The trials are over, and Dole has been ordered to pay a total of $5.7 million to banana plantation workers. The Nicaraguan employees were not warned that the pesticide they were being exposed to had sterilized workers in California, and -- well, the Nicaraguan employees won't be having any children either. Aside from being incredibly unjust, it also has a sort of dystopian eugenics feel to it, doesn't it?
Trial lawyers on both sides are claiming victory following yesterday's announcement from a Los Angeles court that Dole would pay another $2.5 million in damages, on top of the $3.2 million already awarded. A lawyer for Dole told the LA Times that "It doesn't even pay [the plantation worker's] costs, much less their bills." Boy, he sounds like a really nice guy.
Meanwhile, the attorneys for the plantation workers says it isn't about the money. Said one:
"It lets [Dole] know that they're accountable for what they do, even if they do it south of our border," Miller said. "Our reputation as a country is partially dependent on the reputations of our corporations doing things overseas."
And another:
"What really matters is that Dole sterilized these peasants and thousands more humble Nicaraguan peasants, and in the rest of Central America, and we proved it. That is what counts, and I'm proud of it," Ordeñana said.
I'm not entirely convinced that the workers would agree, and the LA Times article mentions a couple of times that the award is much less than many were expecting. For a company like Dole, $5.7 million is hardly a slap on the wrist. Maybe the worker's lawyers are right -- maybe the outcome of the trial will send a message to Dole and other corporations. Hopefully the message isn't "Do whatever you want, it won't cost you much."
One last thing: Wasn't it Dow who produced the sterilizing pesticide? Where are they in all of this?