On Friday, December 11, 2009 at 11am the New England delegation for Farm Worker Justice attempted to deliver a letter to Stop and Shop Headquarters in Quincy Mass urging Stop and Shop to demand more humane labor standards from their Florida tomato suppliers (including a zero tolerance policy for slavery), to pay a price premium for more fairly produced tomatoes, and to shift purchases to growers who meet those higher standards.

“If we believe in justice we need to stand in solidarity with the struggles of those who grow our food.  As many of us purchase food for holiday gatherings, lets lend our support for those who grow it by asking Stop and Shop to advocate for better wages for farm workers,” said organizer Camilo Viveiros, Executive Director of Rhode Island Jobs with Justice and coordinator of the New England Delegation for Farm worker Justice.

“I am proud to be working with a broad spectrum of farm worker allies to promote justice,” stated Viveiros who has brought together students, faith based, labor and community allies of farm workers to form the New England Delegation for Farm worker Justice which includes: Rhode Island Jobs with Justice, Boston Faith and Justice Coalition, Fair Trade Boston Campaign, City Life/Vida Urbana Jamaica Plain Boston, Massachusetts Alliance of HUD Tenants,  University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Arnold M. Dubin Labor Education Center, Community Economic Development Center of Southeastern Massachusetts, Massachusetts Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice, Boston May Day Committee United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) Northeast Region, Vermont Workers’ Center, Food AND Medicine – Eastern Maine, Brown Student Labor Alliance, Brown Real Food Challenge and Rising Tide Boston.

“We are asking Stop and Shop to act on their community conscience and support the Coalition of Immokalee efforts to win better wages and working conditions. With the upcoming holidays the families of farm worker deserve the security and dignity to be able to provide for their families,” stated Mr. Viveiros.

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) is a community-based organization of mainly immigrants working in low-wage jobs in Florida.  Immokalee is the state's largest farm worker community. The corporate food industry purchases a tremendous volume of fruits and vegetables, leveraging its buying power to demand the lowest possible prices from its suppliers, in turn exerting a powerful downward pressure on wages and working conditions in these suppliers' operations. The CIW organized successful campaigns against major fast-food companies including Taco Bell, McDonalds, Burger King and Subway. Now the CIW has turned its focus to the supermarket and food service industries, including Stop & Shop.

For more information about the efforts of farm workers that the delegation is supporting see the Coalition of Immokalee Student Farm worker Alliance http://sfalliance.org, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers: www.ciw-online.org.