Chiquita Crisis Appears to Ease

Chiquita, its Latin American banana unions, and the International Union of Foodworkers (IUF) engaged in a series of high-level meetings in June and August that both company and some union participants have privately characterized as making progress on a number of key issues, with the notable exception of those in Costa Rica.

The Coordination of Latin American Banana Workers Unions (COLSIBA) has not yet issued a public update on the status of its engagement with Chiquita. In June, COLSIBA sent out an alert asking for public intervention with Chiquita, marking a significant escalation in tensions between Chiquita and its unions.

In 2001, Chiquita signed a path-breaking worker rights framework agreement with the Coordination of Latin American Banana Workers Unions (COLSIBA) and the International Union of Foodworkers (IUF). It is the only such agreement signed between a U.S. transnational and agricultural unions in the South.