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Friday, October 31, 1997

Berries aren't always sweet

LABOR: ASUCLA should join the fight for more equitable work conditions

By Andres Martinez

Strawberries: What comes to mind as you think of strawberries? Do you think of milkshakes, cakes, desserts in general? Have you ever thought about the working and living conditions of the people that pick this delicious, yet backbreaking fruit? Probably not, since rarely do we think about where our food comes from. However, the living and working conditions of the people who put the food we eat on our plates are atrocious and can be compared to slave labor.

The strawberry industry in California is booming - $522 million worth of berry sales last year. Of all the fresh strawberries shipped in the United States, 75 percent came from California in 1995. The strawberry industry has consolidated in California's Central Coast, the heart of the strawberry country, into eight corporations which are making tremendous profits. The profits are very lopsided. For example, workers who pick berries for the Gargiulo Co., which is linked to the Monsanto Corp., typically receive about $8,500 a year, while officers in Monsanto receive over $1 million.

While these strawberry barons are feasting, the people who pick their fruits are suffering. Lack of fresh drinking water, pesticide-coated fields, filthy bathrooms, and chronic back injuries sustained during 12-hour workdays are common hardships endured by workers. This is the harsh reality that many of us will never undergo. Another forgotten aspect is the fact that child labor still exists. Governmental agencies that regulate the law are largely "underemployed" (or corrupted by corporate power), yet it is not difficult to see children and young teenagers forced to work full-time in the fields. The law clearly prohibits child labor, while also requiring fresh drinking water and clean bathrooms in every field.

According to the California Institute for Rural Studies, an independent research organization, 5 cents per pint would increase piece pay rates for most strawberry workers by at least half. Just 5 cents can dramatically affect a workers' life by allowing him to make a living wage and therefore support his family.

As conscientious people, we are faced with the task of helping strawberry workers by educating others about their issues. The United Farm Workers union has been at the forefront of unionizing and supporting strawberry workers since the early 1990's. The UFW has campaigned to unionize the workers. They have also pressured many large-scale corporations to endorse strawberry workers' rights by accepting that the workers are a vital part of the food-production system. Many companies have agreed to support workers' rights, which include a living wage, proper field sanitation, job security, health insurance, and an end to sexual harassment and other abuses. Among these companies are Vons, Ralphs, Lucky, and other supermarkets. The corporations endorsing the pledge are encouraging the multimillion-dollar strawberry industry to recognize the basic rights of workers.

On a more local level, MEChA de UCLA is advocating for ASUCLA to agree to these same rights for workers. The student-run operations of

ASUCLA should join the strawberry workers' struggle because this is an issue of grave importance, especially when you are dealing with 20,000 strawberry workers who are earning incomes below the poverty line and are facing corporate greed with little or no defense. The workers and their families are facing a future filled with poverty and a lack of progress, as well as a very hostile antilabor trend in the 1990s. By having ASUCLA sign on to the strawberry campaign, the berry industry can reconsider how much support the workers have throughout the country and in this manner possibly convince the strawberry industry to change their exploitative and criminal ways in dealing with the workers. We must let the strawberry industry know that students are concerned and we will not tolerate these injustices. Should this massive exploitation continue unchecked, or should we, as conscientious people, support strawberry workers and their rights to fight for dignity and respect? This is more of an ethical question than an option.

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