IMMOKALEE BULLETIN

March 23, 2006

Building on Taco Bell victory

By Jerri Lynn Merritt

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers who prompted the four-year Taco Bell boycott which ultimately forced the company to pay more for its tomatoes has set its sights on the McDonalds food chain. Their campaign, which began in November 2005 - a "Fair Wage Campaign" for field workers who pick tomatoes - will kick off on March 26 and end on the steps of the McDonalds Corporation on April 1.

The coalition's goal is to raise the awareness of the consumers and to put pressure on all of the fast-food chains. Their target now is McDonald's because McDonald's has a reputation for corporate responsibility and their name is readily recognized. The group hopes that through their campaign workers will see "immediate economic relief."

The Alliance for Fair Food is putting pressure on the United States fast-food industry to buy tomatoes only from growers who guarantee fair wages and conditions for their laborers. Lucas Benitez of Immokalee, who is a co-founder of the coalition, would like to see not only a fairer wage but insurance and healthcare benefits and overtime pay for workers.

With the influx of college students from ten different universities from all across the United States, many signs and posters were made. "They came to the CIW to learn from the farmworkers about their experiences in the fields and to learn how they as college students can make a difference in the lives of farmworker families," said Julia Perkins,

CIW. "Many of them also assisted with preparations for the tour - painting signs and artwork for protests, helping put together information packets and many of them even planned activities to take back to their communities to spread the word about the reality faced by farmworkers in Immokalee," she added.

The group, which has more than 3,000 members, will send off 50 tour participants. "We will be stopping in 17 cities throughout the Midwest with a focus on Chicago where McDonald's Corporation is located. We will be doing presentations at churches, universities and to community groups all along the way," said Ms. Perkins. The Immokalee

group will leave Immokalee on March 26 and travel through Tennessee, Kentucky,

Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin on its way to Chicago.

Farmworkers who pick tomatoes for most Florida growers earn about 40 cents to 45 cents for every 32-pound bucket, which is almost the same amount they earned 30 years ago. The farmworkers who are picking tomatoes sold to Taco Bell now earn between about $10 and $40 more per week, according to the coalition. According to the Florida Tomato Growers Association, Florida supplies about 90 percent of the nation's domestic fresh winter tomatoes. The coalition expects to expand its campaign to the larger restaurant chains as well as grocery chains and supermarkets.

So on the fifth anniversary of the very successful Taco Bell boycott, the McDonalds caravan members will plant themselves and their supporters in Chicago for their first major rally.

They hope that they can accomplish getting a fairer wage for the worker, farmworker rights and a code of conduct, among other things. April 1 is the 50th anniversary of the "Rock 'N' Roll McDonald's" located at 600 North Clark St., Chicago. There will be a spirited demonstration by Coalition of Workers, farmworkers and their allies who will hit the streets for a five-mile march which ends at the most frequented and well-known McDonald's in the world. The march will begin at Plaza Tenochtitlan (Pilsen) and will wind its way through the heart of downtown Chicago before reaching the Rock 'n' Roll McDonald's for the major demonstration.

When asked "Why McDonalds?" A CIW spokesman responded with, "This is the next phase of our Fair Food Campaign. We are asking the entire fast food industry to follow the lead made by Taco Bell and Yum Brands in working with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to improve wages and working conditions for the workers picking for the companies that supply their tomatoes. Taco Bell showed that this can be done, now it's time for McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's and all the rest to follow suit."