Florida Tomatoes Growers have Agreed to Raise Wages for Farm Workers!
This is a repost via Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW)
In an interview with the Miami Herald (“Florida tomato grower will raise workers’ wages,” 9/11/09), Batista Madonia, Jr., sales manager for East Coast,explained why his company decided to buck the powerful industry lobby and pursue the opportunity presented by the CIW’s agreements. Here’s an extended excerpt:
“… Rather than fight with the rest of the industry, East Coast Growers decided in the last few weeks to drop out of the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange…
‘I would rather be unpopular with my competition and do the right thing,’ said Batista Madonia Jr., sales manager for the family-owned company. ‘I believe when you do the right thing for your worker, it gives you a better worker and a better company.’
Reggie Brown, executive vice president of the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange, said he was not familiar with the details of the agreement between East Coast and Chipotle. But that the the growers organization remains a voluntary one.
`Everyone is free to make whatever business decision they choose to make,’ Brown said.
East Coast Growers was started in 1956 by Madonia’s parents and has been based in central Florida for 30 years. The company describes itself as one of the top three tomato growers in the state, planting about 7,000 acres of tomatoes in Florida. East Coast also owns three packing houses in Florida, plus it has growing and packing operations in Virginia.
Madonia said he is already in discussions with all of the other major fast-food chains about the ability to handle their business and implement the agreements with the CIW. While Chipotle is a small user of Florida tomatoes, Subway is the biggest user of all restaurants and Burger King would also be near the top.
`If it brings me extra business that’s great,’ Madonia said. `If not, it still helps my workers live a better life and it doesn’t cost me anything.’
Madonia said he is working with the repacking houses on the mechanism for tracking how many tomatoes a worker has picked that are ultimately bought by Chipotle or any other restaurant chain.
`Every farmer has always faced situations where people say it can’t be done,’ he said. `We always find a solution.’
