Slave labor in Florida

The Independent, 19 December 2007 09:05

Slave labour that shames America
Migrant workers chained beaten and forced into debt, exposing the human

cost of producing cheap food
By Leonard Doyle in Immokalee, Floride

Three Florida fruit-pickers, held captive and brutalised by their
employer for more than a year, finally broke free of their bonds by
punching their way through the ventilator hatch of the van in which
they
were imprisoned. Once outside, they dashed for freedom.

When they found sanctuary one recent Sunday morning, all bore the marks

of heavy beatings to the head and body. One of the pickers had a nasty,

untreated knife wound on his arm. Police would learn later that another

man had his hands chained behind his back every night to prevent him
escaping, leaving his wrists swollen.

The migrants were not only forced to work in sub-human conditions but
mistreated and forced into debt. They were locked up at night and had
to
pay for sub-standard food. If they took a shower with a garden hose or
bucket, it cost them $5.

Their story of slavery and abuse in the fruit fields of sub-tropical
Florida threatens to lift the lid on some appalling human rights abuses

in America today.

Between December and May, Florida produces virtually the entire US crop

of field-grown fresh tomatoes. Fruit picked here in the winter months
ends up on the shelves of supermarkets and is also served in the
country's top restaurants and in tens of thousands of fast-food
outlets.

But conditions in the state's fruit-picking industry range from
straightforward exploitation to forced labour. Tens of thousands of
men,
women and children ? excluded from the protection of America's
employment laws and banned from unionising ? work their fingers to the
bone for rates of pay which have hardly budged in 30 years.

Until now, even appeals from the former president Jimmy Carter to help
raise the wages of fruit-pickers have gone unheeded. However, with
Florida looming as a key battleground during the the next presidential
election, there is hope that their cause will be raised by the
Democratic candidates Barack Obama and John Edwards.

Fruit-pickers, who typically earn about $200 (?100) a week, are part of

an unregulated system designed to keep food prices low and the plates
of
America's overweight families piled high. The migrants, largely
Hispanic
and with many of them from Mexico, are the last wretched link in a long

chain of exploitation and abuse. They are paid 45 cents (22p) for every

32-pound bucket of tomatoes collected. A worker has to pick nearly
two-and-a-half tons of tomatoes ? a near impossibility ? in order to
reach minimum wage. So bad are their working and living conditions that

the US Department of Labour, which is not known for its sympathy to the

underdog, has called it "a labour force in considerable distress".

A week after the escapees managed to emerge from the van in which they
had been locked up for the night, police discovered that a forced
labour
operation was supplying fruit-pickers to local growers. Court papers
describe how migrant workers were forced into debt and beaten into
going
to work on farms in Florida, as well as in North and South Carolina.
Detectives found another 11 men who were being kept against their will
in the grounds of a Florida house shaded by palm trees. The bungalow
stood abandoned this week, a Cadillac in the driveway alongside a black

and chrome pick-up truck with a cowboy hat on the dashboard. The entire

operation was being run by the Navarettes, a family well known in the
area.

Also near by was the removals van from which Mariano Lucas, one of the
first to escape, punched his way through a ventilation hatch to freedom

in the early hours of 18 November. With him were Jose Velasquez, who
had
bruises on his face and ribs and a cut forearm, and Jose Hari. The men
told police they had to relieve themselves inside the van. Other
migrant
workers were kept in other vehicles and sheds scattered around the
garden.

Enslaved by the Navarettes for more than a year, the men had been
working in blisteringly hot conditions, sometimes for seven days a
week.
Despite their hard work, they were mired in debt because of the
punitive
charges imposed by their employer, who is being held on minor charges
while a grand jury investigates his alleged involvement in human
trafficking.

The men had to pay to live in the back of vans and for food. Their
entire pay cheques went to the Navarettes and they were still in debt.
They slept in decrepit sheds and vehicles in a yard littered with
rubbish. When one man did not want to go to work because he was sick,
he
was allegedly pushed and kicked by the Navarettes. "They physically
loaded him in the van and made him go to work that day. Cesar, Geovanni

and Martin Navarette beat him up and as a result he was bleeding in his

mouth," a grand jury was told.

The complaint reveals that the men were forced to pay rent of $20 (?10)

a week to sleep in a locked furniture van where they had no option but
to urinate and defecate in a corner. They had to pay $50 a week for
meals ? mostly rice and beans with meat perhaps twice a week if they
were lucky. The fruit-pickers' caravans, which they share with up to 15

other men, rent for $2,400 a month ? more per square foot than a New
York apartment ? and are less than 10 minutes' walk from the hiring
fair
where the men show up before sunrise. At least half those who come
looking for work are not taken on.

Florida has a long history of exploiting migrant workers. Farm
labourers
have no protection under US law and can be fired at will. Conditions
have barely changed since 1960 when the journalist Edward R Murrow
shocked Americans with Harvest Of Shame, a television broadcast about
the bleak and underpaid lives of the workers who put food on their
tables. "We used to own our slaves but now we just rent them," Murrow
said, in a phrase that still resonates in Immokalee today.

For several years, a campaign has been under way to improve the
workers'
conditions. After years of talks, a scheme to pay the tomato pickers a
penny extra per pound has been signed off by McDonald's, the world's
biggest restaurant chain, and by Yum!, which owns 35,000 restaurants
including KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. But Burger King, which also
buys
its tomatoes in Immokalee, has so far refused to participate,
threatening the entire scheme.

"We see no legal way of paying these workers," said Steve Grover, the
vice-president of Burger King. He complained that a local human rights
group, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers "has gone after us because we

are a known brand". But he added: "At the end of the day, we don't
employ the farmworkers so how can we pay them?"

Burger King will not pay the extra penny a pound that the
tomato-pickers
are demanding he said. "If we agreed to the penny per pound, Burger
King
would pay about $250,000 annually, or $100 per worker. How does that
solve exploitation and poverty?" he asked.

Burger King is not the only buyer digging in its heels. Whole Foods
Market, which recently expanded into Britain with a store in London's
upmarket suburb of Kensington, has been discovered stocking tomatoes
from one of the most notorious Florida sweatshop producers. Whole Foods

ignored an appeal by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to pay an extra

penny a pound for its tomatoes.

In a statement Whole Foods said it was "committed to supporting and
promoting economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable
agriculture" and supports "the right of all workers to be treated
fairly
and humanely."

The Democratic candidates for the presidency do not often talk about
exploited migrant workers, but there are hints that Barack Obama will
visit the Immokalee fruit pickers sometime before Florida's primary
election on 5 February.

Jimmy Carter recently joined the campaign to improve the lot of
fruit-pickers, appealing to Burger King and the growers "to restore the

dignity of Florida's tomato industry". His appeal fell on deaf ears but

100 church groups, including the Catholic bishop of Miami, joined him.

Once outside, they dashed for freedom. When they found sanctuary one recent Sunday morning, all bore the marks of heavy beatings to the head and body. One of the pickers had a nasty, untreated knife wound on his arm. Police would learn later that another man had his hands chained behind his back every night to prevent him escaping, leaving his wrists swollen. The migrants were not only forced to work in sub-human conditions but mistreated and forced into debt. They were locked up at night and had to pay for sub-standard food. If they took a shower with a garden hose or bucket, it cost them $5.

[...]

Fruit-pickers, who typically earn about $200 (?100) a week, are part of an unregulated system designed to keep food prices low and the plates of America's overweight families piled high...

Of course here is why the Ruling Class -- whether RATPOD Democrat or acknowledged Republican aka fascist -- supports illegal immigration. The more illegals who are conned into coming to the U.S., the easier it is to rebuild the slave population to its ante-bellum percentages and indeed expand it far beyond, which is of course the real intent of illegal immigration-- the methodical suppression of this fact in the name of "political correctness" yet another example of the innate treachery of the bourgeoisie -- especially of the bourgeous pretend-leftists.

Thus the myth of "jobs Americans won't take," and thus too the forcible displacement of U.S. workers, who still retain a few dwindling rights (however theoretical they may be), and are therefore reckoned as a liability -- that is, as someone who cannot (yet) be enslaved -- by the overseers of "human capital."

Can you spell "Wal-Mart"? Can you spell "Big Business"? Can you spell "United States of America"?

I used to think we needed the reincarnation of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Now I am beginning to think we need the reincarnation of Lev Bronstein instead.

I don't know whether to touch this one or not. It has been posted elsewhere and I have regretted responding to it. The situation is actually much worse than you can imagine.

We have a case of a handful of growers, out of 1200, who, in a de-regulated political environment have done unthinkable things. We also have a couple of corporate players, large purchasers, who are squeezing the growers and holding the threat of purchasing produce from Mexico over their heads, a growing and powerful farm worker union movement, and attempts by the growers to police their own in the absence of any action by the government.

Perhaps I am in error when I see these articles posted without any context I fear that all growers will be smeared by the actions of the few, and that people will fail to look at the larger picture.

When I see an article or a post about agriculture, I make the assumption that people will be interested in discussing agricultural issues, and this situation is an important one to discuss and an illustrative one since it features all of the pressures and forces that are involved in the agricultural crisis. But that assumption is false, since I can never or rarely get anyone interested in pursuing the subject. On the UK boards, and the Aussie boards, all of these subjects are discussed intelligently and at great length. But not here.

For a while we had the bees, with everyone posting, but no one really interested in discussing the subject. Likewise GE crops, the E. Coli problem, and other issues du jour.

So I have to ask: why do people post these articles?

Kid, what attracted you to this? What is your take on it? What does it mean? What do you think it says that is valuable or important?

Am I wrong when I think that there is a danger in maligning innocent small farmers and immigrant farm workers when there is no in-depth discussion about these articles?

Well, its a multi-faceted issue and its not entirely correct to say that it is only an agricultural issue, especially as it mirrors the situation across the globe (think about textiles and garments for instance). It is also a bit sketchy to suggest that anything that doesn't comform to and with a particular perspective should be swept under the rug.

The article by itself is not particularly hostile to small scale farming and in fact devotes the most attention to Burger King of all things. Nor is it childish tantrums and speculation a la the "issue" posts involving GMO, bees, or what have you.

Maybe there is nothing to be gained by posting this article, but then maybe there is nothing to be gained by talking about the evils of capitalism since everyone here knows about that anyway?

Links to Aussie and UK discussions you mention would be cool too :)

I don't share Wolf's view on this btw. I don't see what point "bourgeoisie treachery" would serve given that cheap/slave labor is literally the last thing they want for or could ever run short on.

What is the subject, then do you think?

I can promise you that the main and perhaps only point that people come away with from reading that article is "farmers are using slave labor." And no one ever wants to discuss it in more detail. Why is that? They must already "know" everything they need to know about it, yes? People apparently have made up their minds from merely reading the article. But made up their minds about what?


I don't think anyone would connect this article to the textile industry. If they do, why has no one ever made the connection?

The important and unusual story of the union involved in this struggle is left unexplored. De-regulation and the corrupt Florida government is of no interest to people. The impact of NAFTA on American farming, and the working conditions in Mexico and the unfair competition from imports - naw, boring. The plight of small family farmers caught between various giant forces is not worthy of inspection and investigation, apparently. The way in which corporations are holding our food supply hostage draws yawns. The connection between the anti-immigrant raids, and the increased vulnerability of farm workers as a result of that solicits no comment or interest. The way that broad brush smears against all farmers makes it more difficult to identify and prosecute criminal actors would be worthy of dicsussion, I think.

In fact I never thought of any alleged farmer-issue until Mike mentioned it. What I saw instead -- what I still see -- is a classic example of end-time capitalism in action, specifically the techniques used by the Ruling Class to concentrate their wealth and power as they reduce all the rest of us to varying degrees of abject powerlessness, all this to ensure Ruling-Class omnipotence survives the forthcoming double apocalypse of terminal climate change and petroleum exhaustion. This includes:

(1)-The importation of illegal immigrants (who by definition of their illegality have not even the few and dwindling rights retained by legal or citizen workers in the U.S.), this to reduce present and future labor costs as close to zero as possible by creating the largest possible class of slaves.

(2)-The refusal of the Ruling Class to either stop the illegal immigrants or shut down the sweatshops and plantations where this defacto free labor is held in bondage.

(3)-The ignorant failure of the pseudo-left to understand what is happening -- that the encouragement of illegal immigration is yet another manifestation of the same Ruling Class strategy evident in outsourcing, downsizing, pension-looting, destruction of the social safety-net etc., with the illegals a ready-made replacement workforce the Ruling Class can exploit virtually without fear.

(4)-The corollary fact that the entire illegal-immigration issue is perhaps the ultimate example of the Ruling Class ability to confuse and co-opt issues, especially amongst our self-proclaimed "progressives" (that is, the pseudo-radicals of the bourgeoisie), with the result that any examination of the obvious economic purposes of illegal immigration -- the short-term reduction of wages and the long-term creation of a slave population -- is obscured in red-herring charges of racism.

(5)-The failure to understand that the Global Economy/U.S. Government policies that drive the illegals to the desperation of coming here is not accident but part of the same Ruling Class plan.

(6)-The corollary failure to distinguish between illegals (exploited human beings who might therefore become part of a liberation movement) and illegal immigration (an expression of deliberate policy by which both the illegal and legal Working Class are victimized). It is significant that in the U.S. only organized labor seems to sense this huge dichotomy and respond accordingly, and even its response is hardly more than a gesture: much too little, way too late and strategically/tactically/ideologically doomed without recognition of the core truth of class struggle.

I'm sorry to say this Mike but your notion this is somehow farmer-bashing is yet another dimension of the problem.

Nor am I claiming any superior understanding. Merely a different viewpoint, combined with the admission I'm still boiling at how illegal immigration into Whatcom County, Washington not only broke the construction unions but reduced the wage of heavy-equipment operators 65 percent, from $29 per hour in 1980 to $10 per hour in 1990.

Once again, welcome to the real America.

It's about Florida.

That was my first take, more crazy, evil shit in Florida, in terms of public corruption and dog in the manger greed much more "America in Minature" than even my home state. Maybe I've read too much Carl Hiaasen but it's hard to deny the level of out in the open collusion between "developers" and politicians, the fascist tendencies of the gusanos, the flat out political manipulation taken to new heights by Jeb. The Florida I knew 35 years ago, bad enough in ways, is a dream of paradise lost today.

Conditions described for those farm workers were similar is a camp shut down here some years ago, though not the brutality. As you say, Mike, these conditions are the minority, elsewise people wouldn't come here if they knew such was pervasive.

A place where a handful of elitists rioting can determine an election, where developers pay a piece rate for burying gopher tortoises alive, where the living dead get more consideration than the living, where every step forward is two steps back, America in minature, indeed.

It is surely risky business for an inhabitant of SC to crack on any other state, yet because of my love of the place my feelings are strong. Yes, it could happen anywhere that capitalism holds sway, but it seems that in Florida it is just more likely.

It's about Florida.

That was my first take, more crazy, evil shit in Florida, in terms of public corruption and dog in the manger greed much more "America in Minature" than even my home state. Maybe I've read too much Carl Hiaasen but it's hard to deny the level of out in the open collusion between "developers" and politicians, the fascist tendencies of the gusanos, the flat out political manipulation taken to new heights by Jeb. The Florida I knew 35 years ago, bad enough in ways, is a dream of paradise lost today.

Conditions described for those farm workers were similar is a camp shut down here some years ago, though not the brutality. As you say, Mike, these conditions are the minority, elsewise people wouldn't come here if they knew such was pervasive.

A place where a handful of elitists rioting can determine an election, where developers pay a piece rate for burying gopher tortoises alive, where the living dead get more consideration than the living, where every step forward is two steps back, America in minature, indeed.

It is surely risky business for an inhabitant of SC to crack on any other state, yet because of my love of the place my feelings are strong. Yes, it could happen anywhere that capitalism holds sway, but it seems that in Florida it is just more likely.

Yeah, I think there is plenty of room for commenting on Florida too. But for Mike to take the position that this article primarily functions to undermine agricultural understanding (intentionally or not) but that it doesn't touch on the topic of slave labor -- ie the driver of "globalization" makes no sense to me. Did he not read about how they were shitting in a corner of the van they were locked in?

If that doesn't relate back to the "Satanic mills" of the Third World, then what the fuck does?

I admit I didn't know where anyone would go with this article, but I'm actually pretty pleased that I posted it now.

Thanks for the good comments. My complaint about a lack of interest in this subject was referring to other boards, as usual.

I am biased - sympathetic to both the small growers, and also to the farm workers, many of whom are immigrants. I am very sensitive to stories such as this rebounding to damage the people in those two groups, while the bad actors go free as always.

The situation is Florida is actually much worse than the article describes.

Thanks for the good comments. My complaint about a lack of interest in this subject was referring to other boards, as usual.

I am biased - sympathetic to both the small growers, and aslo to the farm workers, many of who are immigrants. I am very sensitive to stories such as this rebounding to damage the people in those two groups, while the bad actors go free as always.

The situation is Florida is actually much worse than the article describes.

The situation in Florida is bad on so many fronts its hard to capture it all. I'm most familiar with central florida which is owned lock, stock, and barrel by big developers although that is a temporary thing looking forward. North Florida is something entirely different and I don't know much about South Florida .

I don't think there is much opportunity for a rebound effect for the simple reason that the worst it could do is reinforce preconceived anit-farmer notions which, frankly, doesn't mean much because people harboring those ideas tend to exhibit the worst kinds of anti-thought tendencies in the first place. Its not as though there's something anyone could say that would change their minds.

I'm sorry to say this Mike but your notion this is somehow farmer-bashing is yet another dimension of the problem.

That could be true.


Nor am I claiming any superior understanding. Merely a different viewpoint, combined with the admission I'm still boiling at how illegal immigration into Whatcom County, Washington not only broke the construction unions but reduced the wage of heavy-equipment operators 65 percent, from $29 per hour in 1980 to $10 per hour in 1990.

My experience in Michigan was quite different, where it was immigrants to the rescue of struggling farmers and a win-win situation. Wages were increased, and jobs were saved by having an influx of motivated people willing to become skilled agricultural workers. There is little polarization between the farm workers and the farm owners, and they stood together and marched together for civil rights. Of course cynical people said "sure the owners fight for the immigrants - they want the cheap labor!" That is the damned if you do, damned if you don't situation that small farmers - who are more working class than they are management - find themselves in.

In Florida, in response to the bad actors and in an attempt to police themselves, the growers funded an independent non-profit auditing organization and passed a worker bill of rights. They pressured McDonald's - one of their biggest customers - to help fund the organization. That led the activists to calling the organization a front for McDonald's. You can't win.

Also, should we not be careful not to blame one group of workers for the plight of others? Breaking of unions is always deplorable, but we do have a vibrant and growing union movement among immigrants .

pssssssst

Who is "JDPriestly?'" PM me if you know and can tell me.

pssssssst

Who is "JDPriestly?'" PM me if you know and can tell me.

I googled him and the first link was to his DU Journal which should give you a halfway decent answer if you haven't already read through it.

This is from a grower in Florida:

We have been involved in the so-called Florida/Mexico tomato war for about 30 years. We've watched numerous laws passed by the U.S. government that regulate Florida tomato growers but exempt Mexican imports. Even worse are the laws on the books designed to regulate producers of both countries. But Mexican imports are exempted at the whims of bureaucrats who totally ignore the intent of the law.

There are two sets of rules or laws, one for domestic producers and another for imports. A few examples. Section 8(D) of the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act says, "Imports must meet the same terms or conditions in grade, size, quality and maturity of product regulated under a federal marketing group." USDA substitutes minimum for same and totally obliterates the intent of the law.

Mexico does not have to grade or size their tomatoes according to U.S. grade standards. USDA exempted them from following the grade standards. Wages. We pay more per hour than they pay per day. Child labor. They have no rules. Environment protection, no rules. Worker protection, OSHA, no rules. Pesticide regulations, poorly enforced. Inspection at the border. Last February in Nogales 1,200 to 1,500 trucks crossing borders daily. Only 50 totally inspected. Only 25 pesticide residues sampled taken daily.

In Otay/Mesa, California last month there were 2,500 trucks crossing daily, 15 to 70 with agricultural products. Less than 3 of these got an intensive inspection at any given date.

The last straw and the one that really broke the back of the Florida tomato industry was the passage of NAFTA. The Florida tomato industry was promised by the President of the United States that they would be protected, but unfortunately the promises made were not kept and the industry has suffered hundreds of millions of dollars of losses as a result. Thousands of workers have been displaced.

In tomatoes alone, Florida production has decreased more than 37 percent while imports from Mexico have more than doubled in the first three years of NAFTA according to the latest figures produced by the U.S International Trade Commission. This resulted in a decrease in farm income to the Florida tomato growers of more than 750 million dollars.

Our trade negotiators adopted several safeguard provisions to assist the Florida tomato industry. The ones tried failed miserably and some were never used.

Since NAFTA 24 tomato packing houses and more than 100 tomato growers have gone out of business. An anti-dumping case filed against Mexico resulted in preliminary findings indicating that Mexico had dumped tomatoes into the United States at less than fair value. Dumping oranges ranged from 2.1 percent to over 100 percent with an average of about 20 percent.

Following a recommendation by the Commerce Department the Florida tomato industry agreed to accept terms established under a suspension agreement between Mexico tomato growers and the Commerce Department establishing a floor price on the imports of Mexican tomatoes. We recently were informed that neither Commerce nor customs has the authority needed to enforce violations of the suspension agreement.

Apparently the Florida tomato industry is not the only one suffering. According to the Department of Commerce figures the U.S. trade deficit has worsened each year of NAFTA. The trade deficit went from 84.5 billion dollars in '92 to 166 billion dollars in 1996 and has gotten worse each year.

This has created an enormous trade deficit with Mexico which has not -- which was not present prior to NAFTA. For the three years before the agreement went into effect the U.S. trade balance with Mexico was a surplus of between 1 and 5 billion dollars each year. Since NAFTA has been in effect the balance has degraded from a surplus to deficits in 1995 and '96 of 15.3 and 16.2 billion dollars respectively and continues to increase each year.

Also, the U.S. trade deficit with Canada in 1996 was 22.8 million dollars and it also gets worse each year. Before considering fast-track approval or more NAFTA type trade agreements, let's fix the one that we have now or get rid of it.

Why legislate the end of an important industry like the Florida tomato industry and displace thousands of workers? Maybe if more legislators had to meet payrolls each week it would place a different perspective on the situation.

The Florida Tomato Exchange continues their all-out efforts to try to get the USDA and other governmental agencies to enforce the laws the way they were intended to be enforced. Too many times the administrative rules designed by the bureaucrats to enforce the laws have no resemblance to the original intent of the law.

In 2005 the Redlands Christian Migrant Association and the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association formed the Socially Accountable Farm Employers, a nonprofit organization that provides independent auditing and certification of fair, lawful farm labor practices in the agriculture industry.

This was done in response to the abuses by some growers of farm workers, including slavery.

I am just posting information from the organization's website wothout endorsing them, and I plan on talking to union organizers about the effectiveness and independence of this organization.

Background

SAFE provides a transparent and credible source of independent, third-party certification of labor practices for farm employers. Recognizing the growing need for social accountability by farm employers, SAFE was formed in 2005 by the Redlands Christian Migrant Association and the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association. In a climate where major food product companies, restaurants, markets and others are taking a closer look at labor practices, SAFE-certified farm employers are prepared to meet socially accountable employment standards.

Mission

Socially Accountable Farm Employers (SAFE) is a nonprofit organization that provides independent auditing and certification of fair, lawful farm labor practices in the agriculture industry.

SAFE certification signifies that a producer has complied with all applicable laws and regulations governing employment in the jurisdiction in which the company operates.

Producers who earn the SAFE seal have demonstrated that they foster a work environment for their employees that is free of hazard, intimidation, violence and harassment.

Growers who are SAFE certified have demonstrated they comply with strict standards outlined in the organization's Farm Labor Employer Code of Conduct. The code covers general employment practices and specific issues such as forced labor, child labor, discrimination, wages and benefits, employment records, workplace safety and housing.

Code of Conduct

INTRODUCTION

As key players in the food supply chain, we take an interest in the conditions in which we grow and harvest our products. We constructively engage with our customers, employees, and other stakeholders as we strive for continuous improvement. We understand that our reputations, and those of our customers, depend upon the quality of the products that we provide, and that this quality includes not merely the freshness, taste, cost, and timeliness to market of our products, but also that our labor force is afforded all of the rights entitled them. Consequently, we are committed to the development of tools that will enable us to satisfy our own expectations, those of our customers and, in turn, those of their customers and stakeholders.

What follows is a statement of principles that set forth, at a general level, the principles by which we commit to grow and harvest agricultural products. These principles define benchmarks against which we can be measured with respect to a variety of criteria of interest and importance to all stakeholders.

PRINCIPLES

I. General Employment Practices:

Each participating grower commits to comply with all applicable laws and regulations governing employment in the jurisdictions in which they operate. Employees will be treated fairly and have a workplace free of intimidation, violence, and harassment. Each participating grower is an equal opportunity employer and complies with all relevant nondiscrimination laws and regulations. Participating growers are committed to respectful and open communications with their employees. Each participating grower agrees that when it's necessary to do so, it will only obtain workers from or through a third party that adopts and adheres to these same employment practices and standards.

II. Employment Standards:



Forced Labor: Participating growers will not use forced labor. Forced labor includes prison labor, indentured labor, or any other activity in which the worker's freedom is improperly or unlawfully restricted.
[/*:m:2rnsdd6l]
Child Labor: Participating growers will not use child labor, as defined by the laws and regulations regarding agriculture activities of the jurisdiction in which the work is being performed.
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Discrimination: Each participating grower commits to base all employment decisions exclusively upon a person's ability to perform the specific job, and will not base employment decisions upon other factors such as race, gender, marital status, religion, age, disability, nationality, or ethnicity. "Employment decisions" include hiring, salary, benefits, promotion and advancement, discipline, and termination.
[/*:m:2rnsdd6l]
Wages and Benefits: Each participating grower commits to pay no less than the established lawful wages. Workers will receive all benefits required by the laws and regulations of the jurisdiction in which the work is being performed.
[/*:m:2rnsdd6l]
Employment Records: Each participating grower commits to keep and maintain all payroll records in a complete and accurate manner as required by law. Each participating grower also agrees to provide clear and understandable wage statements to each employee at the time of payment, which shall be no less than semi-monthly. These statements include the basis upon which wages have been paid; if piece rates were used, the number of units produced; hours worked; any lawful deductions from wages; and all other information required by law.
[/*:m:2rnsdd6l]
Healthy and Safe Work Environment: Participating growers will provide a safe and healthy working environment for their employees. Workers will be trained to ensure safe procedures and proper use of pesticides in the work environment, in accordance with the laws and regulations of the jurisdictions in which the work is performed.
[/*:m:2rnsdd6l]
Housing: Participating growers who provide housing will ensure that it meets all the applicable laws and regulations of the jurisdictions in which it is located. No employee will be required to live in grower provided housing as a condition of employment.
[/*:m:2rnsdd6l]

III. Implementation:

Participating growers commit to develop implementation, training, third-party monitoring, and corrective action programs to ensure the principles set forth in this code of conduct become part of our daily work environment.

THE AUDIT PROCESS

Grower organizations seeking to be SAFE certified undergo an extensive certification audit that examines policies and practices regarding general employment, health and safety, housing, and implementation of the requirements set out in the Farm Labor Employer Code of Conduct.

The audit also identifies areas of continuous improvement and best practices.

Certification applies to all processes and operations within a grower’s business entity: farming, processing, packing and repacking.

The six-stage audit encompasses:

Initial meeting: The audit team meets with management to review the audit scope and objectives, explain the methods and procedures to be used, and confirm the audit plan.
[/*:m:2rnsdd6l]
Documentation review: The team selects a random sample of employees in order to review payroll, personnel and time records as well as other records to verify employment practices. Other documents also are reviewed to assess compliance with provisions of the Code of Conduct.
[/*:m:2rnsdd6l]
Site tours: The audit team observes operations and working environment of sites chosen for the review, including packing houses and housing facilities.
[/*:m:2rnsdd6l]
Worker interviews: Information from worker interviews is used to cross-check data gathered in the document review and visual observation.
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Management interviews: Conducted with farm managers, packing house managers, health and safety manager, human resources manager and finance/payroll manager to understand practices and management’s understanding and application of the SAFE requirements.
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Summary meeting: Summarizes the audit outcomes and procedures performed. Any non-conforming activities identified are presented, along with best practices. Next steps are discussed.[/*:m:2rnsdd6l]

FAQ's

What is SAFE's mission?

Socially Accountable Farm Employers (SAFE) is a nonprofit organization that provides independent auditing and certification of fair, lawful farm labor practices in the agriculture industry. SAFE certification signifies that a producer has complied with implementing the principles SAFE's farm employer Code of Conduct. SAFE is a positive development for the industry and for farmworkers because it will validate the good labor practices that the vast majority of growers already follow.

What does SAFE certification mean?

Producers who earn the SAFE seal have demonstrated that they foster a work environment for their employees that is free of intimidation, violence and harassment, and minimizes workplace hazards. SAFE certification shows a commitment to ethical labor practices by the agriculture industry and signals to the marketplace that growers are doing the right thing.

Growers who are SAFE-certified have demonstrated they comply with strict standards outlined in the organization's Farm Labor Employer Code of Conduct. The code covers general employment practices and specific issues such as forced labor, child labor, discrimination, wages and benefits, employment records, workplace safety and housing.

How does SAFE certification benefit workers?

In the agriculture industry's workplace culture, it's important that producers are doing the right thing every step of the way. Workers and growers alike benefit when a company treats its employees fairly and with respect. Employees who work for a SAFE-certified grower are ensured a safe work environment. They are protected from child labor and forced labor as well as discrimination, and they are assured that grower-supplied housing is legal and safe.

There are benefits to consumers as well. SAFE certification ensures that they know the agriculture industry is committed to fair and ethical labor practices.

What does the certification process involve?

Producers who apply for SAFE certification undergo an initial self-assessment that includes a variety of workplace parameters. Intertek, a third-party organization, then conducts an independent audit of all phases of the grower's operation, from field to packinghouse. The audit is based on standards outlined in SAFE's Farm Labor Employer Code of Conduct. Certification would extend to any contracted labor a grower uses as well.

The code covers general employment practices and specific issues such as forced labor, child labor, discrimination, wages and benefits, employment records, workplace safety and housing. The grower either receives SAFE certification, is advised of measures to take conditional to certification, or is denied certification. Once a company is certified, it must undergo annual audits to maintain certification.

Why was SAFE formed?

SAFE was founded to help ensure that farm employers are doing the right thing. Today's consumers are looking to business - including the agriculture industry - to demonstrate corporate responsibility. Food retailers and restaurant chains are responding by setting rigorous standards throughout their supply chains.

SAFE certification will demonstrate that growers are treating their employees fairly and providing a safe workplace. The great majority of farm employers are already doing a good job, and they too will benefit from a commitment to legal, fair treatment of their workers.

Companies that have earned SAFE certification are proud of the designation and are considered leaders in the industry.

How does an interested company apply for certification?

SAFE certification requires thorough auditing by a certification organization and subsequent approval by the SAFE board of directors. Agricultural employers may contact SAFE to learn more about the requirements by calling 321-214-5200.

Benefits to Workers

Working for a SAFE-certified grower means employees are ensured a safe, fair work environment free of hazard, intimidation, violence and harassment.
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SAFE certification helps ensure equal opportunity in the workplace with regard to non-discrimination laws and regulations.
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Employees of SAFE-certified companies benefit from a commitment to respectful and open dialogue with management.
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Workers receive wages that comply with all state and federal laws, and are paid on a timely basis.
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No workers are ever forced to work involuntarily.
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SAFE-certified employers only hire workers who meet lawful age requirements.
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SAFE-certified employers maintain up-to-date employment and payroll records.
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Worker safety and security are priorities for SAFE-certified employers, benefiting workers.
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Safety training and equipment, required by SAFE certification, help minimize injuries and promote a safe workplace.
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Worker education in sanitation practices, and access to proper sanitation equipment and supplies, required by SAFE, promotes worker health.
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SAFE certification helps ensure that workers are not exposed to hazardous materials and are trained in proper techniques for handling these materials.
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SAFE certification ensures that workers have direct access to supervisors and other management officials.
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Employees working for a subcontractor of a SAFE-certified employer experience a safe and equitable workplace.
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Housing, if provided by a SAFE-certified employer, must be safe, clean and meet all applicable laws and regulations.
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SAFE-certified employers are committed to ongoing improvements of the workplace.[/*:m:2rnsdd6l]


SAFE website here (http://www.safeagemployer.org/default.asp)

Labor camps kept workers in servitude with crack cocaine
Coalition of Immokalee Workers was instrumental in helping expose abuse in North Florida and North Carolina

By Janine Zeitlin
Saturday, September 23, 2006

They had heard rumblings about the labor camp for years.

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers had members who toiled in potato and cabbage fields for Ron Evans Sr., the owner of the North Florida camp.

But they left after what they saw.

Workers feared reporting what transpired behind tall fences with signs that read "WARNING NO TRESPASSING."

Then the Immokalee workers rights group with a reputation for rooting out farmworker abuse and human trafficking got a call from a Miami nonprofit organization seeking its expertise: A labor camp owner was hawking crack cocaine and beer at jacked-up prices to homeless addicts for a slice of their paychecks. If they couldn't pay, men could buy drugs on credit and work it off in a North Florida camp. Men said they felt trapped.

This is what the Rev. Steven Porter, former executive director of Touching Miami with Love, an urban ministry serving Miami's homeless through Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, heard when he was among the first to find workers willing to go to authorities.

"Have any problems on the job lately?" Porter asked a client in December 2002.

The man started laughing.

"You don't want to know what's really going on," the man told Porter.
This a labor camp owned by Ronald Evans Sr., located in East Palatka.

Submitted photo

This a labor camp owned by Ronald Evans Sr., located in East Palatka.

"No, we do," Porter said. "He brought in another friend and he started to tell us a story that was deeply disturbing and eye-opening."

Evans Sr. and those who helped him run the camps hit homeless shelters throughout the Southeast, including Tampa, Orlando and New Orleans, in shiny, new vans to recruit black men to work in isolated labor camps in North Florida and North Carolina, federal documents and advocates said. They dangled necessities like shelter and food before the men who had neither. All for 50 bucks a week.

They kept them with crack and debt.

Men eager to get off the Miami streets would climb inside the vans, advocates said. Some men arrived at the camp mired in debt, the pastor said.

Evans Sr. and Jequita Evans, his 45-year-old wife and camp co-owner, and those who helped operate the camps sought to lord control over workers, advocates said. They tapped what made the men weak.

"These people were offering an unending stream of crack," Porter said. "They were playing upon their weaknesses and addictions. The vast majority of the workers were African-American. Ron Evans and his family were African-American.

"One of the witnesses said he brought in a crew of Latinos and they didn't last long because they couldn't understand what he was saying and it made him nervous," he said. "The crew leader was stacking the deck to where he could control people."

Advocates from Touching Miami with Love and Coalition of Immokalee Workers, including the group's anti-slavery coordinator, Laura Germino, searched for more people to talk about the Evans camps. The Coalition hit Laundromats, gas stations and convenience stores. They talked to workers, clinic officials, priests, waitresses and growers.

What they heard pointed to servitude, a term U.S. Attorney Paul Perez of the Middle District used in a statement after a federal jury in late August found 60-year-old Evans Sr. guilty of nearly as many charges as years he has lived, after years of piecing together the case.

"Causing homeless people to incur large debts by selling them crack, cigarettes and beer forces these individuals into a form of servitude that is morally and legally reprehensible," Perez said. "My office will continue to investigate and prosecute those labor owners and operators who take advantage of the disadvantaged by such outrageous behavior."

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers began investigating after the Miami pastor contacted Bruce Jay, who spearheaded a larger effort to ferret out labor abuse among the homeless. Jay contacted the Coalition because of the group's experience fighting debt bondage and human trafficking cases. The Immokalee group counts nearly 4,000 members.

Coalition members had worked at the North Florida camps in the past. Germino brought the case to the U.S. Department of Justice, which began investigating in 2003, while the Immokalee group provided the Miami organization with guidance on investigating and dealing with such cases.

Germino said the Coalition located about 10 other witnesses and sources to talk to federal authorities through its farmworker networks stretching throughout the Southeast. Coalition members visited Evans camps in North Carolina and Florida to gather evidence for the case.

"We have informed and educated and aware members because this is an issue that the community has decided, 'We're going to take this on. We're going to fight back,' " Germino said. "And we're well-situated because, oftentimes, it's their own peers, maybe even their own family members, who are being held against their will or being held in debt. That gives you a sense of urgency to see that justice is done."

Touching Miami with Love staff unearthed at least a dozen more witnesses or victims.

Chained together, the stories told an epic of abuse.

Federal documents and court records show the following:

Evans Sr. and his wife had been running the criminal operations in North Carolina and North Florida since the early 1990s. Camp owners and operators recruited mostly African- American men to work at the camps for about minimum wage. Every weekday, after dinner, the camp gave workers the chance to buy crack, untaxed generic beer and cigarettes at a "company store." Purchases were deducted from the workers' paychecks.

Crack "advances" were available on payday.

Most workers spiraled into debt in the model designed to slash labor costs and pump profit. Trial evidence showed Evans Sr. and his wife paid workers, on average, about 30 cents on the dollar after deductions.

The owners needed chunks of cash to purchase the highly addictive drug and persuaded farmers to structure cash transactions to avoid financial reporting requirements. The North Florida crew worked for Tater Farms and Randy Byrd farms.

When news of the case broke in summer 2005 after a federal raid on the North Florida camp, many advocates were chilled that the camp could so easily exploit American citizens. Germino, of the Coalition, said the power differential between farmworkers and employers can snowball into exploitation no matter the immigration status of the workers.

"When there is an imbalance of power between the employer and his work force is when you'll see these abuses start to occur," Germino said. "That kind of climate enables exploitation to take root. When people are looking for signs workers are in debt to their employer, held against their will, suffering violent treatment, it does not just involve undocumented workers. It can be anyone, U.S. citizens, guest workers, permanent residents, regardless of their citizenship status, who are vulnerable to abuse."

Last month, a federal jury in Jacksonville found Evans Sr. and Jequita Evans guilty of a conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine, a charge carrying a mandatory minimum of 10 years, records show. The jury also found Evans Sr. guilty of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise that distributed crack cocaine. For that charge, he faces a mandatory minimum of 20 years.

He was found guilty of 50 counts of structuring transactions to avoid financial reporting requirements, among other charges, and his wife was found guilty of 48 counts of avoiding reporting requirements. Evans Sr. faces sentencing in November, records show.

Rosa Saavedra, a farmworker organizer in North Carolina, gave the Coalition of Immokalee Worker contacts for its work in North Carolina. Saavedra said she had heard about Evans camp several years ago from a woman who told of abuse. But she and other advocates didn't move forward at the time.

"Sometimes things are almost incomprehensible and it happens and your opportunity to see that is so fleeting. You may get a glimpse of it and if you get enough snapshots of it to finally see it. The Coalition are really good at looking at these snippets and knowing what the potential could be in that. They take the steps to move investigations forward," she said.

"His camp was not a hidden camp. It's what they did and how they hid it. ... He was doing this almost in plain sight."

original text (http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2006/sep/23/labor_camp_owner_hawking_crack_cocaine_homeless_ad/?local_news)

Here's what I think, especially this is for Mike. I wanted to spend some time thinking this through or I'd have posted this before the holiday. Here goes:

What this is an example of is the growing destitution and immiseration of mass amounts of people in North America. This is the group that will carry the banner of socialism/communism. No other group is of a revolutionary mindset likely to be won over to socialism, either in theory or practice. Anax is right that its not what they think, its who they are. But then, the two are so knotted together that its nearly a moot point.

The ranks of the destitute are swelling every minute, not simply in Mexico or even the United States but throughout the world. They are legion and they are the group ready and waiting. But they are not going to be swayed by a funeral dirge and that is often what leftist propaganda sounds like, even our own. We have a world to win, indeed, but its going to be won on the basis of a positive, realistic vision for the future.

That vision centers around the abolishment of private property relations of the means of production and in particular the means for producing all of the necessities of life as understood within modern industrial society. That extends far beyond bread, water, and a roof.

The better off workers (and we probably count as that ourselves) are simply not going to stand at the forefront of any revolutionary movement.