Catherwood LibraryILR School

One of the major tomato growers in the United States, Pacific Tomato Growers has agreed to a penny-per-pound surcharge for buyers of their tomatoes. The agreement is a victory in a decade-long campaign by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a Florida farm-workers group that is trying to increase pay and provide better working conditions. The group has been pressuring companies that buy large amounts of tomatoes to sign agreements that will have them pay more for tomatoes, so that workers can be paid more. The group has gotten Taco Bell parent company Yum! Brands, McDonald's, Burger King, Whole Foods and others to sign fair-trade agreements. Pacific Tomato Growers said that the signed the agreement with the farm-workers to help end abuses of workers, and to encourage other growers to do the same. A spokesman for a growers' group said that the surcharge will increase prices for consumers and that the workers have inaccurate information.