Report
On The Mt. Olive Pickle Boycott By The Farm Labor Organizing Committee
And
Migrant Farm Worker Conditions In North Carolina And In the United
States
SUMMARY
In March of 1999,
the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC), a union representing farm workers, announced a
boycott of the products of Mt. Olive Pickle Company, a North Carolina based processor of
pickles and related cucumber products. To date, the boycott has received the endorsement
of over 200 organizations, with the religious community representing a significant number
of these endorsements. While the Governing Board of the National Council of the Churches
of Christ (NCCC) has not considered endorsement of the boycott, several of its offices and
related agencies and organizations have supported this action. The Board of Agricultural
Missions formally endorsed the boycott at its annual meeting in May of 1999 and again
adopted a resolution reaffirming its support at the 2000 annual meeting. The resolution of
the 2000 annual meeting also mandated that a delegation of staff and board visit North
Carolina to study the issues. This report is the result of the delegation’s four-day
visit.
The conditions
under which migrant farm workers labor continue to be very difficult, unhealthy and
dangerous. Already low wages have declined over the past two decades, and health and
safety standards are not being enforced resulting in illness and injury due to pesticide
poisoning and accidents involving equipment. Grower provided housing is for the most part
substandard and sanitary conditions are often below legal requirements, both in the fields
and in living quarters. Child labor laws are frequently ignored on many farms. The
conditions in North Carolina are not unique and exist in almost every state that host
migrant farm workers.
As a group, farm
workers are specifically excluded from legal protections afforded other workers in
relation to minimum wage, overtime and holiday pay, workmen’s compensation, health
insurance and child labor. The minimal standards and protections offered by federal and
state agencies are often not enforced as the regulatory agencies are severely understaffed
and under-funded. Farm interest groups that oppose improved standards have a very strong
lobby in both the state and federal legislative processes. Because of language barriers,
ignorance of their rights, isolation, fear of retaliation and intimidation, farm workers
do not protest or file complaints. Migrant farm workers are a very vulnerable –though
essential- work force. Exclusion from the political process further reduces their ability
to influence legislation.
FLOC is seeking
to negotiate a contract with the Mt. Olive Pickle Company on behalf of the workers who
produce cucumbers used by the company. To date, the Company has refused to negotiate with
union representatives. In refusing to negotiate, the CEO of Mt. Olive, William Bryan,
maintains that his company does not employ farm workers and should not be held responsible
for their working conditions. It is Mr. Bryan’s position that the decision to
negotiate with the union should be up to the suppliers and growers who are independent of
Mt. Olive. FLOC is advocating for a three-way contract, involving the processor,
growers/suppliers and the union, similar to those negotiated with Campbell’s Soup and
Vlasic Pickles on behalf of farm workers in Michigan and Ohio. FLOC maintains that Mt.
Olive exerts considerable influence over its cucumber suppliers and growers and benefits
from the system that exploits farm workers and that the company has the power and
influence to change conditions.
Over the past
five decades, the Governing Board of the NCCC has issued several policy statements and
adopted numerous resolutions supporting justice for farm workers. The NCCC has also
supported consumer boycotts aimed at improving the conditions of farm workers including
the iceberg lettuce boycott, the grape boycott and the boycott of Campbell’s Soup.