WXII-TV (Winston-Salem, North Carolina)

May 6, 2009

Group Protests 'Inhumane' Farm Labor Conditions

RJR Tobacco Says Group Needs To Turn Message Elsewhere

WINSTON-SALEM -- Dozens of people protesting what they call inhumane working conditions in tobacco fields hoped their message resonated with leaders at RJR Tobacco.

The Farm Labor Organizing Committee, which represents farm workers that do work in fields, organized the protest on the same day as the RJR annual shareholders meeting Wednesday.

"They are the top of the supply chain," another protester said of the shareholders. "Everything flows from them down to the farmer -- down to the fields. They issue all the standards, all the guidelines.

RJR spokesman David Howard said the company understands the concerns, but thinks the issue is really between the farm workers and farm owners.

"Neither one of those are an employee of RJ Reynolds tobacco," Howard said.

"We contract with farmers. As a matter of fact, our contracts with farmers clearly state they must abide the laws and we have met with our farmers to stress those points."

But the Farm Labor Organizing Committee said it thinks the tobacco company can do more to ensure conditions among farm laborers are improved.

"Sooner or later they got to do something, we're not going to go away," FLOC spokesman Baldemar Valasquez said.