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One penny more

(article, Culinate staff)

Barry Estabrook's shocking report on tomato-worker slavery in Florida appeared in Gourmet magazine nearly two years ago. But the issue hasn't gone away. Estabrook, who continues to cover the story on his blog, Politics of The Plate, recently reported that the Coalition of Immokalee Workers successfully fought for a raise of a penny per pound of picked tomatoes. That may sound pitiful, but as Estabrook noted, "When you pick a ton of tomatoes a day, as a Florida farm worker can, one penny represents a raise from $50 and $70, the difference between poverty and a livable (though still paltry) wage." Check out, too, the CIW's provocative video released as part of the one-penny-more campaign.