Support tobacco farmworkers March 1 in Cary

Keeping up the pressure on Reynolds

A 2011 report by Oxfam America and the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) documented horrific abuses in North Carolina's tobacco fields including heat-related death, child labor, wage theft, and decrepit housing.

But you can take action toward ending abuses in North Carolina's tobacco fields! Here's the deal:

• The Pantry, Inc. owns Kangaroo convenience stores, the largest convenience store chain in the South.
• Pantry’s tobacco sales are the end of a supply chain that exploits tobacco farmworkers.
• We will be gathering in front of Pantry, Inc. headquarters with a banner and delivering a letter to their CEO insisting that The Pantry weigh in more forcefully with Reynolds to make sure labor rights for farmworkers are guaranteed.

What: Peaceful gathering and letter delivery to up the pressure on Reynolds American
When: Friday, March 1, 2013 at 3:15 PM
Where: 305 Gregson Dr, Cary, NC 27511

Reynolds American is on the defensive as they negotiate with FLOC in multi-lateral talks. A union of farmworkers and an AFL-CIO affiliate, FLOC knows the only way to improve working and living conditions is to empower farmworkers through their union to bargain a contract. What is true on the shop floor is true in the fields. Collective action - not corporate promises without accountability - is how working people can improve their lot on the job.

Farmworker leaders are doing everything they can to bring these talks to a successful conclusion, which would be a formal grievance process and collective bargaining rights. But FLOC can't do it without the help of farmworker supporters – individuals and organizations. That means having a presence in upcoming public actions, since farmworkers themselves cannot leave the fields.

Will you answer the call to action?

For more info, contact Justin Flores ([email protected]), Ana Maria Reichenbach ([email protected]), or FLOC's Triangle area volunteer, Dave Austin ([email protected]).