And if the public does not embrace Taco Bell for its decision, then the company will simply have increased its cost of doing business. Plus, not all farmworkers pick tomatoes and only about 1 percent of Florida tomatoes are sold to Taco Bell.

So while the Coalition of Immokalee Workers can take heart in knowing its efforts have caused a large, profitable corporation to change its ways, the battle for better conditions for farmworkers will go on.

And the best front on which to wage that battle is one the coalition has thus far shown little interest in approaching.

Wages are subject to simple laws of supply and demand.

The best way to increase pay is not to win an arbitrary price increase from coerced buyers, but to limit the supply of potential workers.

According to the coalition's Web site, a field worker typically is paid between 40 and 50 cents per 32-pound bucket of tomatoes. The rate has not changed for 25 years, according to the Coalition.

Anyone who spends money knows that nothing costs the same as it did 25 years ago. What is it about farm labor that would allow the price to stagnate over such a long period?

The answer is illegal immigration.

The presence of more and more workers inevitably keeps the price of labor low.

A prospective employee might decline to lug heavy buckets under the Florida sun unless offered a suitable wage. But if and when they do, another person more desperate for work is always there to take the job.

The person hurt most by this is the immigrant worker here legally. Whatever leverage he or she has in negotiating a fair wage is usurped by the employer's ability to snatch a willing taker from the ever-expanding pool of unskilled labor.

Guest worker programs like the one proposed by President Bush do nothing to increase the bargaining power of the farmworker. Instead it bestows the mantle of legality on the practice of importing more workers to keep labor costs low.

A glut of workers exacerbates other problems endemic in places like Immokalee, namely the deplorable housing all too common there. When people are clamoring for a roof, any roof, why would a landlord bother to invest in improvements?

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers has proven itself effective and persistent in achieving a goal. If that goal is the betterment of workers in Immokalee, a good next undertaking would be toward meaningful immigration reform.