CIW Speech at the University of Houston
the problem:
Tomato farm workers in the US are too often subjected to hazardous and unethical work conditions, as well as very little or no pay. Too many people live in extreme poverty because they are not payed fair wages for the work they do in picking tomatoes.
The Coalition of Imokalee Workers(CIW) has campaigned successfully for anti-slavery human rights campaigns and ethical wages for agricultural workers in the U.S., and the SFA has integrated their struggle from the fields to college campuses. They have succeeded in agreements for a penny per pound more payed to tomato pickers with Yum Foods (Taco Bell, KFC, A&W, etc.), McDonalds, Burger King, Subway, Whole Foods, and several others. They are now beginning a campaign for similar agreements with food service providers, like the company providing for UH, Aramark.
vital stats:
people impacted:
34,000people involved:
6why it's important:
I pay tuition and taxes, and I have a vested emotional interest in my university. There are labor violations, including this one, which I do not appreciate. I feel as a student and an ethical person that I need to work to make change to improve impoverished workers' lives, and this campaign for tomato pickers is a good way. The whole university body will be positively impacted by knowing their university is part of the solution to poverty, rather than the problem of prolonging it.
the plan of action:
We, the Students for Fair Trade at the University of Houston (UHSFT), are bringing speakers from the Coalition of Imokalee Workers (CIW) and the Student Farmworkers Alliance (SFA) to speak about their struggle to a crowd of 350+ students at our university on October 15, 2009. TWe are bringing them to our campus to boost our ethical labor and human rights campaigns, including our support of CIW's current campaign to encourage Aramark (our food service provider) to pay ethical wages for tomatoes.
how you can get involved:
Donations, attending the event, volunteering on outreach and advertising.
