Each morning when I wake up, I know exactly what my day will consist of, as do many of you. There are days that I attend classes, days that I work, and days (though few and far between) that are set aside for relaxation. Although sometimes I feel like there is a lot on my plate and doubt I can pull through trying times, I have to recognize that all and all my life is pretty awesome.
There are people in this world who when awaking for the day, don’t have the luxury of knowing exactly what their day will consist of or the time to revel over minor stressors in their school, work, or family lives. These individuals must spend their morning making sure that they can support themselves and their families through another day. Fortunately, I have gotten to meet several individuals who have opened my eyes to some of the inequities in our world. Farm workers in Immokalee have shown me that I should be grateful for each day I am working and interacting in a setting where I am treated with dignity in safe conditions because for many of them, who live just 45 minutes from my home, this is not the case. But as we have learned… they are fighting.
On Sunday November 15, 2010, several classmates and I attended a “peaceful protest” outside of a Publix grocery store in Naples to join with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and Interfaith Action in fighting for a more just future. We protested Publix in order to put pressure on the corporation to sign on to the coalition’s Pennies per Pound campaign. And though the corporation has yet to sign on and accept the requests of both the farmworkers and many of it's loyal customers, the coming together of people from all different backgrounds and beliefs to fight for the rights of other human beings was truly inspiring.
Seeing the protest, being a part of it, lent me the opportunity to truly consider what it was we were fighting for, why the workers were truly there. Is it simply money fueling the fight or do the unjust conditions of the workers play a role? What exactly are the workers wanting to take back and what about our society has made it possible for people to work under such unjust conditions?
Then I realized, it's all of it. We live in a world and work under a system where labor is seen as a commodity and the laborer is not valued or connected with her/his work. Theorist Karl Marx wrote extensively about this phenomena, the idea that in order to "enhance human life beyond material necessity" one must realize their "species being," or "potential for creative and purposeful activity through work." The workers in Immokalee pick tomatoes everyday, and for many of them this work lasts the majority of their lives. But the workers will never see the fruits of their labor. It is nearly impossible to follow the course of the tomatoes from picker, to grower, to supplier, and even if a worker could, it is unlikely that s/he would ever know who finally got to eat it.
And when we consider this, the fact that there is such a lack of connection between the laborer and the fruit of her/his labor, it becomes clear that workers are not only coming together for better pay but also are fighting for better lives. If each individual can become connected with their work and understand what is at the end of the production line they are participating in, it lends them the opportunity to make a change in that production line. They can go to the source, like the CIW has with Publix and demand fair wages and working conditions. They can benefit by passing these things on to their families and their strong values on to future generations. And most of all, they can make a change in the world by sharing their lives and experiences with others. The farmworkers in Immokalee are recognizing the "species being" that Marx discusses and it shows in their everyday actions. I hope, with them, that their actions will also help to create a more just world.
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