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Events, News Roundup

Prayer vigil held at Publix for agricultural workers for justice in the fields

Posted by Atecia Robinson ⋅ April 26, 2012 ⋅ Leave a Comment

Photo by Atecia Robinson

The prayer vigil, organized out of a local evangelical social justice conference, was joined by members of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. Both groups once again asked the multimillion dollar company Publix to join the Fair Food Campaign, in which large food chains agree to pay one penny more per pound of food picked by immigrants and improve working conditions.

As Publix consumers watched, evangelical leader Brian McLaren, who was recently spotlighted by “Time” as on of the world’s most influential evangelicals, said he hoped making a profit would not stand in the way of justice, and that the disagreement between the CIW and Publix would not lead to a boycott.

Afterward, Publix managers surrounded the protesters but did not interrupt the prayers. They did call the police, who asked the protesters to leave, which they did, without creating an episode.