Upon our own soil, in our own country, and in the very close southern state of Florida, where issues like slavery should no longer be thought of, have somehow managed to resurface. A group of workers made up of Latino, Mayan Indian, and Haitian immigrants have been forced into what I consider an industry of modern day slavery. They are known as the Immokalee workers.
The Immokalee workers are farmers who pick the produce, such as tomatoes, that the companies need to run their businesses. Companies such as Walmart, Taco Bell, and Sodexo all buy from these tomato companies. There are times when they are paid forty to fifty cents per 32 pound bucket of tomatoes that they pick for companies in need of produce. These numbers have barely changed over the past 2 1/2 decades. Because of their frustration with the poverty stricken conditons and extremely unfair treatment, they formed a group to protest slave labor and called it The Coalition of Immokalee Workers. In attempt to gain equal treatment in the working industry, where they will be able to have fair wages and good employer-employee relationships, they began to boycott certain companies that they pick tomatoes and other produce for. Their biggest company so far is Taco Bell.
Some may wonder if this is a sufficient way to handle the reoccurring problem of slave labor. Is the boycotting of certain companies a good enough solution to solve the problem that the Immokalee people face in southern Florida? It is more than acceptable. All they want is for companies to say that they won't use slave labor in order to obtain good produce. They no longer want to be threatened or have violence used against them if they don't do the work. These people work outside in the fields for countless hours and the companies they work for only want to pay them measly, unfair wages. These companies don't even follow the laws against not paying workers minimum wage. And it should no longer be allowed. Progress can, will, and has been made to make the conditions better for the Immokalee people.
I'm a little unsure as to what your argument is. Are you stating that the best way to end or at least lower the rate of slave labor is for consumers to boycott the companies who financially contribute to it? If so, I think that boycotting may help somewhat, but realistically we can't and won't get everyone (or even enough to make a substantial difference) to boycott Taco Bell. Also, do these companies know that they are investing in slave labor and just not care? How much knowledge do they have about who they are buying from? If they know and simply don't care, then I totally agree that we should boycott them. However, if they don't know, then they need to find out. Overall I think the most important aspect of this whole problem is knowledge.
ReplyDeleteWhen Burger King stopped under paying their tomato pickers because of the Immokalee boycotts, it turned out that it only added one penny to the price of hamburgers!! One penny! I think a penny is worth it to me to ensure that workers get paid a fair wage.
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