Coalition of Immokalee Workers
The FFP harnesses the purchasing power of over a dozen retail food brands, from Taco Bell to Walmart, to compel compliance with a human rights-based code of conduct on participating farms.
Along with its campaigning and human rights enforcement efforts, CIW was a pioneer in the early days of the US anti-trafficking movement, uncovering several forced labor operations and collaborating with federal authorities in successful prosecutions in the 1990s.
[6] The group's organizing philosophy is based on principles of popular education[7][8] and leadership development,[9] as epitomized in CIW’s motto “Consciousness + Commitment = Change”.
Between 1995 and 2000, the CIW organized several major actions to protest declining real wages for tomato harvesters, as well as frequent violence from supervisors towards field workers.
A 2004 study by Oxfam America confirmed this trend: "Squeezed by the buyers of their produce, growers pass on the costs and risks imposed on them to those on the lowest rung of the supply chain: the farmworkers they employ.
The CIW launched a boycott of Taco Bell in 2001, holding the company accountable for the wages and working conditions of farmworkers in its tomato supply chain.
A 2004 study by Oxfam America confirmed this trend: "Squeezed by the buyers of their produce, growers pass on the costs and risks imposed on them to those on the lowest rung of the supply chain: the farmworkers they employ.
In response to the campaign, McDonald's helped create an industry-controlled code of conduct known as SAFE (Socially Accountable Farm Employers) that the CIW and its allies deemed insufficient.
[20] The agreement, which met the standards previously set by the Taco Bell accord, also included a commitment by McDonald's to work with the CIW to develop an industry-wide third-party mechanism to monitor conditions and investigate abuses in the fields.
The world's second-largest burger chain had originally strongly opposed the campaign, even going so far as to hire a private investigative firm to provide information on the Student/Farmworker Alliance.
[22] As part of the announcement, Burger King's chief executive, John W. Chidsey, apologized for prior negative remarks directed towards the CIW and went on to praise the group's efforts.
For instance, in November 2017, the Center for Union Facts filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service asserting the CIW "does not serve the public at large but instead a group of workers seeking concessions from their employers.
On April 15, 2008, the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) held hearings on "Ending Abuses and Improving Working Conditions for Tomato Workers" in which Reggie Brown claimed farmworkers earned an average wage of "between $10.50 and $14.86 per hour."
Lucas Benitez of the CIW and Senators Bernie Sanders (VT-I) and Dick Durbin (IL-D) disputed Brown's claim by citing contradictory evidence.
The CIW’s legally-binding agreements with participating buyers include two primary provisions: the Fair Food Premium — a bonus paid by the retailers and distributed directly to farmworkers on top of their regular pay, to help improve longstanding poverty-level wages in the US agricultural sector — and the market-backed enforcement of the Fair Food Code of Conduct, through the suspension of purchases by the Participating Buyers from farms that have committed zero tolerance (e.g., forced labor) violations or else failed to remediate other violations (e.g., wage theft).
This contributes to supplier buy-in, as does the independent monitor’s experience, and the efficiency gains from having a clear plan that sets priorities and realistic timelines for achieving them.
[51] With its worker-centered approach to human rights monitoring and enforcement, the Fair Food Program was the first comprehensive, fully functional model of the Worker-driven Social Responsibility (WSR) paradigm.
The FFP Sponsor Program is a new entry point for smaller retailers who aspire to support ethical practices, meet the expectations of a committed shopper base, and help build a more just food system.
The CIW helps fight this crime by uncovering, investigating, and assisting in the federal prosecution of slavery rings preying on hundreds of farmworkers.
Recent scientific evidence shows how CIW’s community-building efforts proved crucial to increasing trust and improve the response of the local health system to a devastating pandemic.
[64] Following the killing of an unarmed farmworker, Nicholas Morales Besanilla, who was fatally shot by a Collier County Sheriff’s deputy on Sept. 17, 2020, CIW launched the “Justice for Nicolas” campaign.
Decrying rising police brutality across the country, the campaign specifically asked for a federal investigation into Nicholas’s shooting, the implementation of accessible crisis response teams across the county, and increased transparency.
[65] As part of its engagement with the Immokalee community, CIW has long attempted to alleviate the dire housing conditions farmworkers have to endure, often having little choice but to live in crowded, over-priced, and even dangerous trailers.
The CIW has received a wide array of honors and recognition, including: The Fair Food Program was the subject of a feature-length, front-page article in The New York Times on April 24, 2014.
In the same article, Susan Marquis, dean of the Pardee Rand Graduate School commented on the FFP's effectiveness, noting, "When I first visited Immokalee, I heard appalling stories of abuse and modern slavery...
