Farmworkers were enslaved, beaten in Florida. Thanks, bigtree, for posting about Bernie's efforts..

[madfloridian]

to help them. Florida leaders did nothing. It took Jimmy Carter and Bernie Sanders coming here to get any help at all for them.

Hat tip to bigtree for his post today.

That Time Bernie Fought for Farm Worker Rights in Immokalee

In 2008 Bill Maxwell of the Tampa Bay Times wrote about Florida's shame.

Farmworkers exploited, even enslaved, in Florida

A federal case just ending in Fort Myers, in fact, shows that too many farmworkers, especially tomato pickers, are being held as slaves. Five Immokalee field bosses, all relatives, pleaded guilty to several charges of enslaving Guatemalan and Mexican farmworkers, forcing them to work and brutalizing them.

The 17-count indictment alleged that for two years, ringleaders Cesar Navarette and Geovanni Navarette kept more than a dozen men in boxes, shacks and trucks on their property. The workers were chained, beaten and forced to work on farms in North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida. Incredibly, the indictment shows that the men were forced to pay rent of $20 a week to sleep in a locked furniture van. They were forced to urinate and defecate in a corner of the vehicle.

A major shame is that Florida's leading lawmakers, not to mention ordinary citizens, have rarely expressed outrage over such abuses, and even fewer have raised a finger on behalf of farmworkers. Former Gov. Jeb Bush and his labor emissary openly criticized the coalition for its work, and Gov. Charlie Crist has yet to show real interest.

Outsiders, such as former President Jimmy Carter, have had to come in and lead the fight. Now U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is the most outspoken elected official in Washington to advocate for the cause of Florida farmworkers. He is a member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

Following the conviction of the Navarettes, Sanders said in a prepared statement: "I think most Americans would find it hard to believe that people in our country are pleading guilty to slavery charges in the year 2008, but that is what is going on in the tomato fields of Florida.

Thanks for helping us remember that Florida has been no stranger to such acts of slavery, and that it took folks from out of state to get anything done.

[FloriTexan]

1. Kicking ...

I don't remember hearing about this. Thanks for the post!

[madfloridian]

6. The workers from Immokalee still protest at Publix stores. Big groups show up.

Publix refuses to make a deal with their coalition. This is something Publix should do.

[cherokeeprogressive]

2. DAMN the more I read about Bernie Sanders the more I like him. n/t

[sabrina 1]

28. Yes, every thing I learn about this man convinces me is the most qualified person in my memory

to be POTUS. There is not an issue we on the Left have claimed to be FOR or AGAINST that he has not taken the correct position on and VOTED accordingly.

He has been a CHAMPION of Civil Rights his entire adult life. And for anyone to try to attack that record is astounding, showing a total lack of respect for the intelligence of the average vote who is capable of learning about his incredible record for themselves. And they will and are learning and are disgusted at the rovian ploys to try to diminish that recored.

[historylovr]

3. K & R

[zazen]

4. pontificating about what one would have done 150 years ago is meaningless; he's fighting slavery now

k&r

[nashville_brook]

5. erm -- that time Charlie Crist totally ignored Immokalee Workers

might have had something to do with his loss in the Governor's race.

[madfloridian]

7. Bill Moyers & Co. covered the Coalition of Immokalee Workers.

Immokalee Workers Deliver on ‘Freedom From Want’

In 1993, the CIW was a small group of tomato industry farmworkers in Immokalee, Florida, whose unflinching organizing efforts would eventually end a 20-year decline in their poverty wages. How did they do it? Over a five-year period, they engaged in work stoppages and demonstrations, a 30-day hunger strike and a 234-mile march from Fort Myers to Orlando, Florida.

Although they won raises of 13 to 25 percent — resulting in an increase of several million dollars annually for the community –they still earned well below the poverty line. The group realized that the real power was with the corporate buyers whose constant demand for lower tomato prices exerted significant downward pressure on farmworker wages. In 2001, the CIW launched its Campaign for Fair Food — forging an alliance between consumers and farmworkers — and initiated the first-ever national boycott of a major fast food chain: Taco Bell.

Students, people of faith, workers and community members demanded that Taco Bell pay an extra penny per pound of tomatoes, which would go directly towards workers’ wages. They also called on the corporation to take responsibility for its supply chain and only purchase from growers who signed an enforceable code of conduct that addressed human rights violations in the fields — violations such as involuntary servitude and sexual harassment.

After four years of struggle, Taco Bell agreed to the demands and called on other fast-food chains to do the same. Over the next three years, McDonald’s, Burger King and Subway all followed suit. Today, Wendy’s remains the only holdout. The CIW turned its attention to the supermarket industry and won similar agreements with Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s (Publix, Giant, Kroger and Stop & Shop still aren’t on board) in the food service provider industry. Bon Appétit Management Co., Compass Group, Aramark and Sodexo all signed fair food agreements in 2009–10.

[George II]

8. And also thanks to bigtree for posting about similar efforts by Clinton and O'Malley....

...to help immigrant farm workers.

[madfloridian]

9. Yes, they should start a thank you post. He is being inclusive.

[bigtree]

10. no need for all that

...reward is in the sharing (and, maybe some cross-reccing ).

Thanks for the background articles, madfloridian. I should have known you'd be on this.

[madfloridian]

11. ....

[Enthusiast]

12. Kicked

and recommended to the Max!

[hedda_foil]

13. I wish I recommend this a thousand times!

[madfloridian]

14. Hi hedda old friend.

I wish you could do that, too.

[hedda_foil]

41. Hiya Madflo!

[DrBulldog]

15. We should all begin to LEARN not only about Bernie Sanders' positions but also . . .

. . . about his incredible life's BODY OF WORK. His lifetime commitment to the middle class is humongous and off the scale!

Now stare back at Hillary's so-called "body of work" and compare it to Bernie's. I dare you to find ANYTHING with her "accomplishments" that resembles the constant direct hands-on face-to-face effort put forth by Bernie over the past FIFTY years to help those who most need help.

[madfloridian]

17. .....

[madfloridian]

16. 2008 Outstanding video of Hilda Solis at opening of Obama's Immokalee headquarters. Heartwarming.

Huge crowds.

[Babel_17]

18. Oh my (K&R) nt

[WillyT]

19. HUGE K & R !!! - Thank You !!!

[madfloridian]

20. Most welcome, WillyT

[madfloridian]

21. "the inhumanity of the process responsible for the fresh, inexpensive produce on their tables"

About the Navarettes' case, Coalition of Immokalee Workers member Gerardo Reyes told the Fort Myers News-Press: "The facts that have been reported in this case are beyond outrageous — workers being beaten, tied to posts, and chained and locked into trucks to prevent them from leaving their boss. How many more workers have to be held against their will before the food industry steps up to the plate and demands that this never — ever — occur again in the produce that ends up on America's tables?"

The ugly truth is that most Americans rarely think about the inhumanity of the process responsible for the fresh, inexpensive produce on their tables. Until consumers become sensitive to that process and to the plight of the laborers, the abuse and exploitation, even slavery, will continue.

http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/columns/farmworkers-exploited-even-enslaved-in-florida/798738

[2banon]

22. Well Done madflordian and bigtree!

Big Rec!

[madfloridian]

35. Thanks.

[99Forever]

23. Big ol' K&r

[rhett o rick]

24. k & r. Thanks for posting. nm

[madfloridian]

25. ....

You are welcome. I had not realized the extent of Bernie's involvement in the Immokalee scandals with the farm workers. Good for him.

[rhett o rick]

31. The more we learn about him the better he looks. nm

[HockeyMom]

26. Migrant Workers have children too

I live about 15 miles from Immokalee. Their children are in local public schools. I worked with their kids. You cannot separate a child's school life from their home life.

Their children are going to be affected by what happens to Mommy and Daddy on their jobs too.

[madfloridian]

27. That CIW is making itself heard all over Florida. Publix wishes they would go away.

If Public were not so stubborn and anti-union, they would not have to hold protests there.

I hope they keep it up. When they come to town to protest people notice.

[sabrina 1]

29. Wherever there is an injustice Bernie seems to have been there. Excellent OP, MF, thank you for

all your efforts to keep the conversation about ISSUES and FACTS!

[madfloridian]

30. .....

Trying, but it ain't working.

[sabrina 1]

32. Oh yes, it is. A majority of people just read here. The loud voices are in the minority. I don't

worry about them frankly, it is to be expected. But what is different about this candidate is that he needs no defense against billion dollar negative campaigning. All we have to do is point to his record.

And, he is the ONLY candidate in this race with that ability to refute their expensive talking points. Not one other candidate can do that, which is why NONE of them are going to take him up on his offer to debate the ISSUES.

[madfloridian]

36. He has put his words into action.

Doesn't have to try to remember what he stood for earlier.

[bobbobbins01]

38. Wherever there is suffering, he'll be there!

[img][/img]

[BrotherIvan]

33. I did know about this situation but did not know Sanders had jumped on it

That's damn good.

[madfloridian]

34. I remember writing about it years ago, but was not paying attention to the names involved.

Very proud of him.

[emsimon33]

37. K&R

[raouldukelives]

39. K&R "Injustice anywhere" nt

[Gumboot]

40. I never liked Publix anyway...

... always bought from my local roadside produce vendors. Much fresher food, and no corporations or middle men skimming off $millions from the sweat of workers.

Go CIW!