
          Chiquita Boycott
          By StaffStaff
          Vol. 1, No. 9, 1979, pp. 8
          
          The United Farm Workers Union (UFW)has called for a boycott of
Chiquita bananas. Farmworkers in the southewestern U.S. are on strike
agains a number of lettuce growers, including Sunharvest and Chiquita
bananas. The bananas, with their familiar trade name, have been chosen
as the boycott target. A boycott with national impact will help
persuade Sunharvest/United Brands to negotiate in good faith with the
union.
          The main issue in the strike is wages. The employers insist on no
more than a 7 percent wage increase, looking to Carter's wage
guidelines to support their position. The farmworkers point out,
however, that the price for a crate of lettuce has gone up 110 percent
in the last year, and that for employers to stick to 7 percent wage
guidelines with these kinds of price increases is ludicrous. Also,
wage guidelines do not apply to those who earn less than $4.00 an
hour. Many farmworkers do earn less than $4.00 hourly. The current
minimum wage in UFW lettuce contracts is $3.70; their proposed
increase is to $5.25.
          Local work is starting around the boycott. Potential future
activities include the forming of delegations to approach grocery
stores, inform them of the boycott, and ask that they not stock
Chiquita bananas. Funds also need to be raised to send to the Imperial
Valley in California. More than 3000 farmworkers are in the fourth
month of their strike. Money raised will go to the strike fund that
supports the workers and their families. Anyone interested in this
work can contact Norma Chandler at 763-0183.
          
            Reprinted from the Circuit Rider, Atlanta,
Georgia.
          
        