Corporations love to sell us our Passover story

by: Mae Singerman

Fri Mar 26, 2010 at 15:43:39 PM EDT

A lot of people think the problem with “our generation” is that we’re too into irony. For example, I have a fanny pack and someone asked me if it was ironic and I wasn’t sure. It’s hard to even know what’s “authentic” these days.

But, what about when things are ironic, but the entity creating the irony doesn’t even realize/care? I guess that means their authentic identity is just phony/hypocrite. For example, if you’ve ever visited your grandparents in Boca Raton (and I know you have), you’ve gone to Publix. It’s a huge grocery chain, making $622.3 million in the first half of 2009. They have Passover ads celebrating the Jewish peoples’ “perseverance and faith”. What's ironic about this?

The ironic part is that while a multi-billion dollar corporation is selling the Jewish exodus story back to us, they’re turning their eyes from a federally prosecuted slavery operation uncovered on the very two farms where they buy their tomatoes, a short drive from their headquarters.

In December 2008, local tomato bosses pled guilty on slavery charges for holding workers against their will, at times brutally beating them, chaining their feet to posts and locking them at night within cargo trucks. Publix has repeatedly acknowledged that they buy from the tomato farms where the enslaved men were forced to work and refuses to join competitor Whole Foods in taking a stand by cutting their purchases from the farms.

The Coalition of Immoklaee Workers (CIW) have been trying to get Publix to go along with an agreement that is becoming an industry standard- Pay a penny more per pound of tomatoes picked and work with the CIW to ensure cases of slavery, mistreatment and wage-theft don’t get overlooked. It would be a marginal cost for Publix’s billions for them to actually stand up against worker mistreatment. But the campaign’s been on for months and I haven’t heard a peep from Publix.  

So, Publix, though run by 60+ year old dudes might be the masters of a kind of irony that “my generation” hasn’t mustered yet. Hopefully, we’ll keep our irony to fanny packs and 80s clothes and away from mass exploitation of workers. Chag Sameach.