Coalition for Immokalee Workers Presentations - Oct 26th!

From the Coalition of Immokalee Workers:

Cincinnati welcomes the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW)!

Tomorrow, Wednesday, October 26, Santiago Perez -- a farmworker and CIW leader -- will be in the Cincinnati area to lead discussions around farmworker living and working conditions, modern-day agricultural slavery, and the exciting and groundbreaking efforts underway by farmworkers, students, consumers, people of faith and others to transform America's food system and ensure decent wages and human rights for the men and women who work in the fields to harvest our food.

Schedule of public events:

12:15pm-1:15pm: Presentation at Room 114 of the University of Cincinnati Law School
(On the corner of Clifton and Calhoun, across from the Hughes High School building)
Hosted by the UC College of Law Immigrant Community Legal Advocacy Program

7:00pm: Presentation in Room 2, Hailstones Hall, Xavier University campus
Hosted by Voices of Solidarity

For more information, contact Marc at 239-292-3431.

Santiago Perez at work at the traveling Florida Modern Day Slavery Museum

Background

Santiago Perez is originally from Guatemala and has been a farmworker in Immokalee for seven years. He recently became a staff member of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW). The CIW (www.ciw-online.org) is a community-based farmworker organization headquartered in Immokalee, Florida, with over 4,000 members. The CIW seeks modern working conditions for farmworkers and promotes their fair treatment in accordance with national and international human rights standards.

The Campaign for Fair Food seeks to improve wages and working conditions for Florida tomato pickers by calling on major buyers of tomatoes to pay a premium of one penny more per pound for their tomatoes, ensure that this penny is passed down directly to farmworkers, and work together with the CIW to establish and implement a code of conduct in their supply chains.

The other major facet of the CIW's work -- its Anti-Slavery campaign -- is an effort to put an end to the continued existence of modern-day slavery in the agricultural industry. To date, the CIW has worked together with the Department of Justice and the FBI to uncover, investigate and federally prosecute seven cases of modern-day slavery in Florida’s fields. The CIW is a founding member of the Freedom Network USA, and through the Freedom Network Training Institute (FNTI) also trains law enforcement and NGOs on how to eliminate forced labor in their communities.
See also,

• "After a Long Fight, Farmworkers in Florida Win an Increase in Pay," New York Times, 1/18/11
• "The Profound Impact of a Penny" Zester Daily, 6/6/11
• "The True Cost of Tomatoes," New York Times, 6/14/11
• "Tomatoes of Wrath," Truthdig, 9/26/11