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Taco Bell Truth Tour!
Victory!!!! The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) won the Taco Bell Boycott!!!! Some details: *Yum Brands is going to pay a penny more per pound of tomatoes, retroactively starting since January 1, 2004. *Yum has identified suppliers willing to pass on the penny per pound of tomatoes and will work with the CIW to identify more. *Yum Brands has strengthened its code of conduct and will work with the CIW on monitoring and enforcement. There are a whole lot more details on the website at www.ciw-online.org . After the Taco Bell success, CIW started a McDonald's campaign. McDonald's must have realized who they were dealing with because they reached an agreement much more quickly -- The CIW & McDONALD'S REACH AGREEMENT The Coalition of Immokalee Workers, MCDONALD'S, AND MCDONALD'S SUPPLIERS REACH AGREEMENT TO IMPROVE FARMWORKER WAGES and WORKING CONDITIONS! The CIW, McDonald's, and its suppliers gathered at the Carter Center in Atlanta on Monday, April 9, 2007 to announce an agreement that guarantees: 1. a penny more per pound to workers harvesting tomatoes for McDonald's; 2. a stronger code of conduct based on the principle of worker participation; 3. and a collaborative effort to develop a third party mechanism for monitoring conditions in the fields and investigating workers' complaints of abuse. See the full text of the joint press release (and photo) at http://www.ciw-online.org Taco Bell Truth Tour Information Farmworkers will leave the fields of Florida for a week-long tour of the South, East, and Midwest to expose the truth of how Taco Bell and Yum Brands profit from farmworker poverty and exploitation. On March 6-12 the Truth Tour hits Louisville, KY, where farmworkers and their allies will organize an extensive week of educational events and actions throughout the city. This includes the KY JwJ Workers' Rights Board hearing on March 8th. FAQ about the Taco Bell Boycott In depth information on the Taco Bell Truth Tour In depth information on the Coalition of Immokalee Workers Workers' Rights Board Hearing On Tuesday, March 8th, the Kentucky Workers’ Rights Board heard testimonies from an escaped slave, a sweatshop worker and a Robert F. Kennedy laureate about the deplorable working conditions they face while picking tomatoes for Yum! Brands-owned Taco Bell. The Hearing was part of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ Taco Bell Truth Tour. Yum! Brands Hearing The following is a summary from the March 8, 2005 Workers Rights Board Hearing. You can also read the full report. In response to complaints brought by tomato pickers in Immokalee, Florida, who work for farm owners that supply tomatoes to Yum! Brands-owned Taco Bell, the Kentucky Workers’ Rights Board (a project of Kentucky Jobs with Justice) conducted a public hearing on Tuesday, March 8, 2005, at the Watterson West Building in Louisville, KY. Approximately 135 people attended the program which was covered by Louisville-area ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox affiliates. Yum! Brands management, farmworkers from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a local youth activist and the Florida Director of the National Farm Worker Ministry were all invited to testify before the Kentucky Workers’ Rights Board. Yum! Brands did not send a representative. Testimony was provided by: Michael Duncan, youth activist, BlackOut Media Roberta “Bert” Perry, Florida Director, National Farm Worker Ministry Gerardo Reyes Chavez, Coalition of Immokalee Workers Rolando Sales, Coalition of Immokalee Workers Yum! Brands, headquartered in Louisville, KY. Yum! is the world’s largest restaurant company and is made up of Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC, Long John Silvers and A&W Restaurants. Taco Bell directly profits from farmworkers’ sub-poverty wages and substandard working conditions; including sub-poverty annual wages, no right to overtime, no right to organize, a per bucket piece rate that has not changed significantly since 1978, no sick leave, no health insurance and no benefits whatsoever. Summary of Issues Raised in the Testimony Affected workers and supporting testifiers, presented the panel with many issues of concern for tomato pickers, including: Modern-Day Slavery, Farmworker Poverty and Organizing and Collective Bargaining Rights. Read the full report for details. | |
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