Tomato Workers Protest

Local labor organizations, coalitions, and other groups joined 60 farm workers from the Immokalee, Fla.-based Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIO) in Boston to pressure Stop & Shop stores for a raise. The protesters were asking for a penny-per-pound raise, citing unsafe working conditions and less than minimum wage pay. Romeo Ramirez, a worker with CIO, says, “In order to make minimum wage for a typical 10-hour day you would have to fill a [32-pound] bucket about every four minutes.” Nine other companies, including Burger King and McDonald’s, have recently agreed to CIO’s propositions.