the compost pile, 19 oct 06 -- Coalition of Immokalee Workers

the compost pile is a weekly feature on In Our Backyard, which airs on WORT-FM 89.9 Madison, WI
M-Th from 6:30-7:00p.

this week: interview with interview with Julia Perkins of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers about the fall mini-tour.
MP3 - 5.75 MB -- 00:06:13

Welcome to the Compost Pile for October 18. This week, we turn to a discussion of immigrant workers fighting for justice. Recent news headlines are filled with stories of health risks posed by industrial produce: E. coli, feedlot contamination and toxic chemicals. But while news coverage focuses on the risk these factory farms pose to consumers, the farmworkers themselves are often left out of the story. With daily exposure to the same chemicals and contaminants we may risk eating, the people who plant, cultivate and harvest our food are some of the most endangered workers in the country. Beyond this many farmworkers face inhumane living conditions and wages that amount to modern slavery.

A group of farmworkers and allies from Florida has been organizing, successfully, to change some of this. In 2005, after four years of struggle, The Coalition of Immokalee Workers won an increase in the price paid by Taco Bell for tomatoes from the fields they work. Now the Immokalee Workers are in the middle of another campaign for justice with the McDonald's Corporation. With us by phone and on the road in Illinois is Julia Perkins, thanks for joining us.

http://www.ciw-online.org/

http://www.sfalliance.org/

http://www.allianceforfairfood.org/