Fair Food Austin: César Chávez March: Saturday 3/28

March 7, 2009

César Chávez March: Saturday 3/28

March starts at 10am
A. B. Cantu Pan Am Rec Center
2100 E. 3rd Street

Speakers, poetry, music and dance at 11am-1pm
Mexican American Cultural Center
600 River Street

Sponsored by PODER, MACC, Southwest Key, UT MEChA, La Nueva Raza, Grassroots Leadership, ACLU of Central Texas, Resistencia, ATX National Hip Hop Political Convention, El Jardin Alegre, Theater Action Project, Austin Voices, Young Scholars for Justice, Alma de Mujer, St. Edwards Ballet Folklorico, Capoeira da Rua, Urban Roots, Fair Food Austin

Who We Are

Since 2001, Fair Food Austin has organized with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) for fair wages and dignified working conditions in the U.S. agricultural industry. The CIW is a farmworker organization headquartered in Immokalee, Florida with over 4,000 members. The CIW has aided in the prosecution by the Department of Justice of six slavery operations and the liberation of well over 1,000 workers.

We use creative methods to educate consumers about the human rights crisis farmworkers face and to promote the Campaign for Fair Food. The campaign requires large food corporations -- from Taco Bell to Whole Foods -- to demand more humane labor standards from their Florida tomato suppliers, to pay a premium price for more fairly produced tomatoes, and to buy only from growers who meet those higher standards.

Brutal conditions in Florida's fields may seem distant to consumers deep in the heart of Texas, but many of the restaurant and supermarket chains that have helped create this crisis are present in our community and buy Florida tomatoes at some point during the year. Human rights are universal, and by working together, farmworkers and consumers can create a better world.