Mar 9, 2009 7:33 am US/Eastern
DeFede: Charlie Crist Snubs Slavery Foes
TALLAHASSEE (CBS4) ―
Inside the headquarters for the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, folks broke into small groups Friday preparing for the long drive to Tallahassee and a protest planned for Monday morning. For more than a year, the Coalition – which has advocated on behalf of farm workers since 1993 – has been requesting to meet with Gov. Charlie Crist only to be rebuffed on every occasion. Tired of waiting, they are taking their request for a meeting directly to the governor's doorstep.
"First and foremost we want to help the governor understand that slavery is a real and serious problem both for us and for the image of the state of Florida," said Lucas Benitez, co-director of the Coalition. "And it is a problem he has a unique power to solve as governor."
Benitez argues the governor has not done enough to improve conditions in the fields and that recent statements made by government officials in Tallahassee downplay the seriousness of the issue.
Slavery is not a foreign concept in Florida as several recent court cases have shown. Just a few blocks from where Benitez and I spoke, was the Navarrete property, where the twelve men were held prisoner between 2005 and 2007 and forced to work in the neighboring fields picking tomatoes. The men were routinely chained, beaten and abused.
In December three members of the Navarrete family were sentenced to twelve years in prison. At the time, Florida Department of Agriculture spokesman Terence McElroy tried to downplay the whole affair by telling The News-Press in Fort Myers: "Of course, I say any instance is too many, and any legitimate grower certainly does not engage in (slavery), but you are talking about maybe a case a year."
There were several problems with McElroy's statements. First, it seemed to suggest that Florida was doing well because there was just a little bit of slavery occurring. But the larger problem was that it betrayed an ignorance that Benitez and others say is far more dangerous.
The fact that only one case gets prosecuted a year, doesn't mean there was only one instance of slavery taking place during the year. Prosecutors and investigators maintain that these cases are exceptionally difficult to bring into court because victims are highly reluctant to testify. They are not only afraid of what will happen to them here in this country but the people responsible for trafficking in human beings can reach back into the victim's home country and threaten their family members.
"So the question is how many more cases of slavery does the governor need before he opens his eyes and meets with us to deal with the problem," Benitez asked.
Slave crews exist, Benitez explains, because growers refuse to pay fair and decent wages and they are willing to turn a blind eye to what is happening all around them. The large growers avoid responsibility by subcontracting fieldwork to crew bosses who they know are cutting corners to make a profit.
"The state and the Agriculture industry has a very close relationship," Benitez said, "and there are a number of ways to leverage that relationship to change this behavior."
The Coalition has been leading a fight for years not just against the growers but also against the large chains that buy their produce. They waged a long fight against Burger King, which recently ended with the fast food giant agreeing to pay a penny more for a pound of tomatoes. Similar agreements were reached with Taco Bell and McDonalds.
Coalition members have testified before Congress and helped write many of the anti-slavery laws on the books today. They also regularly train law enforcement on what to look for when investigating a slavery or human trafficking case.
Which makes Crist's refusal to meet with the Coalition rather amazing. Usually the governor is smarter politically about diffusing these sorts of issues. Why not smile, meet with the Coalition and try to glad hand his way out of it?
"Does he think we are going to carry some sort of stench of pesticides from the fields into his office," Benitez said with a smile.
Or maybe he is afraid he might actually have to do something to address a problem as ugly as any he will ever encounter.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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