Those Photos Are Not To Thank Farmworkers, They're To Penalize Them
"My mom and family work for Gerawan Farming AKA 'Prima.' Those labels aren't put on the boxes to give packers recognition, but [to] penalize them for improperly packed fruit."
A tweet about fruit boxes featuring photos of the farmworkers who packed them has been blowing up on social media.
"Costco reminding you who you owe your fruit to," the tweet reads. But the reality behind these smiling photos is sinister.
Costco reminding you who you owe your fruit to ✌????????????.
— @DCHomos (@DCHomos) July 6, 2020
Good morning to these ladies and these ladies only. pic.twitter.com/OYEgv9Kr3D
According to comments from social media users, many of them farmworkers themselves, Gerawan Farming, also known as Prima, the company featured in the photo, isn't attaching pictures of their workers to thank them, but rather to penalize them if they make mistakes.
"My mom and family work for Gerawan Farming aka 'Prima.' The labels aren’t put on the boxes to give packers recognition but to hold them accountable and penalize them for improperly packed fruit," tweeted YungReckless16.
"They’re a dogsh*t company that overwork their employees. Don’t give them praise pls."
My mom and family work for Gerawan Farming aka “Prima”. The labels aren’t put on the boxes to give packers recognition but to hold them accountable and penalize them for improperly packed fruit. They’re a dogshit company that overwork their employees. Don’t give them praise pls. https://t.co/fw2EPz6RC3
— R☄️ (@YungReckless16) July 8, 2020
And Pima isn't the only one. Apparently, this is a common practice - as is the exploitation of farmworkers.
"I used to work as a farm laborer and whoever I met that used to work for Driscoll they said they were treated like absolute sh*t. They would regularly 'mispunch' workers boxes so workers wouldn't get paid by the amount of piecework they had done," commented Facebook user Anallely Marcial Armenta.
Farmworkers, many of them undocumented, are especially vulnerable during this time of crisis. They work long hours, for criminally low wages, with insufficient protections, all the while being targeted by the current administration.
They feed us, let's protect them.
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