[USFT] CIW VICTORY!

Tue Mar 8 15:03:41 MST 2005

Thanks for sharing this news, Erick, and hooray 
to USFT for helping build the pressure that made 
this success possible.

One way we can build momentum is to tell Taco 
Bell managers that we are returning to the 
restaurant because of the penny a pound decision. 
Thank them and tell 'em we'll keep watching for 
follow through on the "new standard of social 
responsibility for the fast-food industry."

Best,
Jackie

  1:43 PM -0800 3/8/05, Erick Veliz wrote:
>Congratulations to CIW and all of the activists 
>throughout the nation who supported the 
>boycott!! A hard won victory... but we need 
>to work off this momentum to continue to spread 
>fair trade principles!
>
>Erick Veliz
>
>Domestic Fair Trade Progam
>
>United Students for Fair Trade
>
>(571) 247-7247
>
>---------------------------------
>
>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>
>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
>
>COALITION OF IMMOKALEE WORKERS, TACO BELLÆ REACH GROUNDBREAKING AGREEMENT
>
>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) ñ 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 ìpass-throughî with its 
>suppliers of Florida tomatoes, and will 
>undertake joint efforts with the CIW on several 
>fronts to improve working conditions in 
>Floridaís tomato fields. For its part, the CIW 
>has agreed to end its three-year boycott of Taco 
>Bell, saying that the agreement ìsets a new 
>standard of social responsibility for the 
>fast-food industry.î
>
>ìAs 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,î said Emil Brolick, 
>Taco Bell president. ìWe 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,î 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.
>
>ìWith this agreement, we will be the first in 
>our industry to directly help improve 
>farmworkersí wages,î added Brolick, ìAnd 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.î 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. CIW/Taco Bell Resolution 
>Page 2
>
>ìWe are challenging our tomato suppliers to meet 
>those higher standards and will seek to do 
>business with those who do,î said Jonathan Blum, 
>senior vice president, Yum! Brands. ìWe 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,î 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 ìhuman 
>rights are universal and we hope others will 
>follow our companyís lead.î
>
>ìThis 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,î said Lucas Benitez, a 
>leader of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers.
>
>ìSystemic 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,î Benitez added. ìWe 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.î
>
>Representatives from the Carter Center assisted 
>the discussions and resolution between the two 
>organizations. ìI 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 
>Bellís lead to help the tomato farmworkers,î 
>said former President Jimmy Carter.
>
>Taco Bell Corp., based in Irvine, California, is 
>a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. and the 
>nationís leading Mexican-style quick service 
>restaurant chain serving tacos, burritos, 
>signature Quesadillas, Border BowlsÆ, nachos and 
>other specialty items. In 2004, Taco Bell 
>purchased approximately 10 million pounds of 
>Florida tomatoes, representing less than one 
>percent of Floridaís 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.
>
>##END##
>
>
>
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>Erick Veliz
>Southeast Regional Coordinator
>United Students for Fair Trade
>(571) 247-7247
>
><http://www.usft.org>www.usft.org
>
>
>
>Celebrate Yahoo!'s 10th Birthday!
><http://birthday.yahoo.com/netrospective/>Yahoo! 
>Netrospective: 100 Moments of the Web
>
>_______________________________________________
>This is an unmoderated public listserv.  The 
>opinions and positions expressed on this 
>listserv are those of the author alone.  No 
>endorsement of the content of this email is 
>either expressed or implied by United Students 
>for Fair Trade. 
>_______________________________________________
>USFT mailing list
>USFT at usft.org
>http://www.usft.org/mailman/listinfo/usft

-- 
Jacqueline DeCarlo
202.234.6797
Make 2005 Fair! Learn how at:
http://www.FairTradeResource.org
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.usft.org/pipermail/usft/attachments/20050308/203a30a1/attachment-0001.htm