Thousands of Florida tomato pickers and their supporters marched in front of supermarkets up and down the East Coast this spring, demanding that big corporate buyers use their purchasing power to improve wages and working conditions in the fields.  The Coalition of Immokalee Workers and its student, faith, and fair-food allies have seen banner victories in the last year, signing agreements with fast food chains and an unprecedented deal with the Florida tomato growers’ association after a decade of campaigning.

The next domino they hope to line up is the grocery market, led by chains like Stop and Shop and Publix. These companies, like so many before, are hiding behind the excuse that they don’t control prices. A Publix company representative went a step further, saying “it’s not our business” to stop the atrocities in American agriculture.  The horrific conditions in Florida’s fields are well documented. In addition to the killing work pace resulting from low-wage piecework, the CIW has uncovered seven cases of outright slavery involving more than 1,000 workers in the last decade. (click on link to read full story)