On its website, Trader Joe's writes, "We keep our costs low — because every penny we save is a penny you save." But the lines of "we" and "you" have been grossly blurred when it comes to Trader Joe's and its labor practices. Not to condemn the low-cost, high-taste grocery giant, but neglected in its website's profusion of pronouns are the workers who toil in the fields to ensure that NYU students and millions of Americans are well-fed.
What is not ensured, however, is that these workers are treated well. Yesterday, the Community Farmworker Alliance NYC, the Student/Farmworker Alliance and other activist groups gathered outside the Trader Joe's in Union Square to protest the wages and working conditions of tomato harvesters in Florida.
Joining worker's rights trailblazer Coalition of Immokalee Workers, the NYC activist groups underscored the farmworkers' demands that Trader Joe's add one cent more to the farmers' wage for every pound of tomatoes he/she picks.
As consumers of Trader Joe's, we feel that the company should acknowledge this demand and remain vigilant when dealing with worker's rights. The farmworkers in question make between $7,500 and $10,000 annually — a figure that many of us can agree is disproportionately low for such a labor-intensive vocation. Adding one cent to every pound does little harm to the purse of Trader Joe's. To its loyal farmers, however, this cent-per-pound addition can make a world of difference in providing the everyday essentials they already struggle to obtain.
The CIW has already made tremendous strides in working with McDonald's, Taco Bell and Burger King to gain higher wages, better working conditions and continued diligence in identifying workplace abuses. There is no reason that Trader Joe's — a company that, in its "Careers" section, states that "quality benefits play a vital role in promoting the health and well-being of our Crew Members and their families" — can't give its farmworkers the same respect it gives to its in-store employees. As is, Trader Joe's is essentially saying that tomato farmers in Florida and their families do not deserve these types of benefits.
We feel that what is most disappointing is the unwritten credo of Trader Joe's and how it has been betrayed by the company's refusal to acknowledge the workers' demands. As consumers of its Union Square branch, we feel that we are strongly drawn to the store due to its reputation as an environmentally friendly and socially conscious corporation. Its recent behavior, however, has been anything but socially conscious and instead appears more irresponsible, avaricious and careless.
With its continued neglect of field worker's rights, the "we" and the "you" on the Trader Joe's "About us" page becomes more of a figure of PR fluff than a set of values by which the company abides. In doing so, the company is jeopardizing the set of corporate and consumer principles it has fought for years to solidify.
