Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Tampa Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.
Lakeland, FL – On March 19, Kieanna Garrett was found guilty on the bogus charge of resisting arrest without violence and was immediately taken into custody. This charge is tied to the day that Kienna was stopped by a group of plain-clothed cops who threw themselves in front of her vehicle, guns drawn, yelling to, “get out of the fucking car.” This is the same day that Kieanna was brutalized by Dillon Cornn, a Lakeland Police Department Officer that has a recorded history of stalking, harassing, and terrorizing Lakeland community members and who is currently under a gag order for perjury in court.
Lakeland, FL – For almost five years farmworkers in Immokalee, organized by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), have been fighting for higher wages from Publix Supermarkets. Immokalee, located in southwest Florida, grows many crops, including tomatoes and oranges. The city is home to many migrant farmworkers mostly from Mexico and Central America. Publix, whose headquarters is in Lakeland, Florida, is a multi-billion dollar corporation with over 1000 grocery stores throughout the South.
Lakeland, Florida – La Coalición de Trabajadores de Immokalee (Coalición), grupo que defiende los derechos de 4 mil trabajadores de tomate en Florida, tuvo una mega protesta de alrededor de 1000 personas, que tomaron las calles y marcharon 10 kilómetros para exigirle a la compañía de Florida, Publix, que respete sus derechos laborales.
Lakeland, FL – After a six day fast, members of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) broke bread with 1000 supporters to protest the Publix food corporation un-fair treatment of its workers, March 10. The CIW is a group of Latin American and Haitian farm workers and tomato-pickers fighting against modern day slavery and for living wages. Presently, the Immokalee Workers are putting pressure on Publix Supermarket for not paying a penny more per pound of tomatoes. Publix is mainly located in Florida but also has stores in Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama.
Lakeland, FL – Over 1500 farmworkers and their allies gathered throughout the weekend of April 16-18 to fight for an end to slave-labor practices and for higher wages in south Florida.
