AMERICAN LEFT HISTORY

This space is dedicated to the proposition that we need to know the history of the struggles on the left and of earlier progressive movements here and world-wide. If we can learn from the mistakes made in the past (as well as what went right) we can move forward in the future to create a more just and equitable society. We will be reviewing books, CDs, and movies we believe everyone needs to read, hear and look at as well as making commentary from time to time. Greg Green, site manager

Friday, October 19, 2018

Teen Vogue highlights “tireless efforts” of CIW in movement for farmworker rights! Coalition of Immokalee Workers

Coalition of Immokalee Workers<workers@ciw-online.org>

9:24 AM

Teen Vogue highlights “tireless efforts” of CIW in movement for farmworker rights!

“The coalition… has long been a guiding light for the farmworkers’ rights movement…”

Today, we bring you highlights from a brand-new article from Teen Vogue, the youth arm ofVogue Magazine with over one million readers – and a surprisingly strong new voice in the country’s growing political conversation!

Earlier this week, contributor Kim Kelly published a new in-depth article, titled “Unsung Heroes of Latinx Farmworkers’ Labor Movement, from Maria Moreno to Fast Food Boycotters.” The piece provides a well-researched history, dating back decades, of the grassroots efforts of farmworkers to transform U.S. agriculture from California to Florida, particularly highlighting the leadership of women in the movement. After exploring the long history of farmworkers organizing in California in the 1960s to fight labor exploitation in the fields, Kelly turned to the CIW as the leading example of a modern, grassroots movement that has is transforming the agricultural industry, Finally, Kelly touches on the ongoing efforts to expand the Fair Food Program through the corporate campaign, and encourages the magazine’s famously socially-conscious – and active – audience to Boycott Wendy’s!

Here below is a brief excerpt from Teen Vogue‘s article (which you can read in full at their webiste!):

Unsung Heroes of Latinx Farmworkers’ Labor Movement, from Maria Moreno to Fast Food Boycotters

…Agricultural work remains one of the most dangerous occupations in the United States. They are not covered under the most major labor laws, like the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, which protects workers’ right to form unions and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA), which mandates a minimum wage, but didn’t cover farmworkers until 1966 and still only covers workers on farms with approximately seven or more employees. As predominantly seasonal, temporary workers, most farmworkers do not have access to health insurance. In addition, there have been multiple major investigations into modern slavery practices on American farms. In a direct continuation of the exploitative sharecropper system that kept Black and poor white tenant farmers in a state of feudal bondage after the Civil War, some modern-day migrant workers have been held captive by armed guards, abused, and forced to work for no pay.

Thanks to tireless efforts by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers — a worker-led grassroots farmworkers’ rights organization based in the major agricultural hub of Immokalee, Florida — the U.S. government has successfully prosecuted eight cases of slave labor on Florida farms since the CIW began their anti-slavery campaign in 1992. The coalition, which operates under the slogan, “Todos somos lideres (We are all leaders),” has long been a guiding light for the farmworkers’ rights movement...