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February 20, 2010
FGCU student leaders may join push for higher wages for farm workers
By TRACY X. MIGUEL
ESTERO
—
The FGCU student body submitted a resolution to the Student Government
Senate on Tuesday, said Angela Cisneros, Progressive Student Alliance
member.
With spring break scheduled, the Student Government Senate isn’t set to
vote on it until March 9. A similar resolution was endorsed by the
Faculty Senate last week.
Farmworkers are an integral part of our community who deserve to be
respected, said Cisneros, a 26-year-old senior from
If the resolution passes, Cisneros said this would be the first time a
resolution has been approved by the student Senate.
“We hope that they approve it,” Cisneros said.
This isn’t the first time the group has submitted a similar resolution.
The first resolution failed last semester, Cisneros said.
This semester, the group has been petitioning, holding educational
events, doing class presentations and meeting with administrators and
ARAMARK representatives, Cisneros said.
“It hasn’t been easy for us to get our FGCU student government support,”
Cisneros said.
The Student/Farmworker Alliance is a national network of youth and
student organizations allied with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers.
Their mutual goal is to eliminate sweatshop working conditions and
modern-day slavery in the fields.
Workers are paid about 45 cents a bucket for 32-pound buckets of
tomatoes, officials said.
ARAMARK has been saying for weeks that it agrees to pay the workers an
extra penny per pound, yet Student/Farmworker Alliance member Marc
Rodrigues said there has been no agreement signed to work together with
the coalition to make the changes occur.
“It has not been resolved, despite the things that ARAMARK is saying on
its Web site,” said Rodrigues, of Immokalee. “We think that in order for
this change to be real, farmworkers themselves need to be involved in
the process of changing the agriculture industry.”
On its Web site, ARAMARK says it’s concerned for the well-being of
“ARAMARK has independently agreed to pay the ‘penny per pound’ premium
and is working with the (Coalition), Florida Tomato Growers Exchange,
and our distribution partners to identify effective methods for these
funds to be distributed directly to the farm workers,” according to its
Web site. “We have begun to track and accumulate this premium and
anticipate a near-term distribution solution for this premium.”
But Rodrigues said there has been no commitment to work with the group.
ARAMARK contends it already has had a discussion with the coalition, but
Rodrigues said the discussions have been preliminary.
ARAMARK is giving the coalition “a slow-no” approach -- meaning meeting
after meeting -- while working on its own proposal on the side,
Rodrigues said.
“ARAMARK has and will continue to encourage joint dialogue amongst these
parties in order to work together as an industry to better address the
problem,” according to its Web site.
Rodrigues said ARAMARK is trying to do just the minimal things that
satisfy demands.
“They aren’t showing farm workers the same respect that Compass Group
did by working with them,” Rodrigues said.
Since March 2009, more than 55 universities nationwide have joined the
coalition in calling three major food service provider -- Sodexho,
ARAMARK Corp. and Compass Group -- to enter an agreement to work
directly through the coalition to improve wages and working conditions,
Rodrigues said.
On Sept. 25, Compass Group North America, which buys 10 million pounds
of tomatoes annually, agreed to enter into an agreement with the
coalition to improve tomato harvesters’ wages and working condition.
Compass wasn’t the first to sign an agreement to improve wages and
working conditions for workers who pick tomatoes: Whole Foods, Subway,
McDonald’s, Burger King and Yum! Brands, also have agreed to pay higher
wages.
An ongoing demand from the coalition is for the Publix grocery store
chain to follow. The group also wants Publix to adopt a code of conduct
that would include a zero tolerance on slavery and for the grocery chain
to engage in a conversation directly with the coalition.
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