Crewleader convicted :: Chicago+Denver :: Labor Day actions

Hello from Immokalee -

While Tropical Storm Ernesto dumps rain on southwest Florida and workers trickle into Immokalee daily from northern harvests, thousands of students are returning to campuses across the country and crafting their organizing plans for the year. This fall and beyond, the stakes are high in the struggle for fair food as McDonald's continues its attempts to undermine the CIW's movement for decent wages and dignified working conditions in Florida's fields.

In response, young people from California to Mississippi to New York are making their voices heard and letting McDonald's executives know that the Immokalee workers are not alone in this fight. In just a few short weeks, over 60 students and young organizers will meet in Immokalee for the 2nd annual SFA Encuentro (www.sfalliance.org/2006encuentro.html), a movement-building weekend to coordinate strategies and actions for the upcoming year. Although registration for the weekend is now closed, there are still many ways to support the struggle locally. Check www.sfalliance.org/action.html for details, and contact us for free organizing resources -- including DVDs, stickers, information packets, and more. And stay tuned for bi-monthly SFA email announcements as we shake off the summer doldrums and kick off an incredibly important season!

1. Florida crewleader convicted on 57 of 58 counts in federal court

Amidst the background of the escalating McD's campaign, documented cases of brutal labor abuse in Florida's fields continue to mount. On Aug. 25, a federal jury in Jacksonville, Florida, returned a guilty verdict on 57 of 58 charges against Ron Evans, Sr. – a crewleader accused by federal prosecutors of luring farmworkers, many of them recruited from homeless shelters, into "a form of servitude." "Causing homeless people to incur large debts by selling them crack, cigarettes and beer [on credit] forces these individuals into a form of servitude that is morally and legally reprehensible," explained U.S. Attorney Paul Perez in the Washington Post (8/25) following Evans' conviction. Evans' crew harvested in Florida for Tater Farms, an operation owned by Frank Johns, the 2004 Chairman of the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association (FFVA). Johns defended Ron Evans, Sr., as "an above average leader" to the press even after prosecutors filed over 50 charges against Evans. FFVA is one of McDonald's prime collaborators in the ill-fated SAFE initiative. Read the complete CIW opinion on the decision, "On foxes, henhouses, and social responsibility in the fast-food industry", at www.ciw-online.org/news.html

2. Chicago + Denver local organizing committees

If you live in the Chicago or Denver areas, you can be part of the action on McDonald’s and Chipotle’s home turf. This September, teams from Immokalee will be visiting the Chicago and Denver communities – home to the corporate headquarters of fast-food giant McDonald’s and its majority-owned partner Chipotle, respectively -- to meet with youth, religious, labor, and community allies. The goal is to build powerful local action committees that, by pooling the local knowledge and grassroots networks of the CIW’s diverse allies, can take the lead in their cities and lift the Campaign for Fair Food to new heights in the fast-food corporations’ very own backyards. If you are interested in learning more about the local action committees, or meeting up with the CIW and SFA team when we're in your area, email us at organize@sfalliance.org

3. Labor Day actions

So we all know the real Labor Day -- International Workers Day -- is May 1st, but why not take advantage of the upcoming holiday weekend to spread the word about the Immokalee struggle? The Vermont Workers Center has a great -- and easily replicable -- idea for action this weekend. Read on for more information and consider pulling together a similar action in your community (don't forget to send us pictures!):

"We're Burlington residents and members of the Vermont Workers' Center organizing for change in our community. Through active solidarity and strategic collective action, working Vermonters can win what we all deserve: health care for all, livable wages, and broader social change. The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) is a group of Florida farmworkers who transformed their community to take on systemic racism and powerful multinational corporations against all odds. They've significantly improved conditions in the fields, and are a living testament to the power of local, grassroots, participatory organizing. The CIW is an inspiration, and a reminder that some of the most vulnerable in our society are teaching us how to defeat some of the most powerful corporations in the world.

During the Labor Day parade on Sept. 4, we'll demonstrate our support for the CIW with a delegation to the Bank St. McDonald's. We'll present management with a letter of support for the CIW's fair food demands (www.sfalliance.org/resources/mcd_manager_letter.pdf.org/), and speak out about what connects us to farmworkers 1,500 miles away. It's easy to plug in. Just come to the Labor Day parade on Monday, Sept. 4, at 10 am at H.O. Wheeler school on 6 Archibald St. We're meeting up by the Workers' Center banner, but you're encouraged to get some friends together and march as your own contingent. We'll break off from the main march once it reaches the corner of Church St. and Bank St."

Thanks for your support.

In solidarity,

Student/Farmworker Alliance