Kangaroo customers throughout North Carolina and South Carolina have been visiting their local Kangaroo stores to voice their concern over working conditions in NC tobacco fields, and to call on Kangaroo to meet with concerned consumers and then convey their concerns to Reynolds. Consumers have been delivering letters to the store managers, asking them to …
(From Chris Stella, FLOC Organizing Intern) On September 26th, 2013, a contingent of community activists gathered in front of the Kangaroo Express on Green Valley Road in Greensboro, NC. Supportive motorists honked as they drove by. Groups represented were UNCG NC Student Power Union, Greensboro ISO, Greensboro IWW, NCAE and Organize 20/20. A letter was …
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On Saturday August 17, FLOC hosted AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Schuler for a Camp Solidarity visit. Accompanying her were five organizers from the United Steel Workers, representatives from the NC AFL-CIO, President of Farmworker Justice Bruce Goldstein, and several other FLOC supporters and allies. Mr. Goldstein and FLOC attorney Bob Willis, who have played an integral …
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In July, 2013, Bill Moyers sat down with President Velasquez to talk about FLOC’s strategy to organize tobacco farmworkers in the South, and how large tobacco companies can play a role in protecting labor rights for farmworkers in their supply chain. Now you can watch the full episode online! Click below to watch the video. …
Read more “FLOC President Baldemar Velasquez featured on Bill Moyers Show”
On Saturday, June 8, 2013 FLOC hosted Camp Solidarity for delegates from various organizations and unions in North Carolina, including the N.C. AFL-CIO, A. Philip Randolph Institute, Alliance for Retired Americans, Amalgamated Transit Union, the Triangle CLC and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. These organizations have been strong FLOC allies in years past, …
Read more “Labor Allies Pledge Support to NC Tobacco Farmworkers”
FLOC and allies March on Reynolds Shareholders Meeting and Demand the Company do More Than Talk Farmworkers and their supporters turned out in full force on May 9 at the Reynolds American 2013 Shareholders Meeting. At one of the largest and most energetic events since the beginning of the campaign, over 300 people including labor, clergy, students, …
Press Release April 14, 2013 Contact: Robert Willis, RWillis@rjwillis-law.com, 919-821-8031 Farm Labor Organizing Committee, AFL-CIO Endorses Immigration Reform Compromise with Labor Protections for Farmworkers FLOC founder and President, Baldemar Velasquez, pledges support for bi-partisan compromise between farmworker unions, growers associations, and a bi-partisan group of Senators. Toledo, OH – After FLOC members joined with the …
Following a historic agricultural season, in which FLOC members used the collective bargaining agreement and grievance procedure to solve over 700 questions, complaints, grievances, and employment bids, forty rank-and-file leaders gathered in Monterrey for two days to plan for the 2013 season. The meeting was energetic and highly politicized, …
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On behalf of thousands of concerned consumers, the A. Phillip Randolph Institute (APRI) wrote to 7-Eleven in October, 2012, asking the company for a meeting to discuss what the company could do to respond to consumer concerns and be a part of improving conditions for NC tobacco farmworkers. Although the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility policy …
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On Friday March 1st, 2013 a group of UNC and NC State students, along with union leaders and community leaders visited The Pantry Inc, (parent company of Kangroo) headquarters to express their concerns about human rights violations of tobacco farmworkers in North Carolina and the South. Madeline Miller and Catherine Crowe, both students at UNC-CH …
Read more “Customers visit Kangaroo Headquarters to demand rights for Tobacco Farmworkers”