Reply #4: Battle flares over Fla. tomato pickers' wages, living conditions

[babylonsister]

Battle flares over Fla. tomato pickers' wages, living conditions
By Lesley Clark | McClatchy Newspapers

* Posted on Tuesday, April 15, 2008


WASHINGTON — Delivering a victory to farmworker groups that complain of paltry wages on Florida farms, senators said Tuesday they'll ask federal investigators to determine whether migrant farm workers are being paid as much as the tomato industry claims.

The call to have the Government Accountability Office investigate came as Sens. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, pledged to back efforts to boost pay and improve working conditions for thousands of migrant workers picking tomatoes throughout Florida.

"This is the beginning, this is not the end,'' said Sanders, who toured the Florida farming community of Imokalee in January and said he found the living conditions "deplorable.'' He said the committee was likely to push for greater protection of farmworkers, including changes to federal trafficking statutes.

Sanders also questioned the tomato industry's contention that tomato pickers make an average of $12.50 per hour. Most farms guarantee workers at least a minimum wage of $6.79, but pay them based on the number of buckets picked. For every 32-pound bucket, the worker gets a token typically worth 45 to 50 cents.

"We have broken ground on this issue,'' Sanders said. "We are going to stay on this issue.''

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