Congratulations, Walmart!

Walmart gets criticized for a lot of things, but today they deserve major applause for a courageous decision: to join the Fair Food Program launched by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers.

Quotable:

This afternoon, at a ceremony held under a watermelon packing shed on a tomato farm outside of Immokalee (photo above), Walmart and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers signed an historic agreement for the world’s largest retailer to join the CIW’s Fair Food Program, the widely-acclaimed social responsibility program that is bringing real, measurable change to the men and women who harvest tomatoes for Florida’s $650 million tomato industry. As part of the agreement, Walmart will work with the CIW to expand the Fair Food Program beyond Florida and into “other crops beyond tomatoes in its produce supply chain.”

It’s an important and encouraging day for all who care about justice. Congratulations to the CIW for their tireless and passionate work, thanks to Walmart for making a big step in the right direction, and a question for the major corporations (like Publix) who are still refusing to join the program … How about now?