After years of trying to engage in a dialogue with Asocolflores over the labor standards in their Florverde certification program, we have many doubts about their concern for workers given their lack of interest in improving the labor rights component.
Florverde DOES NOT:
•    Give workers the right to form the organization of
their choice. (instead promoting only  "information and participation
mechanisms" for workers, which do not include unions). Independent, democratic unions are the best enforcers of  worker rights because they are operated by the workers themselves.
•    Prohibit company
engagement in anti-union activities
•    Guarantee the right to collective
bargaining.
•    Specifically prohibit discrimination against union
members
      Ban HIV or pregnancy tests during recruitment (these tests are
often used in a discriminatory way - women who are pregnant, for example, will
not be hired).
•    Ensure that overtime work is voluntary and paid at a
higher rate than normal hours.
•    Guarantee women workers' right to
maternity leave.
•    Explicitly ban forced labor (Around Valentine's Day, workers are often forced to work up to 80 hours a week, often without higher pay for overtime.)

Even the ASOCOLFLORES press release for Valentine's Day focuses almost exclusively on the environment and not worker rights. According to the release, the Florverde social element includes:

• Analysis of occupational health and work risks and development of worker friendly programs
• Implementation
  of voluntary social programs aimed at improving workers' quality of
  life -- education, health care, child services
• Development of programs to train and update floriculture skills for workers
• Facilitation of social, athletic and recreational programs for workers

This is all great but does not address the major labor abuses facing flower workers every day. The majority of workers laboring on flower plantations develop some occupational health issue over the course of their work life.  Programs  can help to solve these problems but a living wage, more reasonable production quotas that don't force workers to labor for long hours, guaranteed protective gear and democratic unions to enforce these standards are the real key to "worker friendly" farms. With a living wage and a decent work life, the children of workers can afford to go to good schools, without simply relying on a voluntary education program.

It is important that as ethical consumers, we begin to question the use of the word "sustainable." Environmentally sustainable is one thing but sustainable jobs are something we should take into account. Sustainable jobs should adhere to basic labor rights so that workers can produce flowers throughout their lives without becoming terminally ill, injured or fired for standing up for their rights. Workers should not feel at risk of being fired for failing to meet an unsafe production quota.Our supermarkets, wholesalers and florists should recognize that US consumers demand truly "sustainable" flowers.

What can you do?

Write a letter to your local supermarket or florist, telling them that you want flowers grown on farms with STRONG labor standards. Send a copy to ASOCOLFLORES on your letter and show them that you care! Contact Eva Seidelman at eva [at] ilrf.org for more information.