Tobacco Workers Urged to Rally

Source from:  October 26, 2007 Staff Reporter 11/02/2007

Tobacco farm workers from Surry County are being urged to take part in a march Sunday on the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. headquarters in Winston-Salem. The purpose of the march and rally is to "bring justice" to North Carolina workers who harvest tobacco sold to RJR, Lauren Mendoza, a spokesperson with the AFL-CIO in Toledo, Ohio, said Friday. The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations - an international association of labor unions - is promoting the event along with the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC). Organizers are encouraging tobacco workers, union members and supporters from across the region to join Sunday's march and rally in order to bring "dignity and respect" to the workers, Mendoza said. Participants are scheduled to assemble at 3 p.m. at Lloyd Presbyterian Church at 748 Chestnut St. in Winston-Salem. From there they will march to the R.J. Reynolds headquarters at 401 N. Main St. "There will be workers from all over North Carolina" in attendance, Mendoza said. In addition, representatives of more than a dozen churches in the state are expected. The event seeks to bring attention to what organizers describe as "slave-like hardships" suffered by field hands. They list such conditions as long hours of stoop labor in the fields, harassment in their work, unsatisfactory housing and exposure to lethal nicotine and pesticides, blamed for nine deaths in recent years. Thousands of workers fall victim each year to "green tobacco sickness," caused by overexposure to harmful chemicals in tobacco leaves, but often receive little or no medical attention, labor leaders say. The vast majority of North Carolina farm workers are not covered under workers compensation insurance. The plans for Sunday's rally and march were triggered by the refusal of Susan Ivey, the CEO of Reynolds American, to discuss the harsh conditions and the need for a safe working environment with FLOC President Baldemar Velasquez, according to the AFL-CIO. In declining to meet with farm worker and religious leaders about the problems, Ivey has cited the fact that R.J. Reynolds does not directly employ the workers in question. However, the FLOC strategy in such matters has been to expose the "vertical control" companies have over their procurement systems, which the organization says has allowed it to bargain for changes involving all parties in the supply chain. Mendoza added Friday that labor supporters believe such action is needed because the issues affecting workers have been "completely ignored." Organizers consider it a long-overdue campaign to bring attention to a moral disgrace that largely has escaped the public eye. Enditem