HW1 Post 1 Narrated Video

The March for Rights, Respect, and Fair Food; Publix at Walden Woods, Plant City, FL; Friday, March 15th, 2013.



This is a clip from a video taken at the fair food march protest in front of the Publix Supermarket at Walden Woods, in Plant City, FL, on March 15th, 2013.  Editing, narration, and publishing to YouTube was completed using Microsoft Movie Maker.  The clip shows protesters picketing on the sidewalks on both sides of the street in front of the Publix shopping center.  Protesters holding signs, flags, and banners, listen to musicians singing and playing their instruments from the back of a banner decorated flatbed truck.


Video Transcript:

This is a video of a small segment of the March for Rights, Respect, and Fair Food; which took place between March 3rd and 17th, 2013. This protest march covered the 200 miles between Ft Myers and Lakeland Florida. We are looking at the afternoon of Friday, March 15th, 2013; when the protest stopped in front of the Publix Super Market at Walden Woods, in Plant City, FL. At this interval, protesters waved signs, chanted, and celebrated with music.

Protesters included farm workers, worker’s advocates, students, and other concerned community members. Timing coincided with two of the typical weeks for college spring breaks, allowing for the obvious presence of college students. This afternoon was the last Friday for Florida State University’s spring break.

While the majority of marching protesters held signs encouraging Publix to join the Fair Food Program, musicians played instruments and sang from the back of a flatbed truck. Passing vehicles were flanked on both sides by the protestors. For Publix, joining the Fair Food Program would mean purchasing their tomatoes sourced from participating farms and paying an extra penny per pound of tomatoes to support higher wages for tomato pickers. Participating farms are required to have a zero tolerance policy for forced labor and sexual assault, to allow for onsite education of workers as part of their paid time, to instill an approved complaint resolution mechanism, to maintain health and safety committees, and to prove compliance through ongoing auditing.

Despite the efforts of these protesters, Publix has refused to join the Fair Food Program.