Five Plead Guilty to Enslaving Farmworkers

Photo courtesy of CIW.

September 2008 - Through the heroic and tireless efforts of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, law enforcement and the U.S. Department of Justice, another case of modern-day slavery has successfully been brought to justice.

Yesterday, at federal court in Fort Myers, Fla., farm bosses from Immokalee pleaded guilty to "numerous charges of enslaving Mexican and Guatemalan immigrants, brutalizing them and forcing them to work in farm fields." ("Five to plead guilty on charges of enslaving immigrant laborers," Fort Myers News Press, Sept. 2, 2008).

Over a dozen workers were held in conditions described by U.S. Assistant Attorney General Doug Malloy as “slavery, plain and simple.”  The 17-count indictment in this case, the seventh to be prosecuted out of Florida, was one of the largest ever seen.

Gerardo Reyes Chavez of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, commented to the media, “the facts that have been reported in this case are beyond outrageous — workers being beaten, tied to posts and chained and locked into trucks to prevent them from leaving their boss. How many more workers have to be held against their will before the food industry steps up to the plate and demands that this never ever occur again in the produce that ends up on America's tables?" For the CIW’s full analysis visit the Coalition of Immokalee Workers Web site.

Senator Bernie Sanders who chairs the Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee issued a statement today on this case of slavery in which he promised to introduce federal legislation “to end a loophole in current law which enables growers to avoid taking responsibility for what happens on their fields when workers are being enslaved.” Read his full statement.

Let’s recommit ourselves to working for “fair” food that ensures the human rights of the laborers that harvest it. In your prayers, please remember

• This case of slavery
  
• The groundbreaking agreements between the CIW and Burger King, McDonald’s and Yum! Brands
  
• Other food industry leaders who have not yet committed to working with CIW to advance farmworkers’ human rights, especially Chipotle and Subway
  
• The Florida Tomato Growers Exchange which continues to block the penny per pound aspects of the CIW’s agreements with fast-food companies and continues to ignore cases of slavery in the fields
  
• The partnership work of the PC(USA) and the CIW to address these grievous conditions
  

And stay tuned for more breaking news and take action opportunities.