UPDATED: Aramark signs agreement with CIW

Last updated: April 2, 10:55 a.m.

Aramark, FGCU's exclusive on-campus food provider, has signed an agreement with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers that requires the corporation to address the wages and working conditions of local area farmworkers.

By signing this agreement, Aramark will join a growing list of food industry corporations that are a part of the CIW's "Campaign for Fair Food." Burger King, Taco Bell and McDonald's are among the companies that have already signed.

The Campaign is part of a local grassroots movement to change the way the tomato industry treats farmworkers and to increase their "sub-poverty wages," which the CIW claims have remained stagnant for more than 30 years.

As part of the agreement, Aramark will follow a CIW-created supplier code of conduct and will pay a 1.5 cent "premium" for every pound of tomatoes they purchase, according to a joint press release.

"We have addressed the concerns about these issues with our major suppliers and, amongst other things, have put the processes in place that will demand greater transparency in our purchasing channel," Robert Dennill, associate vice president of Corporate Responsibility for Aramark stated in the press release.

The decision comes less than a month after FGCU's Student Government Senate passed a resolution that asked Aramark to enter into negotiations with the CIW, 21-8. The Faculty Senate passed the same resolution earlier this year.

Nationally, other universities asked Aramark to do the same.

In early March, the CIW and its partners brought their travelling modern-day slavery museum to the university to spread awareness on the issue. University President Wilson Bradshaw and his Vice President of Finance, Joe Shepard, were among the visitors who toured the exhibit.

Bradshaw stated he was "pleased" that an agreement had been reached.

"The agreement announced today is a great example of what can be accomplished through earnest dialogue. I also am proud of our students for engaging in thoughtful, civil discussions about the issues, which is what civic engagement at a university is all about," he said.

Student Body President, Isaac Roman, said he encourages all types of positive communication between service providers, administrators and students.

"I am pleased to see the voice of the students being heard and acted upon. I look forward to future progress," Roman said.

Ray Huston, the Aramark representative at the university, declined to comment.

"I will let this statement suffice for me," Huston said.

Despite the success, the CIW is already focused on another corporation: Publix.

In mid-April the CIW and its member organizations will be hosting a march to Publix Headquarters in Lakeland to put pressure on the supermarket chain to follow suit with companies such as Aramark.

"Social responsibility takes genuine, sustained engagement with workers and growers, and a determination to support with increased business, those growers who agree to comply with the highest standards," Lucas Benitez, a leading member of the CIW, said in the joint Aramark-CIW press release.

Allison Gagliardi contributed to this report.
Check back with Eagle News for more coverage and updates.

--------------------------------------------- For more information about the organizations involved visit the following Web sites:

CIW Web site: http://www.ciw-online.org/

CIW YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/CIWfilms

ARAMARK Web site: http://www.aramark.com/

Student-Farmworker Alliance Web site: http://www.sfalliance.org/

Interfaith Action: http://www.interfaithact.org/

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ARAMARK AT A GLANCE

Incorporated: 1959 Headquarters: Philadelphia Employees: 124,000 Sales: About $5.2 billion

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COALITION OF IMMOKALEE WORKERS AT A GLANCE

Established: 1993 Headquarters: Immokalee, Fla. Members: About 4,000 Budget: Relies on donations, non-profit organization

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FARMWORKER FREEDOM MARCH

Who: The Coalition of Immokalee Workers and its supporters What: A three-day march calling on Publix Supermarkets to join the "Campaign for Fair Food" When: April 16 to 18 Where: Kick-off in Tampa on Friday, end at Publix Headquarters in Lakeland on Sunday

For more information or to register visit http://www.ciw-online.org/freedom_march/

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FROM THE EAGLE NEWS VIDEO ARCHIVES

"Fighting for Fair Food" (Oct. 2009) Reporter: Maria Barbero
"Students Gather for Farmworker Rights" (Oct. 2009) Reporter: Alejandro Oquendo