Food Chain Workers Alliance and the HEAL Food Alliance
Declare Solidarity with the 2018 U.S. Prison Strike
Yesterday, prisoners across the United States launched a nation-wide strike demanding an end to prison slavery, poor living conditions, and death by incarceration. The strike began on the death anniversary of George Jackson, a former Black Panther and a leading voice of the 1970s prison movement, and is expected to last for 19 days, ending on the anniversary of the Attica prison uprising.
The strike was called in response to the death of seven incarcerated individuals and a prison-wide lockdown resulting from inhumane living conditions at Lee Correctional Institution in South Carolina in April.
In a statement made by members of the organizing group Jailhouse Lawyers Speak, ten demands were listed, including a call to end compulsory labor for meager wages, a widespread practice in the U.S. prison system that strike organizers call a modern form of slavery. The call demands “An immediate end to prison slavery. All persons imprisoned in any place of detention under United States jurisdiction must be paid the prevailing wage in their state or territory for their labor.”
Over 30,000 incarcerated people work in farming or food-related positions, many making less than a dollar a day, often under difficult labor conditions. In some cases, these incarcerated workers are producing or preparing food for consumption in their prison facility, and in others, they are harvesting produce or manufacturing value-added products for profit-driven corporations. These practices are rampant across the prison system, in public and private prisons, including immigrant detention centers, and is a legacy of the U.S. slave economy.
Read the full article here
NEWS FROM THE FRONTLINES
Yesterday, prisoners across the United States launched a nation-wide strike demanding an end to prison slavery, poor living conditions, and death by incarceration. The strike began on the death…
A report on restaurant industry trends by Food Chain Workers Alliance in collaboration with the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United. This study aims to portray the primary aspects and practices of the high-road restaurant industry nationwide in relation to their supply chains, as well as to describe what it means to be a good food business, why it matters, and how policy can direct more companies to embrace these practices.
Eating Well announced the winners of the 2018 American Food Heroes Awards and our very own Joann Lo and Jose Oliva were among the 12 award recipients. “To select the…
Congratulations to our co-directors Joann Lo & Jose Oliva! On Monday October 23, 2017, Joann and Jose received the James Beard Foundation’s 2017 Leadership Award at a special dinner in New York City. …
Following a Department of Homeland Security ICE probe, officials at Tom Cat Bakery in Long Island City fired dozens of immigrant workers. The workers had spent years building the city’s oldest artisanal…
B&J’s is first company to join “Milk with Dignity” supply chain program From our member group Migrant Justice: After years of negotiations and public campaigning, Migrant Justice and Ben &…
Member Organizations
VOICES OF THE FOOD CHAIN
Voices of the Food Chain is a project of the Food Chain Workers Alliance and Real Food Media to capture and share stories of the country’s 20 million food workers in their own words. Including voices of farmworkers, warehouse workers, meatpackers, line cooks, restaurant servers and more, the project features conversations recorded with StoryCorps, black and white portraits, and a video on the current challenges and victories at the intersection of labor and food. Voices of the Food Chain is part of a growing national movement to bring justice to all workers along the food chain.