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Coalition of Immokalee Workers

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  Lucas Benitez, Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
December 31, 2023 at 2:00 PM

CIW turns 31 years old tomorrow: Last chance to make a donation in 2023!

Dear John,  As the calendar flips from 2023 to 2024, the CIW turns 31 years old.   Thirty years ago, in 1993, farmworkers from Mexico, Guatemala, and Haiti began to hold weekly community meetings at the local Catholic church in Immokalee in an effort to address the abuses that had plagued Southwest…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
December 19, 2023 at 5:28 PM

CIW’s Lupe Gonzalo named as one of top “25 leaders, innovators and agents of change across the fresh produce supply chain.”

The Packer: “Drawing on her experience with the Fair Food Program, Gonzalo has helped to train, mentor and educate workers from other regions and industries on the Worker-Driven Social Responsibility model.” The Packer: “Drawing on her experience with the Fair Food Program, Gonzalo has helped to tra…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
December 18, 2023 at 8:40 PM

$30,000 in matching donations for the Fair Food Program unlocked!

Dear John,   Thirty years ago farmworkers toiling in the tomato fields of Immokalee, FL, rose up and began the fight for dignity on the job and freedom from forced labor. What started as localized strikes against individual farms and abusive crew leaders expanded to nationwide pressure campaigns ag…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
December 16, 2023 at 3:08 PM

30 donors needed to help us unlock $30,000 in matching donations for the Fair Food Program!

"On the farms, there have been many changes. We have bathrooms, that’s one of the things we really needed. There is more respect on the farm, there are no more abuses. Before, the crewleaders and the fieldwalkers, they would say disgusting things to us and we just had to remain silent. But thanks t…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
December 15, 2023 at 5:08 PM

30 Years of CIW: From tomatoes in Florida to over a dozen crops in 10 states and 3 countries!

"The fields have changed – now, we have better wages and better treatment for everyone. Before, there was nothing like that. Before, I would be working under the sun, working hard, and I would want to stop for water. The boss would stop me, and I would say, I need water. He would say, there’s the …
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
December 14, 2023 at 10:33 PM

30 Years of CIW Ending Sexual Violence in the Fields

“It wasn’t easy. He would get in the truck and touch us, and we would say 'no.' And then one day he called me and told me to come to him because he had something to show me. He was the boss, the one who gave us the work, so I went and he was showing [me] some accounts and I didn’t understand why he…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
December 12, 2023 at 1:00 PM

30 Years of CIW Uncovering, Investigating, and Preventing Forced Labor

In 1997, Miguel Flores and Sebastian Gomez were sentenced to 15 years each in federal prison following convictions for slavery, extortion, firearms charges, and more. Flores and Gomez had a workforce of over 400 men and women in Florida and South Carolina, harvesting vegetables and citrus. The wor…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
December 11, 2023 at 2:01 PM

30 Years of CIW Forging the Power of Prevention

Lucas Benitez was born to a big family in the rural highlands of Guerrero, Mexico. Raised in a cramped house with dirt floors, he migrated with his older brother at the age of 17 to Immokalee, Florida, where he worked in the tomato fields. Lucas expected to find hard work at the end of his journey,…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
November 17, 2023 at 4:28 PM

Action Alert Nov 18-22: Demand Kroger join the Fair Food Program!

Here are five ways you can contact Kroger! Calling all members of the Fair Food Nation! Take action to demand justice for farmworkers by contacting Kroger and demanding the grocery giant join the Fair Food Program!  Earlier this year, Kroger – who has long resisted the call from farmworkers and cons…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
November 15, 2023 at 7:17 PM

Save the Date Nov 18-22: Thanksgiving Week of Action Against Kroger

Stand with farmworkers demanding Kroger join the Fair Food Program! Fair Food Nation! Stand with farmworkers this Thanksgiving season for a week of action to demand Kroger join the Fair Food Program!  For many of us, Thanksgiving is a time of year when we pause to give thanks, spend time with frien…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
November 13, 2023 at 3:46 PM

New report unearths extensive rights abuses on farms certified by Equitable Food Initiative and Fair Trade USA, calls for worker-driven solution

"Brands must replace voluntary certifications with binding agreements with independent worker organizations..." Among the key findings in the report: “Workers describe indicators of forced labor on certified farms without detection. This report gathers testimony on a farm that carries dual FTUSA an…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
November 1, 2023 at 7:15 PM

How the Fair Food Program’s heat protections are saving lives and leading the way toward a worker-driven solution

“We look to [the Fair Food Program] for best practices..." Leo Perez, CIW: “We see the Fair Food Program as… both a method of education… to share information with workers about these risks, and at the same time as a tool for workers to protect themselves against the worst effects of climate change…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
October 27, 2023 at 2:39 PM

Lupe Gonzalo’s journey from the fields to the forefront of human rights

“We are human beings, we are women, and nobody is going to keep stepping on our dignity!” Lupe Gonzalo in Rebel Girls: “Food doesn’t come to the grocery store by magic. It comes from people. It comes from farmworkers.” ALSO: Congratulations to longtime CIW and FFP ally Susan Carter, much-deserved r…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
October 19, 2023 at 3:47 PM

A tribute to the life and legacy of Antonia Rios Hernandez (1974-2023)

“Antonia was a powerful woman. She was a strong woman. She always believed in the dignity and the justice for workers." Antonia Rios in The New York Times: “The most beautiful thing is knowing all of the other workers, chatting with them, learning about their lives and their experiences. Many have…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
October 13, 2023 at 2:46 PM

Official recognition of WSR model’s unique power to protect human rights continues to grow with USDA announcement!

"The program will provide incentives designed to simultaneously benefit workers and employers," U.S. Department of Agriculture recognizes Worker-Driven Social Responsibility (WSR) as highest form of human rights protection in agriculture;  WSR, Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) officially desi…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
October 6, 2023 at 3:07 PM

CIW Co-Founder Lucas Benitez to receive Wallenberg Medal for achievements in human rights on October 10, joining the company of previous medal recipients Rep. John Lewis, Elie Wiesel, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama among others

"The decades of labor of countless women and men in Immokalee in the fields that have brought us to where we are today." FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  CIW Co-Founder Lucas Benitez to receive Wallenberg Medal for Achievements in Human Rights on October 10, joining the company of previous medal recipients Re…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
September 27, 2023 at 2:36 PM

Action Alert: Demand Kroger join the Fair Food Program today!

Today is the day to demand justice for farmworkers! Calling all members of the Fair Food Nation! Today is the day to demand justice for farmworkers by contacting Kroger and demanding the grocery giant join the Fair Food Program!  A year ago today, the notorious crewleader of Los Villatoros’ harvesti…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
September 25, 2023 at 4:28 PM

Five ways to pressure Kroger to join the Fair Food Program

We are just two days away from the call-in day of September 27! We are just two days away from the call-in day of September 27, when the Fair Food Nation will call on Kroger to demand they join the Presidential Medal-winning Fair Food Program in light of well-documented cases of modern-day slavery …
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
September 21, 2023 at 2:41 PM

“Food, Inc. 2”, sequel to the 2008 Oscar-nominated documentary, showcases Fair Food Program as model solution for a more just food industry!

“Food Inc, 2” is an excellent entrypoint into the tireless efforts of farmworkers. Watch the trailer for the upcoming “Food, Inc. 2,” featuring the CIW and the  Fair Food Program as a model solution to our nation’s broken food system!   The much-anticipated sequel to the Oscar-nominated 2008 documen…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
September 13, 2023 at 2:33 PM

SAVE THE DATE SEPT 27: Call Kroger and demand the grocery giant join the Fair Food Program!

Together, we can ensure that Kroger hears our calls for justice in the fields. Stand with farmworkers on September 27 for a virtual action to demand Kroger join the Fair Food Program!  Action alert! Calling on all members of the Fair Food Nation!    On September 27, 2022, the notorious crewleader o…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
September 7, 2023 at 2:18 PM

The Fair Food Program adds corn to growing crop list, continues expansion in Colorado!

“There’s always opportunities to do the right thing." Montrose Daily Press: "The [Fair Food Program] provides workers with a means of making complaints, which has led to people speaking out against abuses..."  CIW's Leo Perez: "The basis of this program is that workers have the information and the t…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
August 31, 2023 at 4:24 PM

Media Roundup: How the Fair Food Program’s heat protections are transforming agriculture

"The way I see it, human rights shouldn’t depend on luck.” The Invading Sea: “A solution is hiding in plain sight on farms in the supply chains of major corporations participating in the Fair Food Program.”   This summer has brought deadly heat across much of the world, including regions in the sout…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
August 23, 2023 at 3:00 PM

RELEASE: Fair Food Program’s heat illness standards are saving farmworkers’ lives amidst record-shattering summer temperatures

"The program is credited with eliminating unsafe working conditions, wage theft, beatings, rape and forced labor..." FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  Fair Food Program’s heat illness standards are saving farmworkers’ lives amidst record-shattering summer temperatures  Professor Susan Marquis, Princeton Univer…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
August 18, 2023 at 6:19 PM

Miami Herald Op-ed on Fair Food Program heat stress standards: “Outdoor workers are dying in extreme heat. We have the solution to save their lives.”

"We can prevent a father or mother, a daughter or son, from losing their lives.” Dr. Susan Marquis, Miami Herald: “Farmworkers in the Fair Food Program have developed heat-illness standards and protocols that already are in place on farms from Florida to New Jersey, reaching west through Tennessee …
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
August 2, 2023 at 2:14 PM

Financial Times (UK): “Fair Fish” pilot program readies for launch in Northeast Scotland, and UK’s top buyers join talks to back the WSR initiative

"If successful, the scheme could be replicated across the UK." Financial Times: "The 'worker-driven social responsibility' pilot would ensure minimum standards around wages, rest and grievance procedures."  Mike Park, head of the Scottish White Fish Producers Association, to the Financial Times: "Pa…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
July 28, 2023 at 5:59 PM

We are hiring fall interns – and more!

We need passionate, driven individuals more than ever.Join the movement for Fair Food as an intern with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers! Today, we invite the Fair Food Nation to help us spread the word that we are looking for interns for this coming Fall!  As we look toward the future and the gro…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
July 26, 2023 at 2:27 PM

Coalition of Immokalee Workers awarded the prestigious Frances Perkins Public Service Award from the American Bar Association

"The WSR model has become the 'gold standard' of social responsibility programs..." “The American Bar Association Section of Labor and Employment Law has awarded the 2022 Frances Perkins Public Service Award to the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) for its vital decades-long fight for the digniti…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
July 19, 2023 at 1:36 PM

CIW co-founder Lucas Benitez to be awarded prestigious Wallenberg Medal from the University of Michigan!

“Notable medal recipients over the past 30 years include Archbishop Desmond Tutu… John Lewis [and] Elie Wiesel.” Release: “UM awards the Wallenberg Medal to those who, through their actions and personal commitment, perpetuate Wallenberg’s extraordinary accomplishments and human values, and demonstra…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
July 12, 2023 at 1:22 PM

Kroger called out in its hometown newspaper for repeated discoveries of forced labor in its supply chain

Kroger’s silence when confronted with proof that it has bought and sold forced labor-harvested produce is chilling. Gerardo Reyes Chavez, CIW in the Cincinnati Enquirer: “This latest horrific case of modern-day slavery in Kroger’s supply chain is a wake-up call… Tainted with forced labor in its sup…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
July 10, 2023 at 1:56 PM

Fair Food Program expansion makes headlines in Colorado!

“This is a program with a lot of integrity.” Gwen Cameron, owner,Rancho Durazno: “It’s a good way to communicate our values to our customers. I think the general public has become more aware of and interested in the treatment of ag workers and the Fair Food Program made me realize we need to do a be…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
July 5, 2023 at 12:26 PM

Massive protest against SB1718 in Ft Myers gets national media attention

"You want to stay, but you also want to go."USA TODAY: "She wiped away tears, shaking her head as her daughter sat next to her. 'You want to stay, but you also want to go.'" WGCU: "One of the strictest laws in the nations aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration takes effect in Florida July 1, …
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
June 26, 2023 at 1:24 PM

Powerful new report out of Harvard Law School hails Fair Food Program as model for human rights in the 21st century

"With WSR, workers define and claim their human rights to fair pay, freedom from abuse, safe working conditions, and dignity due to all who work hard." New report from Harvard Law School Center for Labor and a Just Economy: "With WSR, workers define and claim their human rights to fair pay, freedom …
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
June 7, 2023 at 2:05 PM

Nearly 7,000 residents join Unidos Immokalee, Florida Immigrant Coalition at Immokalee rally for justice, safety in protest against horrifying Florida anti-immigrant law

"We sustain the country’s economy.”Karla Correa, Immokalee resident: “Our state relies on immigrants, our community is made up of immigrants… There is unity here in Florida…” Nearly 7,000 residents of Southwest Florida flood the streets of Immokalee in protest of SB 1718, Florida’s virulent anti-imm…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
May 23, 2023 at 1:25 PM

Read what a farmworker had to say to Wendy’s shareholders at their annual meeting

"I also know first hand how necessary this Program really is. I first started working in the fields at age 11."CIW staff member Gerardo Reyes Chavez to Wendy’s shareholders: “I also know first hand how necessary this Program really is. I first started working in the fields at age 11.” “Inside the Fa…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
May 16, 2023 at 3:03 PM

National Center for Law and Economic Justice (NCLEJ), CIW Announce Trailblazing Partnership

"We know firsthand how powerful this model can be for uprooting long-standing abuses,"Dennis Parker, NCLEJ Executive Director: “We’re incredibly excited to work with the CIW to fight for humane wages and conditions for workers.” Lucas Benitez, Co-founder, Coalition of Immokalee Workers: “We’re honor…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
May 11, 2023 at 1:31 PM

Have you ever dreamed of working on the cutting edge of human rights?

Now is your moment!Join the movement for Fair Food as an intern with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers!  Big news out of Immokalee: Today, we invite the Fair Food Nation to help us spread the word that we are looking for interns for this summer!  As we look toward the future and the growth of the F…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
May 8, 2023 at 4:02 PM

Unsolved mystery: CNN, NPR investigations into disappearance of two local men in Collier County Sheriff Deputy’s custody bring new life to maddening cold case

“Lucas Benitez, a founder of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, likened police officers in Immokalee to the US Army occupying Iraq.”Doug Molloy, former US Assistant Attorney: “It is my belief that they were killed because of their color.” “Lucas Benitez, a founder of the Coalition of Immokalee Work…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
May 2, 2023 at 2:35 PM

“We are making history”: Week-long visit to birthplace of Fair Food Program by Chilean delegation helps fuel FFP expansion

“When I first heard about the Fair Food Program it was like – this blew my mind."“We are making history,” said Angel Garcia, Human Resources Manager at Pacific Tomato Growers/Sunripe Certified Brands.  “Now we have people coming from other parts of the globe to absorb that history.”  “When I first h…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
April 19, 2023 at 2:13 PM

John Oliver segment on farmworkers, Fair Food Program garners millions of views!

“This story brought tears to my eyes. My 72 year old father is still out there to this day picking lettuce." The latest segment on Last Week Tonight hosted by John Oliver focuses on the plight of farmworkers in this country, and champions the Fair Food Program as a successful model of human rights p…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
April 17, 2023 at 3:07 PM

John Oliver champions the Fair Food Program!

“While we claim [farmworkers] are essential, we sure don’t treat them like it.” Last night, John Oliver’s HBO show Last Week Tonight, took an in-depth look at the historic and ongoing exploitation of farmworkers in this country... outside the Fair Food Program. Beginning his analysis of farm labor …
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
April 12, 2023 at 2:46 PM

BREAKING: New York City Council officially — and resoundingly — calls on Wendy’s “to join the Fair Food Program and support farmworkers’ human rights”!

"Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls on Wendy’s to join the Fair Food Program and support farmworkers’ human rights." Yesterday, in the early afternoon, members of the New York City Council – representing over eight million residents of the vibrant Big Apple – gathered in histor…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
April 5, 2023 at 1:43 PM

Final wrap-up from last month’s March to Build a New World

“You are shouldering the globe this week and we are all the better for it.”Now you can read the solidarity statements from allies around the country, like these two below, that buoyed marchers’ spirits on the 5-day trek through Florida’s vast sugar plantations and bustling coastal cities: Wendy Ake,…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
March 31, 2023 at 1:22 PM

Fair Food Program’s international expansion, cut flower partner Bloomia, featured in the industry press!

“To Bloomia’s immense credit, they have seized the leadership position on human rights in the cut flower sector,"Flower Power Daily: “All it takes is one person in power to change the status quo and make it fairer.” Werner Jansen, Bloomia CEO: “If a company as large and successful as Bloomia can par…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
March 28, 2023 at 1:32 PM

Florida media highlights 5-day, 50 mile farmworker march from Pahokee to Palm Beach championing the Fair Food Program

"Gonzalo... lived in fear of speaking up. But one day, it was just too much. She asked for some water. "WGCU: “Gonzalo… lived in fear of speaking up. But one day, it was just too much. She asked for some water.  She was told to drink from the ditch. This is why Lupe Gonzalo marches.” Palm Beach Post…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
March 21, 2023 at 4:41 PM

DAY 5: Video report, media round-up from massive grand finale of March to Build a New World!

"We have to eat to stay alive and we should make sure these workers are paid fairly and in just conditions."Check out the video, photos , and media round-up from the grand finale of the Build a New World March!  Democracy Now: “We’ve come here to demand that Publix and Kroger — which is directly con…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
March 20, 2023 at 6:43 PM

DAY 5: Marchers quintuple in number on final day of March to Build a New World, take Palm Beach by storm with message of farmworker freedom!

“What you have done, and what you will do, is just the beginning of a better and brighter future for us all." Nearly 600 workers, allies come together on final day of March to Build a New World to celebrate decade of human rights progress, call on Wendy’s, Kroger, and Publix to do their part to help…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
March 18, 2023 at 2:39 PM

DAY 4: From labor camps to luxury yachts, modern-day slavery to latter-day robber barons, marchers travel across 48 miles, 2 worlds, in quest for farmworker freedom...

"This fight is to create a new model with human rights for all, in which workers are treated as human beings." Washington Post (AP): "Now workers enjoy the right to complain without fear of retaliation. Workers also have water and shade as part of these agreements,” said Gerardo Reyes Chavez, a coal…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
March 17, 2023 at 12:12 PM

Day 3: Support for farmworker freedom swells as marchers inch closer to the coast; YOU can still join us for the grand finale, Saturday, 3/18!

"This fight is to create a new model with human rights for all, in which workers are treated as human beings." Check out the video, photos, and media round-up from Day 3, of the Build a New World March!  La Jornada (Mexico): [translation below] Una marcha de cinco días de decenas de jornaleros de la…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
March 16, 2023 at 12:44 PM

Day 2: Rain, cold fail to dampen marchers' spirits as farmworkers, allies move one day closer to march goal, one giant leap closer to new world of farmworker freedom!

“I think we have to respect where our food comes from and to (give) justice to the people that harvest it for us." Check out the video, photos, and media round-up from Day 2, of the Build a New World March!  Palm Beach Daily News: “Over 80% of farmworker women in this country report experiencing sex…
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  Coalition of Immokalee Workers · [email protected]
March 15, 2023 at 2:18 PM

DAY 1: Over 100 workers, allies launch 5-day march to celebrate decade of human rights progress, Build a New World of farmworker freedom!

"I feel like it's an honor to walk.  Paying people a living wage and having them work in dignity, it's just a no-brainer." Check out the video, photos, and media round-up from Day 1 of the Build a New World March!  Fast Company: “Lupe Gonzalo had been harvesting tomatoes, blueberries, sweet potatoes…
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