Something remarkably progressive is happening in one of the more repressive work environments in the United States.

Within the tomato business, an industry that has seen nine cases of slavery prosecuted in the past 15 years, workers’ rights are finally becoming a key ingredient in the recipe for a sustainable and just food system.

Thirty-three thousand tomato workers will benefit from the Fair Food agreement, signed in November 2010 by the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange, a cooperative of agribusinesses that grow the majority of Florida tomatoes, and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), who has fought since 1993 to improve working conditions for farm workers. CIW described it as a “watershed moment.”

Under the agreement, those 33,000 workers will now receive training sessions, a new safety program, regular breaks, a complaints line, a ban on all forms of sexual harassment – and the right to a minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. While that might not sound like a lot, it’s a real step forward.

Notably, the workers will also work with the growers group to determine what constitutes a full bucket of tomatoes – an important step in bringing employees into the decision-making process – and receive an extra penny per pound for direct sales. This can amount to a 50-percent raise.

Writer and former Gourmet editor Barry Estabrook wrote about his experience on the ground in tomato country in the aftermath of the new agreement. During that trip he was able to talk to workers about their reaction to the agreement. One noted:

“You cannot believe how big a change it has been…It’s like a time machine has suddenly whisked us from a Charles Dickens’ workhouse to an auto plant in the 21st century. The difference in attitude is great.”

A key battle was won, but the fight for workers’ right rages on. Though every major fast food chain and food service corporation agreed to the Fair Foods principles, only one supermarket chain has signed on – Whole Foods. It’s a blow to the workers’ cause. Supermarkets buy half of Florida’s tomatoes. Their decision not to sign on at this point represents lost wages for workers and undermines their ability to exert influence to encourage growers to stick to the agreement.

Still, the hope is that the American appetite for locally-grown produce will continue to burgeon and that workers earning fair wages will give Florida tomatoes an edge in the competitive global market.

“We are in tight competition with Mexican growers,” said Reggie Brown, executive vice president for the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange. “We provide the majority of the domestically grown fresh tomatoes for about seven months of the year. And if this is not a sustainable industry, then the U.S. will not produce tomatoes…then there’s no wages for anybody.”

Think about that the next time you bite into a tomato.

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