Picketing in Support of the Driscoll's Berries Boycott at Santa Cruz Whole Foods

Community members in support of the farmworkers who grow Driscoll's strawberries organized an informational picket outside of Whole Food Markets in Santa Cruz on February 26. Demonstrators are calling for the boycott of Driscoll's Berries and Sakuma Bros. Berries, as well as Häagen-Dazs brand ice cream.

The boycott of Driscoll's has been initiated in response to the poor treatment of the farmworkers who grow the berries in San Quintín, Mexico, as well as at Sakuma Bros. Berry Farm in Burlington, Washington.

Michael Gasser, a Santa Cruz based organizer in support of the boycott, has said that the primary demand is for Driscoll's to negotiate a fair contract with the workers' unions, which so far the Watsonville based company has been unwilling to do.

Workers in both San Quintín and Washington are calling for an increase in workers wages and benefits, in addition to other demands. In Washington, workers are demanding that no children or youth be allowed in the fields who are younger than 17 years old. In San Quintín, workers are calling for an end to sexual harassment in the fields.

In March and April, the workers' unions are organizing a tour of the west coast to raise more information about the boycott, and to build solidarity wth other food justice movements.

"Don't Buy Driscoll's"

Berries, including Driscoll's, are prominently displayed at the Whole Foods