wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] Coalition of Immokalee Workers to submit petition signed by faith community to Florida g

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This story and photos available online:

www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2009/09179<http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2009/09179

Coalition of Immokalee Workers to submit petition signed by
faith community to Florida governor

PC(USA) group calling for end to modern-day slavery

>by Bethany Furkin
>Presbyterian News Service

After months of gathering signatures from concerned
citizens and religious groups, including members of the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), a farm workers' rights group
will present petitions calling for a meeting with the
governor of Florida to discuss ending modern-day slavery.

The petitions - one from faith communities and one from the
general public - will be presented at a press conference
March 9 in Tallahassee.

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers [www.ciw-online.org],
which has an established partnership with the PC(USA)
through the PC(USA)'s Campaign for Fair Food
[www.pcusa.org/fairfood], is a community-based worker
organization in Florida that works for fair wages, an end
to indentured servitude in the fields, better working and
living conditions and stronger laws against those who
violate workers' rights. It has forged agreements with
companies such as Yum! Brands, Burger King, Subway and
McDonald's to address modern-day slavery and advance farm
workers' human rights.

In the petitions, the CIW and its supporters ask Florida
Gov. Charlie Crist to meet with the CIW to "discuss ways to
eradicate slavery and abuses from Florida's fields." In
December, farm labor supervisors in Florida were sentenced
in federal court for enslaving tomato pickers. The pickers
had been beaten, chained and locked in a truck at night.
Since 1997, the U.S. Department of Justice has prosecuted
seven other cases of modern-day slavery.

"As people of faith and conscience, we cannot allow case
after case of slavery to continue," said the Rev. Noelle
Damico, national coordinator of the PC(USA)'s Campaign for
Fair Food. "We really hope that the press conference and
petitions will be a wake-up call to the governor. If some
of the largest corporations have agreed to work with the
CIW to address slavery, why hasn't the governor?"

Crist has not publicly commented on the situation; in
December, Terence McElroy, a spokesman for the Florida
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services told the
Ft. Myers News-Press: "Of course, I say any instance is too
many, and any legitimate grower certainly does not engage
in that activity (slavery) but you're talking about maybe a
case a year."

That response diminishes the seriousness of the problem of
modern-day slavery, said Gerardo Reyes, a member of the CIW.

"We cannot take that kind of answer," he said. "Is the
silence of the governor a way to show that he's in
agreement with what Mr. McElroy is saying? If not, he needs
to say something, and more than that - do something."

One person who has been doing something is Sally Rausch, a
high school junior in Columbia, SC. At a youth conference
in January, Rausch learned about the Campaign for Fair Food
and began collecting signatures from her friends and church
members at Spring Valley Presbyterian Church. Learning
about the injustices being committed in the United States
was shocking, she said, adding that the campaign has made
her realize that the average person might contribute more
to the problem than they know.

"We feel like everything bad happens 'out there,'" she
said. But "everyone eats fast food and everyone's a part of
the line of production. Something on the dollar menu may be
good for me, but what does it mean for other people?"

The involvement of students and young people is important,
Rausch said, adding that her generation represents a large
population of people who care about the world.

The support of students and of faith communities has been
critical to the CIW, Reyes said. By sending pressure to
corporate executives through boycotts and protests, these
groups have been fundamental in helping effect change,
helping the CIW win ground-breaking agreements with major
food corporations to improve wages and address modern-day
slavery.

"The Presbyterian Church, it's been also really important,
the support," he said.

One congregation that has shown such support is First
Presbyterian Church in Hollywood, FL. Farm workers have
visited the church to talk about their concerns, and some
members of the church also traveled to Immokalee, where
many seasonal workers live, to see the conditions up close
- "a powerful, informative and transformational"
experience, said the Rev. Kennedy McGowan.

The church began circulating petitions that led to the
CIW's agreement with Burger King and has also gathered
signatures for the petition to be presented at the March 9
press conference.

"It's one of those things that's at the core of Christian
understanding - you provide a voice, you stand with people
who are facing injustice," he said.

Although the workers live in "appalling" and "inhuman"
conditions, their dignity, courage and dedication to
justice is humbling, McGowan said.

"They're simply looking to receive a fair wage for a hard
day's work," he said. "I hope that the governor responds
and listens to what these signatures say."

In addition to the petitions, the press conference will
include a mistica, a type of theater that uses slow
movements and no sound. The performance will be a dramatic
re-enactment of the latest slavery case, and is meant to
provide viewers with images that will cause them to reflect
on the injustices suffered by the farm workers, Reyes said.

As for a meeting with Crist, Reyes said he is hopeful.

"We as a community are not willing to take this kind of
abuse anymore," he said. "This is how food is produced in
this state and this country. It's time to change what has
been the norm in this industry. The society of this country
is better than that."

To learn more about the CIW and to download and read the
general petition against modern-day slavery, click here. To
download or read the petition from the religious community,
click here. To learn more about the PC(USA)'s work with the
CIW, visit PC(USA)'s Fair Food site
[www.pcusa.org/fairfood].

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