Crist first Florida governor to meet with farmworkers group since 1990s

[seafan]

Good news for the farmworkers of Florida. Today, for the first time, they had a meeting with a Florida Governor to voice their concerns about working conditions in the fields.





Crist first Florida governor to meet with farmworkers group since 1990s

Naples News
March 25, 2009

TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Charlie Crist met with representatives of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers on Wednesday, pledging to work with the farmworker group and others to improve working condition in the fields.

Crist was the first Florida governor to do so despite efforts going back more than a decade.

In a meeting that lasted more than a hour, a half dozen coalition members met privately with Crist at his capitol office over a slate of issues including wages, working condition and modern day slavery.
“I was deeply moved by what they had to say and we want to help them as much as we possibly can,” Crist said after the prolonged meeting that left subsequent appointments backed up in the governor’s waiting room.

Crist said he would issue a statement later Wednesday or today publicly addressing the issues brought forward by the group, which has called on growers to improve wages and working conditions for workers and crack down on practices that have led to seven federal convictions for modern day slavery in the past 10 years.

.....

“I’m not a man driven by anger, much, but two things will: injustice and arrogance,” Crist told reporters after the meeting.
“I detect from the briefings I’ve had and the meeting I just had that there may be a bit of both at work here and that concerns me greatly. We want to be a continuing partner to try to help with their plight.”

.....

The group has been trying unsuccessfully to meet with a sitting Florida governor since the late Lawton Chiles was holding office. Growers have said the group does not speak for the majority of workers who harvest tomatoes and other fresh fruits and vegetables from southern Florida fields.

Former Gov. Jeb Bush repeatedly declined invitations to meet with the group, saying he did want to get in the middle of what he considered a labor/management issue.

In 2005, the group successfully convinced fast-food giant Taco Bell to sign an agreement saying it would pay a penny a pound more for tomatoes to help increase worker wages. Burger King, McDonald’s and Subway have since climbed on board.

.....

E-mail Michael Peltier at [e-mail]

Chew on some more nails, Jeb.


"Worker Exploitation on Florida's Tomato Fields" at Senator Bernie Sanders' web site

[DonCoquixote]

1. WATCH OUT!

Everybody has their eyes on Mitt Romney, this man, Slick Charlie, will be the 2012 opponent. He is very good at acting like he is a nice man, but keep in mind, when it comes to protecting the same GOP creeps who make Florida what it is, he will march in LOCKSTEP!