MEDIA ROOTS — After a two year campaign, The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) has finally persuaded Trader Joe’s to sign on to a fair food agreement that will change the working conditions and lives of tomato workers in Immokalee, Florida.  The coalition consists of over 4,000 farm workers who incur unfair wages and dangerous working conditions.  Since its creation in the early 90s, CIW has successfully campaigned against these unjust practices, giving workers the opportunity to have a comfortable working environment.

Trader Joe’s has joined in with a collection of food service providers who have agreed to follow a fair standard of labor practices, as well as a price premium for workers.  The agreement also suggests a healthy and ethical relationship between workers, tomato growers, and food industry bosses.  Interestingly, the original support for the campaign came from fast-food corporations, such as Taco Bell, Burger King, and McDonald’s.  Other food service providers included in the agreement are Bon Appétit Management Co, Compass Group, Aramark, and Sodexo.

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers has worked incredibly hard for over twenty years to ensure justice to farm workers in Florida.  With the inclusion of southern Mexican music and reworked Lady Gaga songs, the CIW has galvanized tens of thousands of people all over the country in their campaign for labor and food justice.  At an event in October, 2011, the CIW organized a large-scale action at the headquarters of Trader Joe’s in Monrovia, California.  A group of clergy stood by the side of many farm workers, leading hundreds of protestors through the streets to the front doors of the building.  The action led to a successful dialogue between the CIW and Trader Joe’s officials. 

“I was so happy to hear of the news,” CIW supporter Natali Rodriguez explains. “It just goes to show that grassroots organizing and the power of the people really can make a difference in the world.”  Rodriguez has participated in numerous CIW actions and was also present for the large action at the Trader Joe’s Headquarters. 

Trader Joe’s has set a precedent that will hopefully encourage others in the food industry to increase their standards of labor practices.  “It shows the power of movements that are led by people who are most affected by the issue, in this case farm workers, and also the power of having strong allies,”  Tim Carlson adds.  “The supermarket industry better watch out.”   It’s inspiring to know that organizations like the CIW are diligently fighing for the rights of community workers by pressuring the food industry to create a more ethical and responsible relationship between their workers and products.”

Written by Zena Andreani for Media Roots

Photo by flickr user NESRI

MEDIA ROOTS — Americans currently suffer from one of history’s most successful propaganda campaigns. We are often distracted, numbed and herded into behaviors, thought patterns and policies that don’t serve our own interests, much less the interests of an endangered democracy.

Too often we are unconsciously manipulated by advertising ploys.  As a result, Americans succumb to the mundane: to mindlessly consume while paying attention to reality television.  Little do we realize how we are being controlled and steered away from actively participating in our democracy.   

Occupy Wall Street fights for the freedom that many of us are too apathetic to protect as we occupy our couches in front of our TV sets.  However, there are cracks appearing in the foundation beneath The Powers That Be, and if we are to seize this as an opportunity to better humanity, it will require adapting to an entirely new mindset. First, however, we must seek to fully understand how we got here.

Jim Quinn of The Burning Platform gives an excellent analysis to some of the complex issues plaguing American society, culture, and politics.

MR

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The Burning Platform — The erroneous notion that Americans have a choice between two political parties that offer distinct and clear opposing policies addressing the major issues facing our country is still perpetuated by politicians and the corporate media. It is untrue, as we have seen the Obama administration employ the same repressive methods instituted by the Bush administration. Military spending rises. Wars of choice proliferate and grow. Obamacare is virtually identical to a plan created by the leading GOP presidential nominee. Further restrictions, regulations and laws are put forth to keep the masses controlled, sedated and fearful. The governing elite and their propagators of misinformation are again formulating a false storyline to convince the easily fooled ignorant public that a sovereign country 7,500 miles from our shores is actually a threat to their lives. While our government has already committed acts of war against Iran (sanctions, assassinations, cyber warfare, and using drones to spy), the public is being worked into a bloodthirsty frenzy of nationalism. Bipartisanship worked so well with Iraq. How could it possibly go wrong with Iran?                      

In the last six months cracks have begun appearing in the fascist façade masquerading as a democratic republic. The rise of the Occupy Movement, increasing pain and discontent among the middle class, a small but vocal irate minority utilizing the internet to organize, inform and spread knowledge, and the growing support among the liberty minded for Ron Paul’s candidacy are the opening salvos in a coming revolution. The volleys being traded between the forces of the American aristocratic elite and the leading forces of this revolution are only the opening shots on par with Bunker Hill. The oligarchs have won the initial skirmishes with the Occupy Movement through their control of superior mercenary fire power and ability to falsify the message and nature of the protestors. The corporate mass media propaganda machine convinced an apathetic, non critical thinking public the protestors were nothing but dirty, lazy, college students looking for government handouts organized and led by George Soros. Journalist Robert Fisk reveals the true nature of the protests and rage:

“And that is the true parallel in the West. The protest movements are indeed against Big Business – a perfectly justified cause – and against “governments”. What they have really divined, however, albeit a bit late in the day, is that they have for decades bought into a fraudulent democracy: they dutifully vote for political parties – which then hand their democratic mandate and people’s power to the banks and the derivative traders and the rating agencies, all three backed up by the slovenly and dishonest coterie of “experts” from America’s top universities and “think tanks”, who maintain the fiction that this is a crisis of globalization rather than a massive financial con trick foisted on the voters.

The banks and the rating agencies have become the dictators of the West. Like the Mubaraks and Ben Alis, the banks believed – and still believe – they are owners of their countries. The elections which give them power have – through the gutlessness and collusion of governments – become as false as the polls to which the Arabs were forced to troop decade after decade to anoint their own national property owners. Goldman Sachs and the Royal Bank of Scotland became the Mubaraks and Ben Alis of the US and the UK, each gobbling up the people’s wealth in bogus rewards and bonuses for their vicious bosses on a scale infinitely more rapacious than their greedy Arab dictator-brothers could imagine.” – Robert Fisk, Bankers are the Dictators of the West

The mounting desperation of the oligarchs is palpable. They have circled the wagons as one of their leaders – Jon Corzine – was caught stealing $1.2 billion directly from the accounts of his customers after making reckless bets that went wrong and bankrupted his firm. The Department of Homeland Security coordinated brutality unleashed upon peaceful protestors in cities across America opened the eyes of more people to the approach of an increasingly oppressive state. The media lapdogs have come out in force with an organized smear campaign designed to derail the presidential campaign of Ron Paul, the only candidate talking about real change and a real downsizing of the American empire. Ron Paul’s platform of liberty, freedom, non-interventionism, sound money, and a government not controlled by bankers and corporate interests is anathema to the ruling elite of both parties. A vote for one of the hand selected candidates offered by the moneyed interests is simply a vote for the special interest status quo. As our economic system becomes more saturated with debt by the day a tipping point approaches.

Read more about the great American deception.

© 2012 The Burning Platform

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Photo by flickr user AZRainman