7/30/2019 Consumers Gather at Kangaroo Express Stores to
Demonstrate Concerns for North Carolina Tobacco Farmworkers
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PRESS ADVISORY CONTACT: Justin Flores, [email protected],
704-577-3480
Consumers Gather at Kangaroo Express Stores to Demonstrate
Concerns for North Carolina
Tobacco Farmworkers on Human Rights Day
Greensboro, NCLeading up to International Human Rights Day,
dozens of people are set to have an action
outside of three Kangaroo Express Convenience Store locations,
including one at 3101 Yanceyville Street inGreensboro. Student and
community groups hope to raise awareness about human rights abuses
in the tobacco
fields of North Carolina and the positive role Kangaroo can play
in bringing consumer concerns to tobaccoindustry leaders. Kangaroo
is the largest convenience store chain in the Southeast. Tobacco
products make up
over a third of Kangaroo sales and consumers believe this makes
Kangaroo an integral part of the tobacco
supply chain and a key player in addressing its problems.
Kangaroo Express consumers who are students at local
universities and members of the Beloved Community
Center are calling on Kangaroo Chairman Ed Holman to continue
bringing their concerns about the conditions
of tobacco farmworkers in the fields of North Carolina to the
attention of tobacco giants such as ReynoldsAmerican.
While there are multiple companies that buy tobacco in NC, such
as Phillip Morris USA and Phillip MorrisInternational, Reynolds
American is the largest tobacco company in the state and a leader
in the tobacco
industry. For over five years, The Farm Labor Organizing
Committee, a farmworker union representing tobacco
farmworkers, has sought to convince Reynolds to sign a written
agreement guaranteeing labor rights in its
supply chain. To date, the company has not done so.
A recent report by Oxfam America and FLOC shows that human
rights violations, including dilapidated
housing, sub-minimum wages, work related illness, and fear of
retaliation for speaking out, are widespread inthe fields of North
Carolina.
Human Rights Day is an opportunity for Kangaroo Express
consumers to request that Chairman Holman deliver
a message to Reynolds American that Kangaroo Express customers
want Reynolds to work with the FarmLabor Organizing Committee, to
develop a written agreement that guarantees freedom of association
and self-
determination for farm workers.
As Kangaroo consumers, we believe that these human rights abuses
are unacceptable and we want ChairmanHolman to express our concerns
about the unjust treatment of tobacco farmworkers in North Carolina
to those
who have power in the tobacco industry, said Wesley Morris of
the Beloved Community Center.
Who: Students and farmworker advocates
When: December 10, 4:30pm
Where: Kangaroo Express at 3101 Yanceyville Street, Greensboro,
NC
What: Displaying of Banner, leafleting, and delivery of letter
calling on Kangaroo Express Chairman
Ed Holman to bring consumer concerns for the just treatment of
tobacco farm workers in thefields of North Carolina to Reynolds
American.
