Coalition of Immokale Workers

From the "CIW" website: The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) is a membership-led farmworker organization of mostly Latino, Haitian and Mayan Indian immigrants working in low-wage jobs throughout the state of Florida. We have been organizing in the town of Immokalee since 1993 and have a base of nearly 4,000 members.

The CIW has two primary campaigns. Our Campaign for Fair Food seeks to improve wages and working conditions for Florida tomato pickers by calling on major buyers of tomatoes to pay a premium of one penny more per pound for their tomatoes, ensure that this penny is passed down directly to farmworkers, and work together with the CIW to establish and implement a code of conduct in their supply chains.

Our Anti-Slavery campaign is an effort to put an end to the continued existence of modern-day slavery in the agricultural industry. To date, we have worked together with the Department of Justice and the FBI to uncover, investigate and federally prosecute seven cases of modern-day slavery in Florida’s fields. We are founding members of the national network to end modern-day slavery, the Freedom Network USA, and through the Freedom Network Training Institute (FNTI), we also train law enforcement and NGOs on how to eliminate forced labor in their communities."

The CIW's Campaign For Fair Food has resulted in changes within McDonalds, Burger King, Subway, grocery marts and the food service industry for the betterment of not only better quality food, but better treatment for farmers. By protesting and raising awareness of the negative corporate influence on farms and subsequently the treatment of the farmers, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers are actively changing how large companies raise food and treat workers. Increasing workers wages and fighting for Code of Conduct policies for agricultural suppliers are both benefits that would never have been achieved if the CIW and their Campaign for Fair Food didn't reach out to thousands of people via the blogosphere. The internet has enable the group to be mobilized in numerous cities, placing pressure on companies at not only their headquarters but at various events all over the country. Without the internet, this campaign would never have reached the amount of people it currently attracts.