"I am here to raise awareness among U.S. consumers
and tell the true story behind the beautiful flowers that you buy your mother
on Mother's Day," stated Amanda. In conjunction with the tour, USLEAP has
also produced a new Toolkit
and booklet titled Gendered Injustice
as part of its Economic
Justice for Flower Workers Campaign. The toolkit and booklet provide tips
on how to take action in support of flower workers, who are mostly women, in Colombia.

UNTRAFLORES is calling
on support from U.S.
consumers for the workers from Camino Real and Degaflores.  As of late Thursday, the strike at Camino
Real and Degaflores ended after companies paid workers their backwages, but
they have yet to pay social security benefits that by law these companies are
obliged to pay.  Workers have conceded to
another agreement with the company after it has agreed to pay benefits at a
later meeting. 

The plantation Camino Real is associated to the
Colombian association of flower exporters, ASOCOLFLORES.  ASOCOLFLORES
has been one of the entities at the forefront of the lobbying efforts for the
U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement.  They
recently began a campaign within the U.S. marketing their flowers as
environmentally and socially responsible. 
Though advances in technology have made it possible for plantations to
reduce the use of pesticides, the worker rights issues that have arose in the last
days at Camino Real and Degaflores highlight the need for an in-depth
evaluation of the certification processes.