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70-574: Student/Farmworker Alliance ( SFA ) is a network of students and youth formally organized in 2000 in the United States. SFA campaigns for the improvement of working conditions in the agricultural fields of the United States. The organization cooperates with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), a membership-led organization of mostly Mexican , Guatemalan and Mayan Indian immigrants working in agricultural and other low-wage jobs throughout

140-423: A 15-year struggle for better pay and working conditions... The Immokalee victory won’t impose fairness overnight, but after generations of exploitation, part of the farm industry is pointing in the right direction." The Fair Food Program is a human rights monitoring and enforcement program designed to protect farmworkers’ fundamental human rights on participating farms by harnessing the purchasing power of more than

210-475: A 30-day hunger strike undertaken by six members in December, 1997– January,1998; and a 230-mile march from Ft. Myers to Orlando in 2000. By 1998, these protests "won industry-wide raises of 13-25% (an aggregate of several million dollars annually for the community in increased wages). Those raises brought the tomato picking piece rate back to pre-1980 levels (the piece rate had fallen below those levels over

280-708: A complaint with the Internal Revenue Service asserting the CIW "does not serve the public at large but instead a group of workers seeking concessions from their employers." The union watchdog requested that "the IRS examine CIW's Forms 990 for 2013, 2014, and 2015, and, if appropriate, revoke its tax-exempt status." The complaint was investigated by the Trump Administration Department of Labor and ultimately dismissed. In November 2007,

350-521: A cooperative complaint resolution system, a participatory health and safety program, and a worker-to-worker education process – to over 90% of the Florida tomato industry". Workers could receive an increase in annual wages from $ 10,000–12,000 a year to $ 17,000 if additional large buyers agree to the increase. In an editorial, the New York Times described the agreement as a "remarkable victory in

420-412: A crucial part of this grassroots coalition. As Taco Bell's target market (18- to 24-year-olds), they instead put a target on Taco Bell, making the boycott one of the fastest-growing campaigns for economic justice on campuses and communities throughout the country. Between 2002 and 2005, twenty-two high schools and universities removed or prevented Taco Bell restaurants and sponsorships as part of SFA's “Boot

490-508: A dozen of the world’s largest retail food brands. The CIW’s Fair Food Agreements with major food retailers provide for the enforcement of the Fair Food Code of Conduct through a multi-layered approach to monitoring and enforcement that features a 24/7 complaint investigation and resolution mechanism and comprehensive field and office audits. The CIW’s legally-binding agreements with participating buyers include two primary provisions:

560-465: A dozen retail food brands, from Taco Bell to Walmart , to compel compliance with a human rights-based code of conduct on participating farms. The Program was born in the Florida tomato industry and has spread to ten US states and Chile , including expansion into the cut flower industry and multiple additional crops, and incipient expansion efforts in South Africa and Mexico through the support of

630-619: A household in the CDP was $ 24,315, and the median income for a family was $ 22,628. Males had a median income of $ 17,875 versus $ 16,713 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $ 8,576. About 34.6% of families and 39.8% of the population were below the poverty line , including 46.1% of those under age 18 and 26.9% of those age 65 or over. The federally recognized Seminole Tribe of Florida has one of its six reservations here, Immokalee Reservation, on which it operates one of its gaming casinos. The Audubon Society 's Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

700-620: A labor relations professor at Rutgers University stated, ""This is the best workplace-monitoring program I’ve seen in the U.S.... It can certainly be a model for agriculture across the U.S. If anybody is going to lead the way and teach people how it’s done, it’s them." In the same article, Susan Marquis, dean of the Pardee Rand Graduate School commented on the FFP's effectiveness, noting, "When I first visited Immokalee, I heard appalling stories of abuse and modern slavery... But now

770-600: A portion of the CDP. All residents are zoned to Immokalee Middle School and Immokalee High School , both in the CDP. Immokalee is home to WCIW-LP , a low power community radio station owned and operated by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers . The station was built by volunteers from Immokalee and around the country in December 2003 at the fifth Prometheus Radio Project barnraising. WCIW broadcasts music, news, and public affairs to listeners in Spanish , Haitian Creole and several indigenous languages . WAFZ-FM (92.1 FM)

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840-510: A private investigative firm to provide information on the Student/Farmworker Alliance. As part of the announcement, Burger King's chief executive, John W. Chidsey, apologized for prior negative remarks directed towards the CIW and went on to praise the group's efforts. Subway , the largest fast-food buyer of Florida tomatoes, signed an agreement with the CIW six months later in December 2008. With this agreement, four of

910-485: A sliding scale, –       educating their customers about the Fair Food Program through the announcement of the partnership and material making an effort to source Fair Food Program produce if it is available to them from their distributors. The Sponsor Program has the potential to maximize the industry power of smaller food retailers to preserve the gains that the FFP has achieved for workers in

980-679: A vital emergency services information hub during the state’s many hurricanes over the past two decades. Most recently, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Radio helped raise awareness about the virus, prevention and good practices, as well as information about available health services established by the CIW in partnership with Doctors Beyond Borders , Partners in Health , and other organizations. Recent scientific evidence shows how CIW’s community-building efforts proved crucial to increasing trust and improve

1050-571: Is a full-power FM radio station licensed to Immokalee, Florida. The station plays a variety of hits in the Regional Mexican format. In the 1980s, WAFZ also played Tejano music on its sister station WAFZ-AM. In its beginnings WAFZ was WZOR-AM 1490 and played English-language adult contemporary music and news in the morning and until 3pm. Then it changed its format to Regional Mexican/Tejano. The early DJs who worked there were Gabino Soliz, "EL CHAVO ALEGRE", and Irma Ayala. The station continued on

1120-531: Is nearby. Being unincorporated, the area has no municipal government of its own and is governed by Collier County. Immokalee's public schools are operated by the District School Board of Collier County . Elementary schools in Immokalee and serving Immokalee include Eden Park, Highlands, Lake Trafford, and Village Oaks. Pinecrest Elementary School, outside of and adjacent to the CDP, serves

1190-732: Is no wage theft and that the Fair Food Premium is distributed properly on top of regular wages. The Fair Food Standards Council is based in Sarasota, Florida, and directed by a former New York State Supreme Court Justice. Corrective action plans are the building blocks for improving supplier compliance with the Code. Audit reports and complaint findings serve as the starting point for a conversation. The corrective action plans that follow are co-created with farms to address their unique circumstances. This contributes to supplier buy-in, as does

1260-633: Is steadily expanding to new sectors and new states. In 2020, the Program expanded to the cut flower industry in Virginia, California, and, since 2022, in Chile. The Program is planning further international expansion to South Africa and Mexico through support of the US Department of Labor. The CIW has developed an internationally recognized "worker-based approach to eliminating modern-day slavery in

1330-659: Is un-American when you get people outside your business to dictate terms of business to you." As a result of the FTGE's resistance, the penny-per-pound funds accrued during the stalemate were held in escrow. On April 15, 2008, the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) held hearings on "Ending Abuses and Improving Working Conditions for Tomato Workers" in which Reggie Brown claimed farmworkers earned an average wage of "between $ 10.50 and $ 14.86 per hour." Lucas Benitez of

1400-441: Is water. The climate in Immokalee is right on the border between a humid subtropical climate and a tropical climate , with the mean temperature in the coldest month, January, at 63.90 °F (17.72 °C) which is 0.54 °F (0.30 °C) below the 64.40 °F (18.00 °C) threshold for a tropical climate. As of the 2020 United States census , there were 24,557 people, 5,985 households, and 4,517 families residing in

1470-801: The Lesotho Agreements , and in the dairy industry in the state of Vermont through the Milk with Dignity Program . The CIW provides technical assistance to organizations that are interested in adopting the WSR model through an umbrella organization, the WSR-Network . Along with its campaigning and human rights enforcement efforts, CIW was a pioneer in the early days of the US anti-trafficking movement, uncovering several forced labor operations and collaborating with federal authorities in successful prosecutions in

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1540-806: The Southwest Florida Farmworker Project , was formed in 1993 in Immokalee (Im-AH-ka-lee), Florida, a center of the state's billion-dollar fresh tomato industry. The group's organizing philosophy is based on principles of popular education and leadership development, as epitomized in CIW’s motto “Consciousness + Commitment = Change”. Between 1995 and 2000, the CIW organized several major actions to protest declining real wages for tomato harvesters, as well as frequent violence from supervisors towards field workers. This period included community-wide work stoppages in 1995, 1997 and 1999;

1610-882: The US Department of Labor . A new channel for co-ops and smaller independent grocery stores to support the Program is expanding through the FFP Sponsor Program. The FFP also gave rise to the Worker-driven Social Responsibility model (WSR), which has been successfully replicated in the apparel industry in Bangladesh through the Bangladesh Accord (now the International Accord), in Lesotho through

1680-501: The #7 connects to Marco Island (limited trips), and the 8A circulates within the area. Immokalee used to be served by the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (formerly Atlantic Coast Line ), which ran a branchline from Palmdale through Immokalee to Everglades City . The line generated considerable agricultural-related traffic. The line was cut back to Sunniland south of Immokalee in the 1950s and then abandoned to

1750-508: The 1990s. Since then, the CIW has continued its anti-slavery efforts, collaborating with law enforcement in more than a dozen domestic and transnational slavery prosecutions, helping to free thousands of workers from slavery operations in the Southeastern US, and training state and federal law enforcement officers in what has come to be known as the “victim-centered” approach to fighting human trafficking. The CIW, initially called

1820-641: The Bell” campaign. By the boycott's end, dozens of additional campaigns were underway, and Taco Bell was unable to secure new campus contracts without fear of vocal student opposition. In the wake of the Taco Bell Boycott victory, the CIW focused in 2006 on the McDonald's Corporation , demanding better wages for the farmworkers providing tomatoes in their supply chain. On April 9, 2007, after two years of intense campaigning, McDonald's agreed to meet all of

1890-534: The CDP was 70.98% Hispanic (Of Any race), 18.03% African American , 3.19% White , 1.03% Native American , 0.20% Asian , 0.19% Pacific Islander , 35.66% from other races , and 6.38% from two or more races. There were 4,715 households, out of which 49.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.5% were married couples living together, 20.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.9% were non-families. 13.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.9% had someone living alone who

1960-506: The CDP. Immokalee's population was 24,154 at the 2010 census . It is part of the Naples – Marco Island Metropolitan Statistical Area . As of the census of 2000, there were 19,763 people, 4,715 households, and 3,635 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 2,449.1 inhabitants per square mile (945.6/km ). There were 4,987 housing units at an average density of 618.0 per square mile (238.6/km ). The racial makeup of

2030-548: The CIW and Senators Bernie Sanders (VT-I) and Dick Durbin (IL-D) disputed Brown's claim by citing contradictory evidence. The senators also scrutinized the legal basis for the FTGE's resistance to the Campaign for Fair Food. In November 2010, an agreement was reached between the CIW and the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange to implement the Fair Food Program – "including a strict code of conduct,

2100-515: The CIW developed a mobile Florida Modern-Day Slavery Museum that has extensively toured the southern and eastern U.S. One of the CIW's first accomplishments was to establish a cooperative to sell staple foods and other necessities at cost in order to combat price gouging by local merchants. CIW has owned and operated WCIW-LP (107.7 FM, "Radio Conciencia"), a low-power FM radio station that features music, news, and educational programming in several languages, since 2004. The station has served as

2170-401: The CIW reached agreements with Bon Appétit Management Company , Compass Group , Aramark , and Sodexo . In February 2012, the CIW and Trader Joe's "signed an agreement that formalizes the ways in which Trader Joe's will work with the CIW and Florida tomato growers to support the CIW's Fair Food Program." This was the first Fair Food agreement the CIW signed with a major food retailer in

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2240-479: The CIW's demands. As in the Taco Bell Boycott victory, youth and student organizing played a crucial role in the swift success of the McDonald's campaign. Coalition of Immokalee Workers Starting in 1993 from a foundation of farmworker community organizing in Immokalee , Florida , the CIW is best known today for its Fair Food Program (FFP), launched in 2011. The FFP harnesses the purchasing power of over

2310-502: The Fair Food Code of Conduct, including written and video education at the point of hire and at least two in-person, worker-to-worker educations, on the farm and on the clock, administered by a CIW worker education team per season. Working in a spirit of partnership with brands and growers, CIW and grower representatives regularly meet and collaborate to revise the Code and resolve concerns over its implementation. For instance, in

2380-639: The Fair Food Premium — a bonus paid by the retailers and distributed directly to farmworkers on top of their regular pay, to help improve longstanding poverty-level wages in the US agricultural sector — and the market-backed enforcement of the Fair Food Code of Conduct, through the suspension of purchases by the Participating Buyers from farms that have committed zero tolerance (e.g., forced labor) violations or else failed to remediate other violations (e.g., wage theft). Workers on participating farms receive multiple forms of education on their rights under

2450-402: The Fair Food Program is able to leverage further change within participating businesses, and serve as a model elsewhere in the world." In 2015, the CIW signed Fair Food Agreements with The Fresh Market and Ahold (parent company of Giant and Stop & Shop ). The Campaign for Fair Food is currently focused on Wendy's, in addition to several supermarket chains who remain uncommitted to

2520-541: The Fair Food Program, including Publix and Kroger . In March 2023, a group of around 100 farm workers launched a protest march across Florida to both pressure both Publix and Kroger to join the Fair Food Program, and to highlight their deplorable working conditions, including forced labor. The CIW innovative campaigning strategy has not gone unchallenged. For instance, in November 2017, the Center for Union Facts filed

2590-557: The Florida Tomato Growers Exchange (FTGE), an agricultural cooperative that provides its grower members with limited antitrust protection for marketing their products, announced that the Taco Bell/Yum and McDonald's deals "will not be executed and now are considered moot." Citing antitrust concerns, the FTGE threatened its members with $ 100,000 (~$ 141,598 in 2023) fines for cooperating with McDonald's or Yum Brands. One month later, FTGE Vice President Reggie Brown explained, "I think it

2660-594: The Program include: Immokalee Immokalee ( / ɪ ˈ m ɒ k ( ə ) l i / ih- MOK -(ə)-lee ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Collier County, Florida , United States. The population was 24,557 at the 2020 census, up from 24,154 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Naples–Marco Island metropolitan area . The region was settled by the Calusa people. It

2730-566: The Taco Bell Boycott, the Campaign for Fair Food shifted its focus to the rest of the fast-food industry. In response to the campaign, McDonald's helped create an industry-controlled code of conduct known as SAFE (Socially Accountable Farm Employers) that the CIW and its allies deemed insufficient. On April 9, 2007, an agreement between McDonald's and the CIW was announced at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia. The agreement, which met

2800-461: The US tomato industry and reduce the almost exclusive reliance on the industry power of corporate buyers as the source of the FFP supplier incentives for decent work. Currently, the Program includes three co-ops, one independent retailer and one restaurant –respectively, Takoma Park Silver Spring Co-Op (Maryland), Park Slope Food Coop (N.Y.C.), Three Rivers Market (Tennessee), Each Peach Market (D.C.) and The Trashy Vegan (Tennessee). The Program

2870-509: The aftermath of the 2010 breakthrough settlement with the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange. In January 2014, Walmart , the largest grocery retailer in the U.S., announced it was joining the Fair Food Program. In its agreement with the CIW, Walmart committed to help expand the Fair Food Program outside of Florida and into crops other than tomatoes. Alexandra Guáqueta, chair of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights, attended

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2940-418: The agricultural industry. The CIW helps fight this crime by uncovering, investigating, and assisting in the federal prosecution of slavery rings preying on hundreds of farmworkers. In such situations, captive workers are held against their will by their employers through threats and, all too often, the actual use of violence – including beatings, shootings, and pistol-whippings." The CIW is a founding member of

3010-454: The air until the mid-1990s, when it went silent until what is now WAFZ was bought by Glades Media Company LLC, and transmitted simultaneously what WAFZ-FM was playing (a regional Mexican format). The current format of WAFZ is a young Regional Mexican, playing newer top 40 hits of the genre. WAFZ's programming is also heard on WAFZ AM 1490 in Immokalee. Collier Area Transit provides local bus service and paratransit. The #5 connects to Naples,

3080-404: The change was ethical consumption. From this foundation, a national consumer-network enlisting students, faith organizations, food and environmental justice advocates, and socially responsible investors formed to hold retail food industry brands accountable for human rights abuses in their produce supply chains. The CIW launched a boycott of Taco Bell in 2001, holding the company accountable for

3150-513: The costs and risks imposed on them to those on the lowest rung of the supply chain: the farmworkers they employ." During the Taco Bell Boycott, the CIW worked closely with religious and community groups and a student network, the Student/Farmworker Alliance , to pressure Taco Bell from different angles. On March 8, 2005, Yum! Brands, Inc. , parent company of Taco Bell, agreed to all of the CIW's demands, including: After

3220-421: The course of the intervening two decades), but wages remained below poverty levels and continuing improvement was slow in coming." In 2000, a change in strategy gradually emerged, from one that looked exclusively at the farm level, with a focus on abusive farm bosses and farm owners unwilling to consider workers’ concerns, to an analysis that places much of the responsibility for degraded farm labor conditions at

3290-414: The essence of the CIW’s thinking: when major buyers such as Taco Bell leverage their volume purchasing power to demand discounts from their suppliers, they create strong downward pressure on wages and working conditions in these suppliers' operations. A 2004 study by Oxfam America confirmed this trend: "Squeezed by the buyers of their produce, growers pass on the costs and risks imposed on them to those on

3360-565: The face of rising heat-related health risks due to the effects of climate change , the Code has recently been updated to include mandatory breaks every two hours, increased monitoring of heat-stress prevention measures, education and training, and responding to heat-stress symptoms. Another example of how new standards are developed to timely address emerging challenges is the “FFP COVID-19 Illness Prevention, Assessment and Response Plan”. These protocols became effective in September 2020 and were

3430-445: The feet of the multibillion-dollar retail food corporations. According to this analysis, retail food giants leverage their unprecedented volume purchasing power to drive prices down at the farm gate, where falling prices are translated into downward pressure on farmworkers’ wages and working conditions by farms looking to maintain shrinking margins. The organization’s focus then moved from growers to retail companies, to be pursued through

3500-456: The first set of privately enforceable mandatory standards to protect farmworkers from COVID-19 in the U.S. The Fair Food Standards Council, an independent monitor set up by the CIW to monitor Code compliance, administers the 24/7 complaint hotline, provides ongoing third-party monitoring and annual auditing (including interviews with over half the workforce on-site), as well as ongoing reviews and payroll and timekeeping systems to ensure that there

3570-510: The harsh lives of migrant workers. Immokalee is in northern Collier County along Florida State Road 29 . LaBelle is 24 miles (39 km) north, and Interstate 75 ( Alligator Alley ) is 20 miles (32 km) south. According to the United States Census Bureau , the CDP has an area of 23.3 square miles (60.3 km ), of which 22.7 square miles (58.8 km ) is land and 0.58 square miles (1.5 km ), or 2.42%,

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3640-478: The housing situation. Today, CIW representatives sit in the board of the I mmokalee Fair Housing Alliance , a nonprofit with the mission to build affordable housing for 128 families. The CIW has received a wide array of honors and recognition, including: The Fair Food Program was the subject of a feature-length, front-page article in The New York Times on April 24, 2014. In this article Janice Fine,

3710-430: The implementation of accessible crisis response teams across the county, and increased transparency. As part of its engagement with the Immokalee community, CIW has long attempted to alleviate the dire housing conditions farmworkers have to endure, often having little choice but to live in crowded, over-priced, and even dangerous trailers. These efforts increased following Hurricane Irma in 2017, which further aggravated

3780-573: The independent monitor’s experience, and the efficiency gains from having a clear plan that sets priorities and realistic timelines for achieving them. The entire process is backed by the possibility of market consequences for the failure or refusal to comply with the requirements of the corrective action plan. Complaint resolutions closes the circle by providing for ongoing monitoring and enforcement. The independent monitor improves communication through effective and efficient resolution of workers’ complaints, free of retaliation, which in turn builds trust in

3850-459: The launch of a nation-wide campaign. In 2001, the CIW declared a national boycott of Taco Bell, marking the launch of the Campaign for Fair Food. The CIW argued that when major buyers such as Taco Bell leverage their volume purchasing power to demand discounts from their suppliers, they create strong downward pressure on wages and working conditions in these suppliers' operations. The Campaign’s key slogan—"Taco Bell makes farmworkers poor”—captured

3920-457: The lowest rung of the supply chain: the farmworkers they employ." During the Taco Bell Boycott, the CIW worked closely with religious and community groups and a student network, the Student/Farmworker Alliance , to pressure Taco Bell from different angles. The idea was that collaboration was built on a shared self-interest for desired change. For Immokalee farmworkers, that change was higher wages and improved working conditions. For their allies,

3990-515: The national Freedom Network U.S.A to Empower Victims of Slavery and Trafficking. Additionally, the CIW is a regional coordinator for the Freedom Network Training Institute on Human Trafficking (FNTI). In this capacity, the CIW trains state and federal law enforcement and NGOs on how to identify and assist people held in slavery operations. Other selected anti-slavery partnerships and collaborations include: In 2010,

4060-427: The program along with education and training for farmworkers to use at their jobs. The FFP Sponsor Program is a new entry point for smaller retailers who aspire to support ethical practices, meet the expectations of a committed shopper base, and help build a more just food system. Sponsors make three commitments under the program: –       making an annual support payment to the Fair Food Program based on

4130-410: The response of the local health system to a devastating pandemic. Following the killing of an unarmed farmworker, Nicholas Morales Besanilla, who was fatally shot by a Collier County Sheriff’s deputy on Sept. 17, 2020, CIW launched the “Justice for Nicolas” campaign. Decrying rising police brutality across the country, the campaign specifically asked for a federal investigation into Nicholas’s shooting,

4200-539: The signing ceremony and conveyed a statement on behalf of the Working Group. The statement praises the Fair Food Program for its "smart mix" of monitoring and enforcement tools, including "market incentives for growers and retailers, monitoring policies and, crucially, a robust and accessible mechanism to resolve complaints and provide remedy," adding, "Workers have no fear of retaliation if they identify problems." The statement concludes, "We are eager to see whether

4270-484: The situation in Florida, we felt that an agreement of this nature was in line with our core values and was in the best interest of the workers." The Whole Foods agreement marked the first time a retailer agreed to support the CIW initiative without extended public protests. Throughout 2009 and 2010, the Student/Farmworker Alliance's "Dine with Dignity" campaign targeted the foodservice industry since many of these companies operate on college campuses. During this period,

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4340-485: The standards previously set by the Taco Bell accord, also included a commitment by McDonald's to work with the CIW to develop an industry-wide third-party mechanism to monitor conditions and investigate abuses in the fields. In May 2008, at the U.S. Capitol, the CIW announced an agreement with Burger King . The world's second-largest burger chain had originally strongly opposed the campaign, even going so far as to hire

4410-493: The state of Florida. In March 2005, after four years of campaigning, farmworkers from the CIW and their allies scored a decisive victory in their national Taco Bell boycott. Yielding to growing pressure from the CIW, students, and other allies, Taco Bell and its parent company Yum! Brands conceded to all of the boycott's demands, agreeing to work with the CIW to improve the sub-poverty wages and working conditions of farmworkers in its tomato supply chain. Students and youth were

4480-411: The system and encourages workers to come forward. With its worker-centered approach to human rights monitoring and enforcement, the Fair Food Program was the first comprehensive, fully functional model of the Worker-driven Social Responsibility (WSR) paradigm. The Fair Food Standards Council recently released its 2021 Fair Food Program report , which includes updated statistics regarding the impact of

4550-467: The tomato fields in Immokalee are probably the best working environment in American agriculture. In the past three years, they’ve gone from being the worst to the best." The CIW recently released its 2021 Fair Food Program report, which includes updated statistics regarding the impact of the program along with education and training for farmworkers to use at their jobs. Further expressions of praise for

4620-425: The wages and working conditions of farmworkers in its tomato supply chain. The CIW argued that when major buyers such as Taco Bell leverage their volume purchasing power to demand discounts from their suppliers, they create strong downward pressure on wages and working conditions in these suppliers' operations. A 2004 study by Oxfam America confirmed this trend: "Squeezed by the buyers of their produce, growers pass on

4690-469: The world's largest fast-food companies were now supporting the campaign. The CIW and Chipotle Mexican Grill reached a Fair Food Agreement on October 4, 2012, after a six-year campaign by the CIW. In September 2008, the CIW broke ground in the supermarket industry by signing an agreement with Whole Foods Market . Karen Christensen, a Whole Foods executive explained, "We commend the CIW for their advocacy on behalf of these workers. After carefully evaluating

4760-453: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.91 and the average family size was 4.10. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 34.9% under the age of 18, 15.7% from 18 to 24, 31.2% from 25 to 44, 14.1% from 45 to 64, and 4.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females, there were 129.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 145.9 males. The median income for

4830-515: Was founded in 1872. In 1921, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad extended its Haines City Branch south to Immokalee. The railroad was removed in 1989. The Immokalee area is heavily agricultural. It is one of the nation's major centers of tomato growing. In 1960, CBS News anchor Edward R. Murrow reported on the region's farms' working conditions for his Harvest of Shame report for CBS Reports , which described

4900-667: Was inhabited by the Seminole centuries later, after they moved down from northern Florida. Initially the settlement was known as Gopher Ridge by the Seminole and Miccosukee nations. Immokalee means "your home" in the Mikasuki language . When the swamps were drained in the region, agriculture became the dominant industry. European-American hunters, trappers, Native American traders, cowmen, and missionaries moved in before permanent villages developed. The first permanent settlement

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