[Peace-discuss] Noam Chomsky boycotts Taco Bell

[Ricky Baldwin]

[From the folks who pick tomatoes for Taco Bell - RB]

As members of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers
gradually recover from 
their 10-day fast and summon the strength to return to
the fields, good news continues to arrive in the
aftermath of their unprecedented hunger strike outside
Taco Bell's corporate headquarters in Irvine, CA.

First, Professor Noam Chomsky has joined the growing
list of endorsers in the Taco Bell boycott!

Professor Chomsky is an internationally-respected
scholar and activist for social and economic justice,
whose voice has been particularly crucial during the
past several months on the issue of war in Iraq and
the evolving role of US power in the post-Cold War
world.  His eloquent and reasoned arguments against
the war have served as a much-needed balance to the
drumbeat of "Countdown to War"-style reporting that
has dominated so much of the discussion on the pending
conflict in the US media.  We welcome his support and
are honored that he was moved to join us in this
campaign.

And second, we just wanted to share the following
article from the Naples Daily News on the hunger
strike, a wrap-up piece that effectively captures
several of the key issues behind the action.  You can
read it here below, or click here:
http://www.naplesnews.com/03/03/naples/d851829a.htm to
see it online.

Thanks, and remember to check out the website
(www.ciw-online.org), to see the latest news and
reports from the 10-day hunger strike - Coalition of
Immokalee Workers

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Michael Peltier: Farmworker protest passed on to
religious groups 

Monday, March 10, 2003

By MICHAEL PELTIER, mpeltier1234 at comcast.net 

TALLAHASSEE — National religious groups have vowed to
carry the torch for 
farmworkers who last week ended a 10-day hunger strike
against fast-food 
giant Taco Bell, satisfied they had raised awareness
over working condition= 
s 
and farmworker wages that have remained virtually
unchanged for more than 
20 years. 

At an Ash Wednesday service a stone's throw from the
company's Irvine, 
Calif., headquarters, half of the original 50 hunger
strikers who started t= 
he 
fasts Feb. 24 took bread and prayed, a symbolic and
physical end to a 
demonstration that included actions at scores of
college campuses from New = 

York University to San Diego State. 

"We came out here to talk to Taco Bell customers,"
said Laura Germino, of t= 
he 
Coalition of Immokalee Workers, organizers of the
hunger strike. "Their 
response has been phenomenal." 

Calling for a penny a pound raise and a seat at the
bargaining table, the 
group set up a makeshift camp on manicured corporate
grounds. It's the late= 
st 
effort in a two-year campaign to convince the company,
one of the industrie= 
s 
biggest buyers of tomatoes, to intercede in a
stand-off between growers and= 

tomato pickers. 

Though targeting Taco Bell, organizers say the
campaign is as importantly a= 

move against a fast-food industry that has profited
handsomely from cheap i= 
f 
not — according to recent federal court rulings —
slave labor. 

During the past week, the United Council of Churches,
a coalition boasting = 
50 
million congregants, endorsed the farmworker protest.
In addition, the 
Presbyterian Church USA and other church leaders
endorsed the fast and 
called on corporate officials to intercede in the
group's effort to meet wi= 
th 
growers, who have repeatedly refused. 

"As Lenten season approaches, and out of concern for
your health, I urge yo= 
u 
to conclude this fast," Cardinal Roger Mahony,
Archbishop of Los Angeles, 
wrote in a letter to company officials. "In turn, I
encourage Catholics to = 
stand 
with you by fasting during lent an in prayer that you
soon see a successful= 

conclusion to this campaign." 

Despite the retail price of tomatoes nearly doubling
between 1980 and 2002,= 

workers still make between 40-50 cents per 32-pound
bucket, the unit of 
measure by which most workers are paid. Federal
studies say agricultural 
workers lost ground in the 1990s, seeing their real
income fall. 

"Your current hunger strike has been a clear sign of
your commitment and 
resolve to seek a peaceful settlement to this current
stalemate," Mahony 
wrote. "You are to be commended for your commitment
and dedication in 
leading this hunger strike. It has been a source of
strength for other work= 
ers 
around the country who struggle to provide a decent
existence for their 
families..." 

Company officials, who met with coalition members last
year, declined to do= 

so again, saying they have nothing more to add. 

"We believe the coalition's efforts are misdirected at
our company," Taco B= 
ell 
spokeswoman Laurie Gannon said. "The farmworkers do
not work for Taco 
Bell." 

Michael Peltier is the Daily News' Tallahassee
correspondent. Computer 
users may reach him at mpeltier1234 at comcast.net


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