Central Coast protesters boycott large berry supplier
“Boycott, Driscoll’s, boycott Driscoll’s.”
About 20protesters turned outon Freedom Street and in front of Mi Pueblo in Watsonville, a grocery store that sells Driscoll’s products, which is a leading berry supplier.
“To end the child slavery as well as the sexual exploitation slavery,” said Tina Lemoine, with the Sacramento Brown Berets.
Protesters have a list of complaints against the family-owned business, from using child labor to bringing women from parts of Mexicoto work in their fields.
“Because we eat that food we should care about the conditions they live under,” said Michael Gasser, with the Santa Cruz Climate Action Network. “I mean they’re our brothers and sisters.”
On its website Driscoll’s says it has zero tolerance for practices that include child labor, forced labor and human trafficking, among other things.
Protesters also claim Driscoll’s is paying workers unfair wages.
“How do you expect these people to live off of that?” said Lemoine. “The reality is they’re not expected to live, they’re expected to make that money.”
Protesters also said they are speaking out against unsanitary working conditions.
“Farmworkers are living inside of shacks with no running water, no toiletry, no nothing like that,” said Michael Garcia with the Watsonville Brown Berets.
Driscoll’s CEO Kevin Murphy released the following statement:
“We are incredibly disappointed that the protest efforts led by Ms. Gracida Martinez continues tounfairly target Driscoll’s with secondary boycotts, dissemination of misinformation and false accusations, including those regarding the heavily regulated use of pesticides, child labor and abuse of workers. We take our responsibility seriously when it comes to how our independent growers treat their farm workers. –
The simple truth is Driscoll’s has and will continue to demonstrate leadership in the agriculture industry by facilitating initiatives and standards which support socially responsible business practices, including worker welfare.-
Our worker welfare standards, which place a premium on worker safety and feature a zero tolerance policy towards the use of child labor and the abuse of workers, are built upon those introduced by global labor organizations and can be found atwww.Driscolls.com/workerwelfare. In addition, to ensure these standards are followed, a process for audits and assessments is in place for our network of independent growers.-
Ms. Gracida Martinez has declined several invitations to meet with Driscoll’s global leadership team to discuss her concerns. We will always welcome the opportunity to meet and learn from any advocacy groups who have authentic concerns about labor working conditions. Ultimately, we have a vested interest in supporting vibrant communities for everyone involved in the Driscoll’s business enterprise.”
We reached out to Mi Pueblo but have not heard back from the grocery store chain.
