[USFT] Taco Bell Boycott Ends/March 12 Plans Continue

[Isaac Grody-Patinkin]

Congratulations to everyone who has worked on Boot the Bell or Taco

Bell Boycott campaigns!  All of you and more are invited to join the  
Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) in Louisville on March 11th and  
12th.


March 11th and 12th:

National convergence in Louisville, KY to celebrate Taco Bell's  
precedent-setting actions, and plan where to go from here!  Taco Bell's  
actions send a tremendous challenge to the rest of the fast-food  
industry!  Let's keep moving forward....

=============

"The consumer boycott is the only open door in the dark corridor of  
nothingness down which farmworkers have had to walk for many years. It  
is a gate of hope through which they expect to find the sunlight of a  
better life for themselves and their families" (Cesar Chavez)

On March 8, after nearly four years of struggle and amidst the momentum  
of the 2005 Taco Bell Truth Tour, farmworkers from the Coalition of  
Immokalee Workers scored a decisive victory in their national boycott  
of Taco Bell. Caving under the weight of an intense grassroots  
campaign, the fast-food giant has agreed to work with the Florida-based  
farmworker organization to improve the wages and working conditions of  
farmworkers in the Florida tomato industry by paying a penny-per-pound  
surcharge demanded by the workers. The farmworkers' sub-poverty wages  
have been stagnant and declining in real terms since 1978.

"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  
member of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. The CIW's  
precedent-setting victory is also an important step forward for  
student/youth, global justice, and poor peoples' movements throughout  
the U.S. who have worked in solidarity with the farmworkers, forcing  
the world's largest restaurant corporation (Yum! Brands, Taco Bell's  
parent company) to accept responsibility for conditions in its supply  
chain.

By the final tally, students organized to prevent or remove Taco Bell  
from 22 different campuses throughout the country.  This semester,  
there have been several campuses with campaigns close to success as  
well.  Without a doubt, this victory shows the incredible potential of  
students and young people partnering with farmworkers to win real,  
concrete changes in the agricultural and fast-food industries, as well  
as with large corporations in general.  For student and youth  
activists, there are many powerful lessons to be drawn from this  
experience.

As planned, farmworkers and their allies will gather in Louisville, KY  
on March 11th and 12th to celebrate the victory and chart the next  
steps in the movement to end sweatshops in the fields. Please join us  
in Louisville.... now more than ever!  The battle is won; the war  
continues.

To view the details of this precedent-setting agreement, click here:
http://www.ciw-online.org/we%20won.html

To view a statement from Lucas Benitez of the CIW, click here:
http://www.ciw-online.org/lucasspeech.html

For complete coverage of the 2005 Taco Bell Truth Tour (photos, video,  
audio), click here:
http://www.ciw-online.org/tz_site-revision/breaking_news/ 
2005dailyupdates.shtml

For complete Indymedia coverage of the 2005 Truth Tour (photos, video,  
audio), click here:
http://indymedia.us/en/index.shtml












-- 
Isaac Grody-Patinkin
United Students for Fair Trade
National Organizer
917-435-1398
www.USFT.org
Isaac at nyu.edu
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
557 5th St., #2
Brooklyn, NY 11215