Spirited Actions in Leamington Demand Justice for Migrant Workers
March for migrant workers' rights, Leamington, June 28, 2020.
On Sunday June 28 actions were held in Leamington,
Ontario to show the support of the working people of Ontario for
agricultural workers in the Leamington-Kingsville area, a centre of
greenhouse growing and packing operations in Essex County. The actions
were organized by Justice for Migrant Workers and local youth, and were
joined by working people of many ages and backgrounds.
 A
long line of vehicles set out from the Walmart parking lot and drove
past a number of agri-food workplaces. People painted messages on their
vehicles or attached signs to them in English and Spanish expressing
solidarity with migrant workers and demanding their rights be upheld
and guaranteed. Many members of local unions flew their flags from
their car windows and carried them in the march following the caravan.
Among them were flags from the Canadian Union of Public Employees,
Canadian Union of Postal Workers, Ontario Public Service Employees'
Union, Canadian Office and Professional Employees, Ontario English
Catholic Teachers' Association, Elementary Teachers' Federation of
Ontario, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Unifor, the
Windsor and District Labour Council and the Ontario Federation of
Labour. Among those participating in the caravan was OFL President
Patty Coates.
The caravan drove past many greenhouses, horns honking
in a show of solidarity, aware that workers were inside some
buildings despite it being Sunday. Many drivers the caravan passed
honked their horns as well, signalling their support for workers who
are an important part of their community. One of the large operations
on the caravan’s route was the multinational cannabis giant
Aphria, as well as a greenhouse operation it has a joint venture with
Double Diamond Farms. A bunkhouse for migrant workers employed by
Double Diamond Farms was the subject of a video that has been
circulated widely showing how 12 workers are forced to live in cramped
quarters with only cardboard and thin cotton sheets separating their
bunks.
The caravan ended at the Big Tomato, a landmark in downtown Leamington where participants rallied and shouted slogans.
Elizabeth Ha, an activist with Justice for Migrant
Workers and OPSEU member who is on the Windsor and District Labour
Council Executive was the caravan's main organizer. She said a lot of
people in the community didn't really know about the conditions migrant
workers have faced for a long time, but as a result of the pandemic
they were starting to see those things now. She said the caravan and
march let the workers know the community stands in solidarity with them
and wants to thank them. They are essential workers. But, said Ha, they
don't have the same rights that we do. She said the government needed
to make changes and cannot keep avoiding it.
A March for Migrant Workers'
Rights followed the caravan, organized by local young women activists. It
went through the streets of Leamington with participants shouting
slogans and displaying signs and banners. It ended with a rally outside
Lakeside Produce, another of the large greenhouse, packing and
distribution
operations. There organizers held a speak-out denouncing the Ontario and Canadian governments for their support for
the exploitation of vulnerable workers in this sector. They
specifically demanded an accounting for the $15 million the
Ontario government gave greenhouse operators to purchase PPE for
their
workers, which some workers report their employers are forcing them to pay for.
Speakers denounced the entire agribusiness sector that is based on the super-exploitation of migrant and
undocumented and poor workers, pointing out that whether in meat
processing or vegetable processing, the industry is based on
exploitation and
is not sustainable, referring to calls from some quarters that a
solution to problems in agribusiness or those related to climate change
lies in moving from meat-based to plant-based foods and production.
Speakers also informed the crowd about the three migrant workers from
Mexico who had died of COVID-19, humanizing them by
repeating their names and appealing to everyone to consider them like
they would their own family.
This article was published in
Number 46 - July 2, 2020
Article Link:
Spirited Actions in Leamington Demand Justice for Migrant Workers
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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