Article Index
Open Letter to Gov. Crist
faqopenletter
All Pages

Religious Community Letter to Governor Crist

Please join Southwest Florida Interfaith Action, the National Farmworker Ministry of Florida and the PC(USA) Campaign for Fair Food in calling on Gov. Crist to meet with the CIW to discuss ways to end slavery in Florida's fields and urge the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange to stop blocking improvements for farmworkers.

To sign on, follow the link here or at the end of the letter.

You may also download the letter and FAQ (two downloads) and collect signatures. Please collect signatures by Ash Wednesday, 2009.

Dear Governor Crist,

We write you today as people of faith who are deeply concerned with the modern-day slavery rings and
grinding poverty faced by Florida's farmworkers.

On Friday, December 19th, farm labor supervisors were sentenced in federal court for enslaving tomato
pickers, including beating, chaining, and locking them inside a truck at night. Unfortunately, this case is
not the only one; since 1997, the U.S. Department of Justice has successfully prosecuted seven cases of
slavery involving well over 1,000 farmworkers in Florida. Additional cases are currently under
investigation. Furthermore, those farmworkers who are not enslaved toil long days with frequent abuse
and sub-poverty wages; tomato pickers have not received a real wage increase in three decades.

Fortunately, there is hope for eliminating slavery and ensuring a future of dignity in the fields. Yum!
Brands, McDonald's, Burger King, Subway and Whole Foods Market have all reached precedent-setting
agreements with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) to improve tomato pickers' wages and
enforce codes of conduct for fair conditions in the fields, including zero tolerance for modern-day
slavery. Yet, while the marketplace has recognized basic standards of fairness, the Florida Tomato
Growers Exchange has blocked the implementation of these agreements.

Our religious traditions share a commitment to the dignity and freedom of every human person, and we
believe you do as well. The Ten Commandments teach us that faithfulness to God involves fairness to
all peoples in our society, and that we are to be as concerned for the wellbeing of our neighbors as we
are for our own selves and property. The continued existence of slavery in our day attacks the very soul
of our society, calling every one of us to awareness and action.

Therefore, we are asking you to take a leadership role in ensuring that Florida's farmworkers can live
and work freely and with dignity. We urge you to meet with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to
discuss ways to eradicate slavery and abuses from Florida's fields. We call upon you to urge the Florida
tomato industry to participate in the CIW's agreements with fast food and supermarket companies. We
believe all of us working together can ensure zero tolerance for slavery and establish fair wages and
working conditions for tomato pickers.

Sincerely,

Click here to sign onto to the letter.