[Peace-discuss] Re: COALITION OF IMMOKALEE WORKERS,
TACO BELL REACH GROUNDBREAKING AGREEMENT
Ricky Baldwin
baldwinricky at yahoo.com
Thu Mar 10 09:53:40 CST 2005
Thanks for posting that, Al-
It's worth noting that this struggle is by no means
over. Workers are still beaten in the fields,
sometimes held at gunpoint and even held captive at
night in the dismal farm labor camps where they live.
It also remains to be seen whether the growers will
pass along this extra pay to the tomato pickers
themselves. Taco Bell, after all, is not their
employer, only the biggest buyer.
Anyone who'd like to help out, I'd love to talk with
you about it. For now, it would be nice if Taco Bell
got some notes of thanks, with copies to CIW of
course.
Ricky
--- Al Kagan <akagan at uiuc.edu> wrote:
> FYI, some us protested the local Taco Bell awhile
> ago.
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> > From: "U.S. Labor Against the War" <uslaw at igc.org>
> > Date: March 8, 2005 5:17:43 PM CST
> > To: (Recipient list suppressed)
> > Subject: [uslawaffiliates] COALITION OF IMMOKALEE
> WORKERS, TACO BELL
> > REACH GROUNDBREAKING AGREEMENT
> >
> > [Note: The Coalition of Immokalee Workers is an
> affiliate of U.S.
> > Labor Against the War. Please send them messages
> of solidarity on the
> > occasion of this great victory.]
> >
> > COALITION OF IMMOKALEE WORKERS, TACO BELL REACH
> > GROUNDBREAKING AGREEMENT
> >
> > Contact: Lucas Benitez, CIW/239-503-0133
> > Julia Perkins, CIW/239-986-0891
> > Laurie Schalow, Taco Bell Corp./949-863-3915 or
> onsite at
> > 949-637-1153
> >
> > CIW to end Taco Bell boycott; Taco Bell to pay
> > penny-per-pound surcharge demanded by workers,
> will work
> > with CIW to raise farm labor standards in supply
> chain,
> > across industry as a whole
> >
> > March 8, 2005 (IMMOKALEE/LOUISVILLE) - In a
> > precedent-setting move, fast-food industry leader
> Taco
> > Bell Corp., a division of Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM),
> has
> > agreed to work with the Florida-based farm worker
> > organization, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers
> (CIW), to
> > address the wages and working conditions of
> farmworkers in
> > the Florida tomato industry.
> >
> > Taco Bell announced today that it will fund a
> penny per
> > pound "pass-through" with its suppliers of
> Florida
> > tomatoes, and will undertake joint efforts with
> the CIW on
> > several fronts to improve working conditions in
> Florida's
> > tomato fields. For its part, the CIW has agreed
> to end
> > its three-year boycott of Taco Bell, saying that
> the
> > agreement "sets a new standard of social
> responsibility
> > for the fast-food industry."
> >
> > "As an industry leader, we are pleased to lend
> our support
> > to and work with the CIW to improve working and
> pay
> > conditions for farmworkers in the Florida tomato
> fields,"
> > said Emil Brolick, Taco Bell president. "We
> recognize that
> > Florida tomato workers do not enjoy the same
> rights and
> > conditions as employees in other industries, and
> there is
> > a need for reform. We have indicated that any
> solution
> > must be industry-wide, as our company simply does
> not have
> > the clout alone to solve the issues raised by the
> CIW, but
> > we are willing to play a leadership role within
> our
> > industry to be part of the solution," Brolick
> added.
> >
> > Taco Bell has recently secured an agreement with
> several
> > of its tomato-grower suppliers, who employ the
> > farmworkers, to pass-through the company-funded
> equivalent
> > of one-cent per pound directly to the workers.
> >
> > "With this agreement, we will be the first in our
> industry
> > to directly help improve farmworkers' wages,"
> added
> > Brolick, "And we pledge to make this commitment
> real by
> > buying only from Florida growers who pass this
> penny per
> > pound payment entirely on to the farmworkers, and
> by
> > working jointly with the CIW and our suppliers to
> monitor
> > the pass-through for compliance. We hope others
> in the
> > restaurant industry and supermarket retail trade
> will
> > follow our leadership." Yum! Brands and Taco
> Bell will
> > also work with the CIW to help ensure that
> Florida tomato
> > pickers enjoy working terms and conditions
> similar to
> > those that workers in other industries enjoy.
> >
> > "We are challenging our tomato suppliers to meet
> those
> > higher standards and will seek to do business
> with those
> > who do," said Jonathan Blum, senior vice
> president, Yum!
> > Brands. "We have already added language to our
> Supplier
> > Code of Conduct to ensure that indentured
> servitude by
> > suppliers is strictly forbidden, and we will
> require
> > strict compliance with all existing laws.
> Finally, we
> > pledge to aid in efforts at the state level to
> seek new
> > laws that better protect all Florida tomato
> farmworkers,"
> > added Blum.
> >
> > The Company indicated that it believes other
> restaurant
> > chains and supermarkets, along with the Florida
> Tomato
> > Committee, should join in seeking legislative
> reform,
> > because "human rights are universal and we hope
> others
> > will follow our company's lead."
> >
> > "This is an important victory for farmworkers,
> one that
> > establishes a new standard of social
> responsibility for
> > the fast-food industry and makes an immediate
> material
> > change in the lives of workers. This sends a
> clear
> > challenge to other industry leaders," said Lucas
> Benitez,
> > a leader of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers.
> >
> > "Systemic change to ensure human rights for
> farmworkers is
> > long-overdue. Taco Bell has now taken an
> important
> > leadership role by securing the penny per pound
> > pass-through from its tomato suppliers, and by
> the other
> > efforts it has committed to undertake to help win
> equal
> > rights for farmworkers," Benitez added. "We now
> call on
> > the National Council of Churches, Presbyterian
> Church
> > (U.S.A.), Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for
> Human
> > Rights and other organizations to join the CIW
> and end
> > their boycott of Taco Bell, and to recognize the
> Company
> > by supporting its ongoing leadership in our fight
> against
> > human rights abuses. But our work together is
> not done.
> > Now we must convince other companies that they
> have the
> > power to change the way they do business and the
> way
> > workers are treated."
> >
> > Representatives from the Carter Center assisted
> the
> > discussions and resolution between the two
> > organizations. "I commend the Coalition of
> Immokalee
> > Workers for their principled leadership in this
> very
> > important campaign. I am pleased Taco Bell has
> taken a
> > leadership role to help reform working conditions
> for
> > Florida farmworkers and has committed to use its
> power to
> > effect positive human rights change. I now call
> on others
> > in the industry to follow Taco Bell's lead to
> help the
> > tomato farmworkers," said former President Jimmy
> Carter.
> >
> > Taco Bell Corp., based in Irvine, California, is
> a
> > subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. and the nation's
> leading
> > Mexican-style quick service restaurant chain
> serving
> > tacos, burritos, signature Quesadillas, Border
> BowlsR,
> > nachos and other specialty items. In 2004, Taco
> Bell
> > purchased approximately 10 million pounds of
> Florida
> > tomatoes, representing less than one percent of
> Florida's
> > tomato production. Taco Bell serves more than 35
> million
> > consumers each week in more than 6,500
> restaurants in the
> > U.S.
> >
> > CIW is a membership-led organization of
> agricultural
> > workers based in Immokalee, Florida, that seeks
> justice
> > for farmworkers and promotes their fair treatment
> in
> > accordance with national and international labor
> > standards. Among its accomplishments, the CIW
> has aided
> > in the prosecution of five slavery operations by
> the
> > Department of Justice and the liberation of over
> 1,000
> > workers. The CIW uses creative methods to
> educate
> > consumers about human rights abuses in the U.S.
> > agriculture industry, corporate social
> responsibility, and
> > how consumers can help workers realize their
> social change
> > goals.
> >
> >
>
#############################################################
> > Mexico Solidarity Network
> http://www.mexicosolidarity.org
> > This message is sent to you because you are
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> > the mailing list
> <mexicosolidaritynetwork at mexicosolidarity.org>.
>
> Al Kagan
> Africana Unit, Room 328
> University of Illinois Library
> 1408 W. Gregory Drive
> Urbana, IL 61820
> USA
>
> tel. 217-333-6519
> fax 217-333-2214
> akagan at uiuc.edu
> > _______________________________________________
> Peace-discuss mailing list
> Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net
>
http://lists.chambana.net/cgi-bin/listinfo/peace-discuss
>
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