An Immokalee man is in federal custody on charges related to the enslavement of a teenage Guatemalan girl smuggled into the U.S. in 2007. Francisco Domingo faces ten years in prison without parole and a 250 thousand dollar fine with more charges pending. The Guatemalan teen alleges Domingo forced her into field labor and sexual servitude.  Domingo’s federal detention hearing took place Monday. WGCU’s John Davis spoke with News-Press reporter Amy Bennett Williams who’s been investigating the story since Domingo’s arrest last week.

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers is hosting a mobile slavery museum exhibit this week throughout Southwest Florida. WGCU’s John Davis reports.

After years of struggle, tomato pickers in Florida will soon see a pay increase.

In a surprise move Tuesday, the Florida Tomato Exchange agreed to pay migrant workers the extra penny per pound the Coalition of Immokalee Workers has fought for the last three years.The Exchange said it will allow companies like McDonalds and Burger King to pay the extra penny per pound to workers if they choose. It represents growers producing 75 percent of all Florida tomatoes.Those companies will pay a supplemental wage based on the amount of tomatoes purchased. The money will be divided among the migrant workers on a weekly basis.

Exchange Vice President Reggie Brown says it’s a move to allow those companies to have social accountability.

“That enables them to pass funds to the migrant worker community and we’re willing to take those funds in our payroll period and distribute those funds to the workers,” Brown said.

Lucas Benitez, spokesman for the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, says it’s about time.He says the Exchange has resisted the pay increase for years, but now is spinning its change in position to make it appear the pay increase was the growers’ idea.

“The lies they made at the beginning when they said that it was impossible to pay the extra penny to the workers, now they’re saying they can. Those lies they’ve been making throughout our campaign – they’re now trying to retract,” Benitez said.

The money collected from companies like Burger King and Subway has been sitting in an escrow. Benitez says that will soon be distributed to the workers. The exchange also agreed to regular audits and a code of conduct to allow workers to more easily complain about working conditions.

The National Park Service will celebrate its centennial in 2016.  And as the festivities near, one question lingers on the minds of many park rangers: how to attract more minorities.  WGCU’s Luis Hernandez reports on a group of southwest Florida Latinos who were given the opportunity to see one of Florida’s national preserves for the first time in their lives.

Members of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and Interfaith Action of Southwest Florida will hold a rally in front of a Publix store in Lakeland on Sunday to protest what they say are poor wages and working conditions faced by farmworkers. WGCU’s John Davis reports.

Members of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and Interfaith Action of Southwest Florida are holding a vigil in Fort Myers Sunday, in recognition of poor working conditions and slave labor faced by farm workers in Florida. WGCU’s John Davis reports.

Thursday is the seventh annual Latino Aids Awareness Day. Roughly one fifth of people with AIDS in the United States are Hispanic. WGCU’s Luis Hernandez reports.

The Hispanic Institute at Hodges University in Fort Myers is preparing to release the results of a survey that paints a clearer picture of Lee County’s Hispanic population.  WGCU’s Luis Hernandez reports.

A
major food service provider called The Compass Group has signed onto an
agreement to pay tomato pickers more. They’re the latest entity to
support the penny a pound initiative championed by the Coalition of
Immokalee Workers.  WGCU’s Valerie Alker reports.

Chipotle
Mexican Grill has just joined several fast food chains to give tomato
pickers in Florida a raise. But unlike the others, the Colorado-based
company has pledged to ensure the workers will GET the money.  WGCU’s
Valerie Alker reports.