Saturday, September 19, 2015

Support The Florida Farmworkers-La Lucha Continua!

CIW list header

A cautionary tale: Farmworker women win massive judgment in sexual assault, retaliation case against Florida farm…

publix_vigil1
EEOC case a powerful reminder of:
1) The ongoing epidemic of sexual violence in Florida’s fields outside the bounds of the Fair Food Program, and
2) The hypocrisy of retailers and the failure of the corporate social responsibility approach to stop the violence.
Last Friday’s announcement of a massive jury verdict in favor of five farmworker women who filed sexual assault and retaliation complaints against Moreno Farms (a small, now defunct eggplant, tomato, and squash farm outside of Immokalee) provides a valuable moment for reflection on the urgent need for justice in Florida’s fields and the failure of existing systems — from the courts to corporate social responsibility — to secure that justice.
That’s a lot to chew on, so first, here are the facts, from Friday’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) press release:

eeoc

EEOC Wins Jury Verdict of over $17 Million for Victims of Sexual Harassment and Retaliation at Moreno Farms

Florida Farm Managers Subjected Women Workers to Coerced Sex, Groping and Verbal Abuse, Then Fired Them for Objecting, Federal Agency Charged
MIAMI — A federal jury has returned a unanimous verdict awarding a total of $17,425,000 to five former female employees of Moreno Farms, Inc., a produce growing and packing operation in Felda, Fla., who suffered sexual harassment and retaliation, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today.  
According to EEOC’s suit, two sons of the owner of Moreno Farms and a third male supervisor engaged in graphic acts of sexual harassment against female workers in Moreno Farms’ packaging house, including regular groping and propositioning, threatening female employees with termination if they refused the supervisors’ sexual advances, and attempting to rape, and raping, multiple female employees.  All five women were ultimately fired for opposing the three men’s sexual harass­ment…

No comments:

Post a Comment