|
What oligopoly power means for labour rights and the future of workers in agriculture
More than half of the world's population, from supermarket cashiers in Argentina to subsistence farmers in Zimbabwe, still goes to work every day in the global food system. Whether their struggle is to eke out another meal for their hungry children or to build a viable business for the future, all of these workers are affected by corporate consolidation and concentration in the agribusiness and retail sectors.
As more and more farmers are forced from their land by the buying power of the agribusiness oligopoly -- and in developing countries, by the collapse of domestic markets under pressure from "dumped," subsidized imports from Europe and North America -- many are forced to migrate, and often find themselves working in slave-like conditions for large landowners or corporate farming operations. Despite the legendary organizing efforts of Cesar Chavez that began more than four decades ago, far too few consumers are aware of the struggles of farm workers in the United States, much less the working conditions of their colleagues around the world.
Along with many other job-seekers, displaced farmers and migrant workers also find their way into meat-packing plants and food processing factories. Their experiences there shed light on three dramatic consequences of corporate control of the food system: unsanitary conditions in food preparation, unsafe working conditions for employees, and restrictions on the exercise of full labor rights for these processing workers.
Like low-wage workers around the world, from strawberry pickers to maquila machinists, many employees of the world's dwindling number of supermarket chains face a difficult choice -- accept a job with low wages, few benefits and no union, or face the prospect of unemployment? Walmart, now the world's largest food retailer, invests heavily in thwarting the efforts of retail workers to organize to improve their working conditions.
Throughout the food system, the implication of corporate consolidation is clear: highly concentrated capital uses its strength to exploit workers, from the fields to the factory to the frozen food section of your local supermarket.
|
