Audio by title ciw

Mark Stansbury in support of the rights of immigrant farm workers


7:05 minutes (6.49 MB)

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“ Probably 80 percent, during the winter time, of the produce that comes to the United States comes thru those ports and from those farms (in Florida). The Immokalee workers are critical to our food chain and our food security. So we need to respect workers rights. We’re appealing to Kroger, which is a union shop, that they understand that unions are pressed ( to honor workers rights ) as well as the corporations”

The CIW (Coalition of Immokalee Workers) has been organizing since 1993.

“They’ve been on the right side of justice for that many years. So I’m here to support them.”

Stansbury said there is a downside to our food system that involves people in the US and other wealthy nations being able to buy a cornucopia of food for a relatively low price year round and at anytime of the day or night.

“Like they always say, 80 percent of all costs are labor. So, to keep the costs down, you have to keep labor down. That’s the management’s perspective.”

Stansbury said the CIW campaign connects to workers struggles around the world.

“The race to the bottom, starvation politics, or whatever you want to call it , the slave wagery that we’re in to, of only being able to make enough to make it to the next paycheck, (is bad enough but ) there are many people who are not making it to that next paycheck, and the (immigrant ) farm workers are some of them.”

Stansbury said the CIW fight for better wages and working conditions is related to the international trade of fruits and vegetables critics say hurts people in developing nations by making them dependent on global commodities markets for food, instead of using the food they are growing there.

Pejmaan Fallah supports the rights of immigrant farm workers


6:44 minutes (6.17 MB)

Fallah said though this demonstration is in Columbus Ohio, it is part of a movement to improve the lives of workers all over the world.

“In my opinion, all these issues are interconnected…although we’re standing here today to support the rights of farm workers which happen to be mostly immigrants, the rights of American farmers are also being violated.”

He said the corporatist attack on workers is systematic and has been going on for a long time.

Fallah is from Iran.

“ I come from a land of oppression. It used to be oppressive before the Islamic Revolution and more oppressive even after the revolution. Ever since I can remember, I have been sensitive to the issues of poverty, injustice, human rights violations, and civil rights.”

Fallah agreed activists in the US have options that our counterparts in many other countries don’t.

“I think it’s the responsibility of everybody to stand up for the rights of others…If there are people who are not in a position to stand up for their rights (such as immigrant farm laborers who don’t speak English), then we’re responsible to stand up for their rights.”

“The fact that we can be here (in the shopping center where a Kroger store is located) is a good right, although it gets ignored because, unfortunately, a lot of people here are very disconnected.

“ I don’t mean to say they’re insensitive, but their lack of reaction (to the demonstration) may indicate there’s some degree of insensitivity. Also there’s a degree of comfort here which you may not find in other countries.

“Because ‘as long as I get my tomatoes for the lowest price and I get my clothing, I don’t care whether the sweatshop workers in Syria are getting raped, or if in Indonesia and other countries there’s abuse and slavery going on.’ Whether it’s in this country, which is happening, or in other countries there’s that attitude which is like ‘hey, as long as I’m ok and getting my stuff, then let it be.’”