Florida UCC churches support 'pilgrims' on 200-mile justice tre

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

Fla. UCC churches support 'pilgrims' on 200-mile justice trek

> Written by Jeff Woodard
> September 13, 2011
> []
Continuing its lengthy track record of commitment
to farm-labor justice, Punta Gorda (Fla.)
Congregational UCC was the most logical of stops
for the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW)
during their recent ?Pilgrimage to Publix? ? a
200-mile, interfaith bicycling trip throughout southwest Florida.

The journey of the Florida tomato pickers

culminated Sept. 6 at the Publix?s headquarters
in Lakeland. It began Aug. 29 with a blessing of
the riders and brief prayer service at Naples UCC.

?For me, it was a continuation of involvement
I?ve had in farm worker justice,? said the Rev.
Bill Klossner, senior pastor at Punta Gorda for
the past 23 years. ?I was one of the 95 pilgrims
who flew to southern California from General
Synod in St. Louis in 1973 when we had the
opportunity not only to be with grape workers, but also met Cesar Chavez. ?

The pilgrimage, which featured several dozen
presentations and prayerful meals hosted by UCC
congregations and other faith traditions along
the way, began Aug. 29 and concluded around noon
Sept. 6. Soaked from a torrential downpour, farm
workers were joined by about 75 supporters and
clergy members when they arrived at the
headquarters, hoping to speak with Publix CEO Ed
Crenshaw. As he has done several times over the
past two years, Crenshaw declined their request.

With the support of nine multi-billion-dollar
retail food corporations ? including McDonald?s,
Florida-based Burger King and Publix competitor
Whole Foods ? more than 30,000 farm workers are
hopeful of realizing concrete changes beginning
in the fields this season. Among them:

> * Assured access to shade
* The right to report abuses without fear of retaliation

* The ability to form health and safety committees in the fields

* Zero-tolerance provisions for forced labor and sexual harassment

* A wage increase funded by a

1-cent-per-pound premium paid by participating retailers.

Publix has repeatedly refused to increase prices
by 1 cent more per pound to help raise
farm-worker wages. It also will not agree to
condition its purchases on suppliers' compliance with the new code of condu ct.

In addition to Naples UCC and Punta Gorda UCC,
participating churches in the pilgrimage included
Venice UCC, Andrews UCC in Sarasota and Faith UCC in Bradenton.

For Klossner, the journey represented ?a

connection to the past and a continuation for the church.?

?In 1973, there was significant violence in the
field ? death threats, beatings and farm-worker
homes being burned,? said Klossner. ?Our trip to
southern California was a 24-hour witness to the farm workers.?

Punta Gorda UCC was involved in farm-labor

justice long before Klossner?s arrival, he added.
?The congregation had a connection with the
Guadalupe Center in Immokalee, which predates the
Coalition of Immokalee Workers."

In what The New York Times called ?possibly the
most successful labor action in the U.S. in 20
years,? 90 percent of Florida tomato farms agreed
last November to a new code of conduct, promising
to bring about an unprecedented transformation of
farm-labor wages and working conditions.

Said CIW member Oscar Otzoy, "What's particularly
frustrating is that that Publix's PR department
has consistently distorted the nature of the Fair
Food program, and our request that Publix help
support this promising new day for our state's
farm workers has been repeatedly denied."

For more informationplease visit

<<http://www.ucc.org/news/http://ciw-online.org/>ciw-online.org>,
<<http://www.ucc.org/news/http://www.interfaithact.org/supermarkets>interfa 
ithact.org/supermarkets>
or
<<http://www.ucc.org/news/http://www.ucc.org/justice/worker-justice/>ucc.or 
g/justice/worker-justice>.