Jump to full article: AFL-CIO blogs, 2009-11-12
Author: James Parks AFL-CIO NOW BLOG |
Intro: Students at the University of Florida (UF) and the University of Central Florida (UCF) spent last Saturday morning raising their voices for justice for tobacco workers. Chanting�"Justice now!" and holding signs that read "Hasta la Victoria" ("Onward to Victory"), dozens of students marched and rallied on UF's Gainesville campus.
The students joined members of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC), the Student/Farmworker Alliance and the National Farm Worker Ministry to demand justice for tobacco farm workers in North Carolina who suffer low wages and poor working conditions at the hands of Big Tobacco.
The rally followed a UF Student Senate resolution calling for a pay increase and better treatment of Immokalee farm workers, who pick the tomatoes used by Aramark, UF's food provider. "Somebody's got to fight for social justice," said UF junior Justin Wooten.
The students and activists wanted to send a message to Susan Ivey, CEO of Reynolds American, the parent of R.J. Reynolds, the nation's second-largest tobacco company. Ivey has refused to meet with FLOC members
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