A group of 100 farm workers walked across Florida to urge Kroger and Publix to join the Fair Food Program, reports Supermarket News. The program is a partnership including farmers, workers, and retailers to ensure humane wages and working conditions.
The protest march was instigated by the recent sentencing of Bladimir Moreno, owner of Los Villatoros Harvesting, to federal prison for operating a forced labor camp in Florida. In this farm, workers did not receive promised wages, were held at gunpoint, and encased in a barbed wire fence at night.
Retailers in the Fair Food Program help to pay laborers by agreeing to put in 1 cent more per pound to the grower who then uses the profit to give a bonus to workers.
"Farm work is hard work. There is no denying that. We appreciate the work achieved in order to get product off the land and on our customers’ tables," Publix said in a statement. "We value the relationships along the path from 'farm to fork' and realize it takes a lot of people, each providing a great service.
"Publix remains the focus of a campaign by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) who seeks to pressure us to become involved in the employment relationship between Florida farmers who grow tomatoes and the farm workers they employ to harvest their product. Since first approached by the CIW in 2009, we have consistently viewed this issue as a labor dispute, and our position remains the same today."
Kroger could not be reached for comment, according to the report. Full Story
Related: Silicon Valley Bank Failure Impacts Food, Beverage Companies; EPA Mandate May Slow Soybean Oil Production