United Methodist agency joins pickle boycott

Jan. 12, 2004

WASHINGTON (UMNS) — The United Methodist Board of Church and Society has joined a boycott of the Mt. Olive Pickle Co., based in North Carolina.

In a close vote Jan. 8, the agency’s executive committee confirmed an earlier decision of the full board to participate in the boycott, which also has been endorsed by the National Council of Churches, United Church of Christ, Alliance of Baptists, American Friends Service Committee and other organizations.

"The executive committee expresses its deep appreciation to the (United Methodist) North Carolina Annual Conference for its efforts to bring the Farm Labor Organizing Committee and the Mt. Olive Pickle Co. together," said Bishop S. Clifton Ives, board president, in a statement, "but the executive committee recognizes that significant movement toward resolution has not been made since the board cast its vote last fall, and therefore implementation of the boycott is an appropriate response."

The executive committee reiterated the ongoing concern that progress in resolving the labor dispute be made as soon as possible and asked a monitoring team to report back by July 1 as to whether conditions for the farm workers have improved.

During its General Assembly last November, the National Council of Churches voted to officially boycott both Mt. Olive Pickle and Taco Bell, the council’s first boycott action in 15 years. The United Methodist Church is among the council’s member denominations.

The council’s action was aimed at pressuring Mt. Olive into negotiating for improved wages and working conditions for the farm workers who produce the cucumbers that Mt. Olive processes for its products.

The boycott against Taco Bell was launched in 2001 by the Coalition of Immokalee (Fla.) Workers after the company refused to address charges of exploitation in the fields of its tomato suppliers.

A Church and Society delegation, led by Bishop Joel Martinez, visited North Carolina in 2000 to investigate the situation with Mt. Olive. The company, owned by a United Methodist, produces the largest-selling brand of pickles in the Southeast. Using the denomination’s "Guidelines for Initiating a Boycott," the team recommended that the agency join the boycott if Mt. Olive retaliated against a grower or failed to negotiate "in good faith" with growers and workers by March 15, 2001.

In its Jan. 8 statement, the Board of Church and Society identified several key issues to be addressed: (1) minimum standards for living and working conditions; (2) mechanisms for protection of workers; (3) ways to provide an independent voice of workers; (4) collective bargaining; and (5) registration and training of crew leaders.

The board’s executive committee pledged to continue to work with the North Carolina Annual Conference, the Farm Labor Organizing Committee and the Mt. Olive Pickle Co. to resolve the dispute.

*Hakola is program director of communications at the United Methodist Board of Church and Society. Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York.  News media can contact Bloom at (646) 369-3759 or E-mail newsdesk@umcom.org.