A Simple Lesson about the Power of Collaboration

• Published date: 01 July 2014
• Author: David Wang
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12253
• Date: 01 July 2014

Perspective

David Wang retired in 2010 as senior

operating partner of Atlas Holdings. In

1991, he retired from International Paper

Company, where he served as executive vice

president and was a member of the board

of directors. Prior to joining International

Paper, he worked for Union Carbide

Corporation in various capacities, including

director of corporate development and

vice president and general manager. He is

member of the National Advisory Council

of the School of Engineering and Applied

Sciences at George Washington University

(GWU). He received a bachelor of science in

mechanical engineering from GWU and a

master of science in mechanical engineering

from Georgia Institute of Technology. He

has been a long-time supporter of and

advisor to the Coalition of Immokalee

Workers (CIW).

E-mail: sumjohns@indiana.edu

444 Public Administration Review • July | August 2014

Public Administration Review,

Vol. 74, Iss. 4, pp. 444. © 2014 by

The American Society for Public Administration.

DOI: 10.1111/puar.12253.

David Wang

This is the story of a grassroots farmworker

advocacy group, which, through perseverance

and ingenuity, forged an improbable alliance

of tomato buyers, growers, and farmworkers, bringing

life-changing benef‌i ts to Florida’s tomato pickers.

 e Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW)

began life 20 years ago in the hardscrabble town

of Immokalee, in the heart of Florida’s growing

f‌i elds, with a mission to improve the livelihood of

farmworkers.

Several years later, an epiphany came to the cofound-

ers of the CIW—Greg Asbed, Lucas Benitez, Laura

Germino—and several other farmworkers who have

since moved on: the power to help farmworkers

resides with the buyers and not the growers of toma-

toes, a ref‌l ection of the power of corporate purchas-

ers of many commodities. From this, the “penny per

pound” concept was born. Basically, buyers would

pay an extra $0.01 per pound for tomatoes, which

would be passed on directly to farmworkers. With the

current “bucket rate” for farmworkers at about $0.016

per pound, that “penny per pound” is a life changer

for farmworkers but not an exorbitant burden for

consumers.

Over the past decade, the CIW has won over corporate

buyers, one after another. By 2013, major fast food res-

taurants, food service companies, and many supermar-

kets had signed on. Equally important, Florida’s tomato

growers also joined this partnership of buyers, growers,

and farmworkers. A key initiative of this partnership

was the establishment of the Fair Food Program, which,

besides “penny per pound,” provides standards and

audits for the fair treatment of farmworkers.

Earlier this year, Walmart Stores Inc. became a part-

ner, a landmark event given Walmart’s position in the

supermarket segment. Even more, Walmart, having

understood the CIW’s “business model,” has expressed

interest in extending this model to their other agricul-

tural purchases.

Twenty years after the CIW movement began, the

Fair Food Program is f‌i nally in place. When fully

implemented, for thousands of Florida tomato

farmworkers, “penny per pound” translates into a

life-changing 60 percent wage increase. (Although,

partly because of the seasonal nature of the work, it

only raises average annual income from $10,000 to

$16,000.  e U.S. Census Bureau reports that the

2013 poverty threshold for a two-person household

is $15,600.) Equally important, farmworkers now

truly have a constructive voice in how they are treated

in the f‌i eld. Looking toward a more distant future,

the CIW is working with Walmart on their broader

vision, which, if implemented, could af‌f ect a far

greater number of agricultural workers throughout

America.

Over these same 20 years, the CIW’s modus oper-

andi has evolved from adversarial to collaborative.

 roughout, the CIW was the grateful recipient of

two streams of encouragement, f‌i nancial support

from several foundations and church groups, and

recognition and honors from the United Nations,

U.S. Department of State, Robert F. Kennedy Center

for Human Rights, Roosevelt Institute, and Prince

Charles of the United Kingdom. But none of the

above is as rewarding as the signs of hope on the faces

of the countless tomato pickers.

While the good-faith partnership among buyers,

growers, and the CIW that created the Fair Food

Program may have been a rare occurrence in the

annals of labor relations, it presents a model that

others may follow. Walmart is far from the only cor-

poration that could improve its image and its reality

by treating workers more fairly and generously.

Direct government intervention is not the only

strategy for achieving meaningful improvements

in the lives of underpaid workers. Perhaps govern-

ment could help corporate leadership recognize the

benef‌i ts that may accrue from such collaborations

with advocacy groups. Enlightened self-interest may

do the rest.

A Simple Lesson about the Power of Collaboration