Thank you,
UF representatives for the Coalition of Immokalee Workers
Thursday, September 27, 2007
The conference call with Dedee Delongpre and the USAS/WRC reps went well. We have not gotten the papers signed yet, but Dedee will be working hard to make that happen. We're mostly just needing to clear a few technicalities, so we should be affiliated with the WRC and the DSP by the end of this semester! Stay tuned...
Thursday, September 20, 2007
USAS Conference Call Set
The conference call with Zack from USAS is going to take place Thursday, September 27th.
Stay tuned to see how it goes!
Stay tuned to see how it goes!
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Demand a Fair Wage for Immokalee Workers Oct 2-3
Hey Everyone! Here's an upcomin event you might be interested in. If anyone is interested in helping/planning/participating, let us know!
To Whom It May Concern,
There is, today, a human rights crisis in Florida's tomato fields. Tomato pickers in Florida face sweatshop conditions every day. They are given sub-poverty wages (on average making $10,000/year), have had no raise in 30 years, and are being denied fundamental labor rights. These people are not receiving any overtime pay, even when working 60-70 hours a week and do not have the right to organize or bargain collectively.
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) is a community-based worker organization that is trying to gain attention and support for these tomato pickers living right here in Florida. The members are largely Latino, Haitian, and Mayan Indian immigrants working in low-wage jobs throughout the state of Florida. They have successfully gotten Yum! Foods (which owns fast food restaurants Taco Bell, KFC, and Long John Silver’s) and McDonald’s to raise the price they pay for a pound of tomatoes by one cent. This one cent will go directly to the picker and represents about a 70% increase in a tomato picker’s salary. The mission now for the CIW is to get Burger King to follow suit.
From this basis, the CIW is fighting for: a fair wage for the work they do, more respect on the part of their bosses and the industries where they work, better and cheaper housing, stronger laws and stronger enforcement against those who would violate workers' rights, the right to organize on their jobs without fear of retaliation, and an end to indentured servitude in the fields.
The CIW will be in Gainesville Tuesday, October 2nd and Wednesday, October 3rd. On Tuesday there will be an open forum at 6pm in the Plaza of the Americas where the CIW will discuss their coalition and goals, and what can be done in Gainesville to help their cause. Throughout the morning of Wednesday October 3rd, the CIW will be going to different classrooms to teach students about their organization and objectives. On Wednesday at 11:30, there will be a rally outside of the Burger King located on Inner Road (next to Broward Dining) to continue to raise awareness.
Of course, everyone is invited to all of the aforementioned events. If you have any questions of would like to get involved please contact us via email at: UFprogressivecaucus@gmail.com
Thank you,
UF representatives for the Coalition of Immokalee Workers
To Whom It May Concern,
There is, today, a human rights crisis in Florida's tomato fields. Tomato pickers in Florida face sweatshop conditions every day. They are given sub-poverty wages (on average making $10,000/year), have had no raise in 30 years, and are being denied fundamental labor rights. These people are not receiving any overtime pay, even when working 60-70 hours a week and do not have the right to organize or bargain collectively.
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) is a community-based worker organization that is trying to gain attention and support for these tomato pickers living right here in Florida. The members are largely Latino, Haitian, and Mayan Indian immigrants working in low-wage jobs throughout the state of Florida. They have successfully gotten Yum! Foods (which owns fast food restaurants Taco Bell, KFC, and Long John Silver’s) and McDonald’s to raise the price they pay for a pound of tomatoes by one cent. This one cent will go directly to the picker and represents about a 70% increase in a tomato picker’s salary. The mission now for the CIW is to get Burger King to follow suit.
From this basis, the CIW is fighting for: a fair wage for the work they do, more respect on the part of their bosses and the industries where they work, better and cheaper housing, stronger laws and stronger enforcement against those who would violate workers' rights, the right to organize on their jobs without fear of retaliation, and an end to indentured servitude in the fields.
The CIW will be in Gainesville Tuesday, October 2nd and Wednesday, October 3rd. On Tuesday there will be an open forum at 6pm in the Plaza of the Americas where the CIW will discuss their coalition and goals, and what can be done in Gainesville to help their cause. Throughout the morning of Wednesday October 3rd, the CIW will be going to different classrooms to teach students about their organization and objectives. On Wednesday at 11:30, there will be a rally outside of the Burger King located on Inner Road (next to Broward Dining) to continue to raise awareness.
Of course, everyone is invited to all of the aforementioned events. If you have any questions of would like to get involved please contact us via email at: UFprogressivecaucus@gmail.
Thank you,
UF representatives for the Coalition of Immokalee Workers
Sunday, September 16, 2007
October 3rd Day of Action!
On Wednesday October 3, colleges and high schools throughout the United States and Canada
Campaign Update/ USAS conference call
The University of Florida has agreed to go sweatshop free!! Thanks to the work done by the group last semester and Dedee DeLongpre, director of the Office of Sustainabilityat UF, the administration has agreed to affiliate with the WRC.
We will be having a conference call with Dedee DeLongpre, Zack (our rep from USAS), and the Students Making Trade Fair officers. We aren't sure of the date yet, but the conference call should take place in the next week or two. We are going to discuss what needs to be done from here in the campaign.
I will try to record the conference call and put an audio clip on the blog so everyone can here the call. If not, we will post a summary of everything discussed shortly thereafter!!
We will be having a conference call with Dedee DeLongpre, Zack (our rep from USAS), and the Students Making Trade Fair officers. We aren't sure of the date yet, but the conference call should take place in the next week or two. We are going to discuss what needs to be done from here in the campaign.
I will try to record the conference call and put an audio clip on the blog so everyone can here the call. If not, we will post a summary of everything discussed shortly thereafter!!
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