Themes of Geographical Scale - Essay Example

? Themes of Geographical Scale One of the most important concepts in the field of geography (or human geography in particular) is the concept of geographic scale, also known as geographical scale. Simply put, geographic scale is actually a “…hierarchy of spaces, from small to large, that reflects actual levels of organization in the real world” (Marsh and Alagona, 2010). In this case, geographical scale then may reflect not only to the local, urban, metropolitan, provincial or regional spaces occupied, but also reflects a certain level of reach by a specific organization. In addition, it is also important to note that the different processes that one geographic scale undergoes may in fact affect other geographical scales (Marsh and Alagona, 2010). With this definition, this paper then aims to look into how themes of geographical scale actually manifest itself in the organizing of one of the most popular coalition of workers in the United States, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. Specifically, this paper would try to look into two specific examples wherein themes of geographical scales would be present, especially on the organizing, public information and policy campaigns actually done by the CIW. In addition, this paper would also try to briefly compare and contrast the experiences of the CIW with another group of workers described in Chapter 7 of Tanya Basok’s Book “Tortillas and Tomatoes: Transmigrant Mexican Harvesters in Canada.” By using two specific examples, this paper would try to identify common and differentiated themes of geographic and social aspects in the organizing of these two labor groups. Looking at the regional scale of the United States and Canada, it can be seen that historically, organizations of farm laborers have been relatively weak, as compared to other geographical spaces. However, unknown by many, there are some successful stories regarding the organizational feats of farm laborers, one of which is the successful Taco Bell Campaign of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) (“Immokalee: from Slavery to Freedom”). The CIW was actually formed in 1995 by agricultural farm workers who were planting tomatoes in the southeastern part of Florida (“Immokalee: from Slavery to Freedom”). These workers, who were struggling for higher wages and better working conditions, were actually the ones supplying tomatoes to one of the United State’s widest and most popular food chains, the Taco Bell (“Immokalee: from Slavery to Freedom”). One of the concrete manifestations of geographical scale made by the CIW is their organizing work among the workers itself, putting into the Florida map the formerly unknown Immokalee labor Center, which happened to be the largest agricultural labor center in the state of Florida (“Immokalee: from Slavery to Freedom”). In this illustration, the organizing of the workers themselves into a large coalition actually showed themes of geographical scale, reflecting the organizational reach that the CIW attained in organizing the workers in the tomato fields of southeastern Florida; making them known by conducting strikes and worker barricades in order to show their grievances. Before the organizing of the workers themselves, the Immokalee was formerly absent in the map (“Immokalee: from Slavery to Freedom”), and by forming the CIW, elements of organizational reach, along with elements of political and socio-economic themes suddenly manifested itself. In this case, it is important to note the fact that within geographical spaces, there are actual scopes of conflict; and the outcome or solutions of such conflict may result into situations that may affect processes in other geographical scales (Schattschneider 1960). In addition, the CIW also identified the relationship of ethnic lines and exploitation within the agricultural industry, wherein they actually identified that at present, it is the Latino immigrant population that is under exploitation in tomato farms (“Immokalee: from Slavery to Freedom”). In this case, this presents another theme of geographical scale, the representation of the overall Latino immigrant population as the workers organize themselves, identifying the relationship between immigrant labor and bad labor conditions (“Immokalee: from Slavery to Freedom”). Another important theme of geographical scale that was present in CIW activities was their Taco Bell Boycott Campaign. In this case, the CIW actually broadened their geographical scope; not only within the Immokalee Labor Center, but also through the rest if the United States were Taco Bell stores are actually located. The Taco Bell Campaign actually centered on voicing out to the whole country, especially to Taco Bell customers, that they are actually exploiting their agricultural workers, especially by providing bad working conditions and giving starvation wages unimaginable to a developed, industrialized country such as the United States (“Immokalee: from Slavery to Freedom”). By bringing into public the grievances that were experienced by the farm workers at Immokalee, the CIW effectively widened their geographical scale to a much wider extent, provoking the public, especially Taco Bell customers, in rethinking the nature of the fast food industry, especially at the ethical issues raised on how Taco Bell treats its workers. In this case, the Taco Bell Boycott Campaign effectively affected the way the general public thinks about Taco Bell, severely influencing other geographical scales. In this nationwide campaign, the CIW also achieved a feat that raised their organizational capabilities: transforming Immokalee from an unorganized town to an organized farm worker town, an important geographical scale theme. One of the main similarities between the workers organized by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and the immigrant workers of Canada under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (Basok 2003) is the prevalence of bad working conditions and the exploitation of immigrant Latino workers by the agriculture industries of industrialized countries. In the experience of Immokalee, immigrant Latino workers were actually imported from the Latin American countries from the south in order for them to provide cheap labor for the agricultural industry. Such is also the case within the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program, which was actually an agreement between the governments of Mexico and Canada (Basok 2003). In this agreement, Mexico will actually agree to supply Canada with agricultural labor, especially when the season for planting and harvesting is at its peak (Basok 2003). In this case, their experiences where also similar with the Immokalee workers, they were actually receiving very low wages in very harsh working environments, in which they even have to work for unbelievably long working hours (Basok 2003). In addition, similar to the workers at Immokalee, the Mexican migrant workers at Canada are not treated and paid similarly with local agricultural workers, and working conditions are far from industry standards (Basok 2003). The origins of the workers are also similar; they actually left their homes in Latin America in order to find jobs and send money to their families, given that unemployment rates are very high in their countries of origin (Basok 2003). Both the workers at Immokalee and the Mexican migrant workers at Canada also suffer from unfair labor practices, wherein they are both met with repression from their employers (Basok 2003). However, there are also major differences between the experiences of the workers at Immokalee and the Mexican migrant workers at Canada. One is the ability to organize them in order to struggle for better working conditions for migrant workers. In this case, the Immokalee workers proved to be more successful, for they were able to successfully organize themselves into a coalition of workers (“Immokalee: from Slavery to Freedom”). Through organizing themselves into an effective farm worker coalition, they were actually able to conduct different forms of protest actions, including barricades by the workers, work stoppage, general strikes, and even the famous Taco Bell Boycott in order for them to popularize their grievances and have a bargaining power against the management (“Immokalee: from Slavery to Freedom”). In this case, the Immokalee workers, through the CIW, was also able to bring their grievances to the public, generate support from some social justice cause-oriented groups, and was able to get actual concessions from Taco Bell, to whom they where supplying tomatoes (“Immokalee: from Slavery to Freedom”). In addition, they were also successful in raising a bit of their wages through increasing their payments by a “penny per bucket,” and also demanded other food chains such as McDonalds and Burger King to also raise the wages of the farm workers that pick their tomatoes and look to better working conditions (“Immokalee: from Slavery to Freedom”). However, this was not the case for the Mexican migrant workers working under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (Basok 2003). First of all, they were not able to organize themselves, due to the fact that provisions for the right to organize and the right to strike were actually not included in the program signed between the Mexican and American governments (Basok 2003). Unlike in the case of Immokalee, where the workers entered as contractual laborers in a private firm, this deal was actually brokered by governments, in which the Mexican Consulate’s unwillingness to help the farm workers discouraged them from even demanding changes in the workplace (Basok 2003). In addition, the workers were not united; they were not willing to raise their grievances collectively for the fear that they may actually lose their jobs (Basok 2003). Works Cited: Basok, Tanya. Tortillas and Tomatoes: Transmigrant Mexican Harvesters in Canada. Quebec: McGill-Queens University Press, 2002. Print. Marsh, Meredith and Peter Alagona. AP Human Geography. New York: Barron's Educational Series, 2008. Print. Schattschneider, E.E. The Semisovereign People. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1960. Print. Taylor, Peter J. and Colin Flint. Political Geography: World Economy, Nation-State and Locality. England: Prentice Hall, 2000. Print. “Immokalee: from Slavery to Freedom.” Pan Left Productions. video.google.com, n.d. Web. 5 February 2011. Read More