Activism Update: Student – Farmworker Alliance

By Esteban O Sullivan

Aramark meets with SFA

Update: In yet another victory for the Immokalee workers, Aramark has agreed to the CIW’s demands, and agreed to a 1.5-cent-per-pound increase on the tomatoes it buys, as well as mandating that its suppliers adhere to a code of conduct in their treatment of workers.

Executives from Aramark met with members of the UF Student/Farmworker Alliance to discuss the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ demands on Feb. 16.

“They told us ‘we’ve paid attention to your grievances,’” said Jose Soto, a member of the UF SFA and a doctoral student in food and resource economics. “But we’ve made it clear that Aramark’s captive market, the student population of the University of Florida, has passed a resolution asking them to negotiate with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. Without worker involvement, any changes will be temporary at best.”

When a UF student opens up a sandwich bought on campus, it will likely contain one slice of tomato. A regular tomato will yield eight slices suitable for a hamburger or sandwich. A pound of tomatoes contains, on average, 3.5 tomatoes, or 28 slices.

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a self-described “community-based worker organization,” has three demands that form the mainstay of an ongoing anti-slavery campaign. At the core of its fight is a wage increase of 1 cent for every pound of tomatoes picked by workers in the fields. Their other demands consist of the establishment of a code of conduct between growers and pickers, as well as an open dialogue between tomato buyers, suppliers and pickers.

This 1 cent per pound translates to one twenty-eighth of a cent toward the cost of a hamburger or other sandwich.
This same one twenty-eighth of a cent may mean the difference between a guilt-free meal from one that is the product of slavery, Soto said.

Since 1997, the CIW has worked with the U.S. Department of Justice toward the successful prosecution of seven cases of modern-day slavery.

Currently, tomato pickers are paid 40 cents to 45 cents for each 32-pound bucket of tomatoes they pick. An additional 1 cent per pound would represent the first wage increase for Florida tomato pickers since 1978.
Aramark officials said in conferences with the CIW that the biggest roadblock the company faced with regard to reaching an agreement with the CIW was a lack of suitable tomato suppliers who could satisfy their enormous demand.

However, members of the UF SFA and Gainesville Students for a Democratic Society remain optimistic about the prospect of getting Aramark to sign onto the CIW’s demands.

“There has been a lot of campus activity nationwide,” Soto said. “A lot of people around the country have been, in some ways, replicating the work that we’ve been doing to put pressure on Aramark.”

The CIW counts major victories in getting Taco Bell, McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway, Whole Foods Market and Compass Group, a food-service provider similar to Aramark, to sign on to the 1 cent increase.

“These dreams are crystallizing with every victory,” said CIW member Gerardo Reyes in a conference call. “This has only been possible because of the participation of every person who has been a part of this campaign, who understands that what we’re asking for is necessary and possible.”