Subway and CIW reach agreement

December 2008 — On December 2 Subway signed an agreement with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to improve farmworkers' wages and address human rights abuses in the fields of its Florida tomato suppliers!

CIW and Subway representatives sign agreement. Photo courtesy of CIW

The Rev. Gradye Parsons, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the PC(USA), released a public statement commending Subway and the CIW saying:

Will the rest of the restaurant and grocery industry now step forward to become part of this momentous advance for human rights? The answer is not only up to the companies but to those of us who are conscious consumers as well.

As Presbyterians join Christians around the world in celebrating the season of Advent, a time when we keep watch for Christ to usher in a “new heaven and a new earth,” this agreement reminds us of our call to be a part of creating a just society. So as we commend and celebrate this moment, the Presbyterian Church renews its commitment to working with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and colleagues in the Alliance for Fair Food to ensure that the gains achieved with this agreement are finally realized throughout the retail food and agricultural industries. [Read full statement ]

The CIW's tour will continue to journey through North Carolina, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, Boston, Providence, New Haven and New York City in the coming week, however the focus will shift from Subway to the rest of the food industry. Now that Subway, the largest fast-food buyer of Florida tomatoes, has joined Yum!, McDonald's, Burger King and Whole Foods Market in working with the CIW, it's time for the rest of the grocery and fast-food corporations to join their counterparts and partner with the CIW to elevate human rights for farmworkers in their own supply chains.

We encourage Presbyterians to write letters of commendation to both Subway and the CIW.

Read the Presbyterian News Service story.

Subway Northeast Tour
December 2-10

High school students in Lawndale, California protest outside of a local Subway restaurant Sunday, November 9. Photo courtesy of CIW.

November 2008 — Members of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and their allies will leave Immokalee this coming December 2 and head north along I-95 on a path to Milford, Conn. — home of Subway's corporate headquarters — for a 10-day swing through the northeast aimed at bringing public attention to the exploitation of farmworkers in the fields where Subway's tomatoes are picked. We’re writing to encourage you, your congregation, presbytery, PW group, youth group, friends and family to participate in this tour by joining in public actions and by sponsoring or attending educational events in your community. For cities and dates, visit the Coalition of Immokalee Workers Online Headquarters. [Read more]

Evan Silverstein

In Memoriam: Evan Silverstein

“In life, in death, in life beyond death, we belong to God.”  Last week these words resounded within my heart as I attended the memorial service for Evan Silverstein, reporter for Presbyterian News Service. Evan died suddenly from a massive heart attack at the age of 42 on November 9. [Read more]

Chipotle’s reputation at stake: AFF White Paper

Nov 2008 – In this white paper from the Alliance for Fair Food (AFF), Chipotle’s self-proclaimed philosophy of “food with integrity” is examined in light of the company’s refusal to work with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers.  The PC(USA) is a founding member of the AFF and has been calling on Chipotle to work with the CIW since the spring of 2006.  Read the paper and call on Chipotle to be a true leader in the “sustainable food” world and join Whole Foods Market and other corporations in working with the CIW to end poverty wages and modern-day slavery in the fields.

• Challenging Chipocrisy — “Food With Integrity” Must Respect Farmworkers’ Human Rights.
• Take action.
• Read about CIW’s October “Chipocrisy” Tour.
• Chipotle makes 11th hour offer on eve of Tour; CIW says Chipotle plan "just not credible".

Stated Clerk commends Whole Foods and CIW on agreement

Gradye Parsons

September 2008 - The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) and Whole Foods Market have reached a landmark agreement to improve wages and working conditions for farmworkers in the Florida tomato fields. In a statement about the agreement, Gradye Parsons, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, said, "By voluntarily stepping forward, Whole Foods Market has signaled that 'the time is now' for members of the grocery industry to join in forging a more just and sustainable food system together with the farmworkers."

Read the Stated Clerk's entire statement on the CIW and Whole Foods Market.

Learn more about the content of the CIW and Whole Foods Market agreement.

Five Plead Guilty to Enslaving Farmworkers

Photo courtesy of CIW.

September 2008 - Through the heroic and tireless efforts of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, law enforcement and the U.S. Department of Justice, another case of modern-day slavery has successfully been brought to justice.

Yesterday, at federal court in Fort Myers, Fla., farm bosses from Immokalee pleaded guilty to "numerous charges of enslaving Mexican and Guatemalan immigrants, brutalizing them and forcing them to work in farm fields." ("Five to plead guilty on charges of enslaving immigrant laborers," Fort Myers News Press, Sept. 2, 2008). [Read more]

GA Attendees write to CEOs

June 2008 - 433 attendees at the 218th General Assembly in San Jose wrote to the CEOs of Chipotle, Subway and Whole Foods, urging these companies to work with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers now, to improve poverty wages and exploitative working conditions in the tomato fields of Florida. 

Download the letters to Chipotle, Subway and Whole Foods.

Human Trafficking Addressed by 218th GA

Marching to end slavery in the fields. Photo courtesy of CIW.

June 2008 – The 218th General Assembly passed an overture and a resolution condemning human trafficking and modern-day slavery.  The items call on the PC(USA) to educate and activate its members on this pressing issue.  The PC(USA) Campaign for Fair Food will be a part of a multi-ministry team within the GAC that will coordinate our efforts, produce curriculum and offer opportunities for Presbyterians to take action.  Read the resolution. Read the overture.

The GA’s action was an opportunity to lift up work already underway within the ministries of Child Advocacy, MRTI, Women’s Ministry and the PC(USA) Campaign for Fair Food (CFF).  This past fall, the PC(USA) CFF and the Presbytery of Long Island sponsored a successful anti-human trafficking training event, led by the Freedom Network USA Training Institute.  Read the Long Island Presbytery’s report from the training event . Contact the Rev. Noelle Damico if you’d like to host a training session in your area.

Read more about modern-day slavery in the Florida fields and how the PC(USA) Campaign for Fair Food’s work with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to hold retail food corporations accountable for farmworker exploitation in their supply chains is addressing these conditions.

Stated Clerk: CIW-Burger King agreement a ‘plumb line of justice’

May 2008 - Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, the Rev. Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick, commends the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and the Burger King Corporation upon reaching an historic agreement to improve farmworkers' wages and working conditions in the fields of Florida. Dr. Kirkpatrick writes, "The agreement stands as a plumb line of justice, granting a needed wage increase, establishing zero tolerance for illegal acts and involving farmworkers in the creation and enforcement of a strong code of conduct for suppliers." Dr. Kirkpatrick commends the CIW for leading a "principled campaign" and goes on to applaud BK CEO John Chidsey's apology for his company's derogatory statements about the CIW as "necessary and appropriate" and as "setting a new bar for integrity among corporate leaders." He concludes, "Together let us press onward with hope and determination, toward that soon-coming day when these gains for human rights and socially responsible purchasing will be realized throughout the food industry."  [Read full statement]

CIW and BK To Work Together!

May 23, 2006 – Today, the CIW and Burger King Corporation signed an agreement to improve farmworkers’ wages and enforce human rights standards in the fields!

A signing ceremony and press conference took place in Washington, D.C. at the U.S. Capitol, hosted by Senator Bernie Sanders.

Members of CIW, Representatives from Burger King, Senator Bernie Sanders and allies of Fair Food including the Rev. Noelle Damico (third from right) representing the PC(USA) at the press conference in the U.S. Capitol on 5/23/08. Photo by Fritz Meyer

Your prayers, your participation in marches, the incredible number of signatures you garnered in the petition campaign, and your ongoing letters and emails to Burger King made this victory possible.

We read in Hebrews 11:1 that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Through faith we know that this agreement is a harbinger of that soon-coming day, when the entire fast-food and grocery industry will embrace these human rights standards, and farmworkers will enjoy a fair wage and humane working conditions.  As we celebrate this human rights victory, let us also renew our comittment to keep walking together with the CIW until we see that day dawns.

• Read a related story by the Presbyterian News Service: Burger King and CIW strike deal – PC(USA)-backed farmworkers will receive higher wages, improved work conditions

Peace River Presbytery Gives Portion of Peacemaking Offering to CIW’s Community Center

Members of CIW stand outside their new community center. Photo by Noelle Damico.

May 2008 — For the Presbyterians in Peace River Presbytery, peacemaking is about living in a right relationship with your brothers and sisters.  What better way to work towards that end than to support the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW)?  The Mission and Justice Committee of Peace River Presbytery voted to disburse our peacemaking funds totaling $4,000 to our farmworker neighbors to help with the new CIW Community Center.  The radio station, which is housed in the Community Center, received a grant from Self Development of People (SDOP) in 2007 to help upgrade their equipment that enabled them to reach more people in the Immokalee area. [Read more]

Slavery Indictment Released as Senator Sanders Visits Immokalee

Slavery Indictment Released as Senator Sanders Visits Immokalee; Photo courtesy of CIW.

February 2008 - One day after a federal grand jury indicted six people in Immokalee for their part in what US Attorney Doug Molloy called, "Slavery, plain and simple," (Ft. Myers News Press, 1/18/08).US Senator Bernie Sanders declared:

"The headline in today’s newspaper says all that has to be said.  In the year 2008, in the United States of America, slavery exists.  Human beings are being forced to work against their will, are being beaten, are being denied their most basic freedoms.  This should not be happening in the United States in 2008.  This exploitation must end." 

The Rev. Noelle Damico met with Senator Sanders while he was in Immokalee to brief him on the PC(USA)’s ongoing work with the CIW.  Read about Senator Sanders’ visit and see a video of the 1/19/08 press conference.

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