Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has placed himself squarely on the side of worker justice and fair pay for Florida's farm workers. After two years as governor, Crist did the right thing and met with representatives of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. His commitment to ending slavery in Florida is long overdue.

In his meeting with representatives of the CIW, Governor Crist took three very important steps. He firmly placed his voice in support of the CIW's Campaign for Fair Food and thus a fair wage for farm workers. He announced his unconditional support for humane and civilized treatment of Florida farm workers and the elimination of slavery anywhere in Florida. He encouraged the Florida Tomato Growers to cooperate with the CIW.

Certainly, as Governor, Crist can have an immediate effect on eliminating the worker abuse, investigating the lax enforcement of housing standards in Immokalee and as he noted, ending slavery and "eliminating this injustice anywhere in Florida". Whether Crist can move the members of the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange to follow his example and do the right thing is yet to be seen.

The CIW's Campaign for Fair Food targeted the corporate buyers of Florida tomatoes: Taco Bell (part of YUM Brands) and later McDonald's, Burger King, Subway and Whole Foods. The demands: worker rights, zero tolerance for slavery and a penny more per pound of tomatoes, paid by the corporate buyers and passed directly to the workers.

One can assume that Crist is under political pressure from Florida's entrenched agribusiness interests to ignore the situation, yet Crist noted after the meeting that he was concerned by the "injustice and arrogance" at work. If the governor truly wants to partner with the workers, he will use his influence to make sure the growers do their part and honor the penny-a-pound agreements negotiated by the CIW.

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