Members of Congress Join CIW in Campaign to End Modern Day Slavery and Sweatshops in America’s Fields

On the heels of the 200th anniversary of legislation banning the transatlantic slave trade in the U.S., members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney and Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights (RFK Center) Director Monika Kalra Varma will join farmworkers from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) in a ceremony outside the U.S. Capitol to kick-off a national petition drive to support human rights and eliminate modern-day slavery in America’s produce fields. The petition demands that Burger King and food industry leaders work with the CIW to improve the wages and conditions for the workers who pick their tomatoes, and join an industry-wide effort to eliminate modern-day slavery and human rights abuses from Florida’s fields. Members of Congress, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), and supporters will publicly sign the petition. The event will take place at 10:30 am Thursday, March 13th in the Senate Swamp, near Constitution Ave and Delaware Ave NE across from the Russell SOB. Supporters can learn more about the petition drive at http://www.ciw-online.org/2008_Petitions/index.html

KJ