Justice for farmworkers

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For farmworkers in Florida, working conditions had not improved since the shocking 1960 CBS documentary “Harvest of Shame,” which revealed virtual slave labor in the nation's fields. When traditional protests failed, the grassroots Coalition of Immokalee Workers, an organization of tomato workers and community leaders in Florida, focused on the top of the food chain. Now, Taco Bell, Whole Foods, McDonalds and others refuse to buy from growers who don’t pay a living wage and provide modest benefits. Food-industry titans pay just a penny a pound more for tomatoes to directly finance these improvements, and it costs consumers nothing. Is this a model for American factories and other low-wage workplaces?

Added Attraction:  
“Denial is the heartbeat of racism,” according to Ibram Kendi, professor at American University. He says President Trump has failed to come to terms with an existential characteristic of the nation he leads.

Credits

Guests:

  • Ibram Kendi - Professor of history and international relations at American University, Director of Anti-racist Research and Policy Center - @DrIbram
  • Susan Marquis - Dean of the Pardee RAND Graduate School and vice president of innovation at RAND - @susanlmarquis
  • Jon Esformes - CEO and operating partner of Sunripe Certified Brands based in Florida, which is one of the country’s oldest tomato producers.
  • Mily Trevino-Sauceda - executive director and co-founder of Alianza Nacional de Campesinas

Host:

Warren Olney