NOGALES, AZ — A four-part Los Angeles Times exposé in December ripped Mexican produce growers and their distributors in Nogales.

The report included photos and video of very bad field worker living conditions. The fact that the reporter did not include the countless socially responsible growers and distributor-partners raised the question of the reporter’s motives.

Nogales distributors by and large felt burned by the LA Times.

Omar Losolla, director of sales and marketing for GreenPoint Distributing, LLC, in Rio Rico, AZ, wrote the following comments to The Produce News regarding this matter:

“I commend and applaud many of the Nogales distributors that in conjunction with their growing partners have taken the initiative to implement programs that are in benefit of the people they employ in the fields. I would like to point out that this is nothing new, nor a response to the LA Times article. It’s been going on for years. We care about our people and the future of our industry, that’s the bottom line. Is there room for improvement? Absolutely… but I find it appalling that only a very negative side was portrayed. There are many growers that are generous, fair and care about the wellbeing of their employees. That’s a fact.”

“I can only speak for the company I represent, but in conjunction with our growing partners, we will continue to improve working conditions for all those that labor hard in our fields, we will continue to innovate and progress, and will ultimately continue to produce some of the finest fruits and vegetables the world has to offer,” he continued. “I’m extremely proud to represent the Mexican produce industry. I understand it well and feel it has been negatively portrayed. My mother is from a small town in the state of Sonora called Benjamin Hill and she worked in the fields picking squash and grapes in Hermosillo during the growing season, those are my roots. My mother always told me that those fields were a blessing to her and our entire family, she was not a slave, she was not exploited... it was a blessing, a means to put food on the table for a family of 14 children. We will always be grateful for that.”

Chris Ciruli, chief operating officer of Ciruli Bros., LLC, also noted that working to be socially responsible with employees located in the United States as well as Mexico “is nothing that just came up.”

Chris Ciruli and his brother Charles (Chuck) Ciruli III learned from their father partly by living and working in Mexican fields. Chris said that Chuck worked in Baja in the 1970s and Chris worked and lived on Mexican ranches in the 1980s. There they learned to appreciate and respect their co-workers. It is a business matter that the Ciruli’s have increasingly communicated over the last year with customers to make it known how much the company does to improve employee lives.

Domestically, the Ciruli brothers have both served on the board of directors of the Nogales Boys & Girls Club for 20 years. In that time, $12 million has been raised to support the club.

Chris Ciruli is the chairman of special events for the Boys & Girls Club. The biggest special event of the year is held each year during the first weekend of May. Last year the golf fundraiser in nearby Tubac raised over $500,000 for the Boys & Girls Club.

Ciruli said it is not only Nogales produce distributors that generously support the children of their community, customers and friends of the distributors come from places like Salinas and Philadelphia to raise money for the club as well.