Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.)
Taco Bell Boycott Resource Office
17 Dyke Rd. ~ Setauket, NY ~ 11733
631-751-7076 ~ boycott@pcusa.org
www.pcusa.org/boycott
[posted 1-15-03]
The Rev.
Noelle Damico, Program Associate
FAST FOR JUSTICE AND FAIR FOOD AT TACO BELL HEADQUARTERS BEGINS FEB. 24,
2003
In June 2002 the General Assembly of the PCUSA
endorsed a consumer boycott of Taco Bell restaurants and products. This
boycott is an effort to bring Taco Bell, Florida tomato growers and farm
workers together for three-way negotiations to address wages and
working/living conditions. (For details visit
www.pcusa.org/boycott)
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), a
community-based workers organization led by and composed of Immokalee
farmworkers, has received PCUSA support for the boycott with gratitude and
joy. In November Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick visited Immokalee and met
with more than one hundred workers. Congregations and members across the
nation have been boycotting Taco Bell and writing to its president, Emil
Brolick.
Now the CIW invites Presbyterians to
support the workers in their latest public witness, a hunger fast at the
doorstep of Taco Bell headquarters in Irvine California. The fast calls upon
Taco Bell to take responsibility for the sweatshop conditions in the fields
where its tomatoes are picked. The fast will begin Monday, February 24. A
massive, peaceful rally by supporters will take place Friday, February 28
from 11:00 - 3:00PM. Here are some ways you can support the workers in their
fast:
-Remember the workers and pray for an end
to exploitation in the fast food and agricultural industries.
-Send a representative from your
congregation to the week-long event or to the rally to either fast with the
workers or support their efforts.
-Conduct a solidarity fast or other
prayerful action in your local area to draw attention to the boycott and the
issues that lay behind it. For some fasting ideas and other resources visit
www.pcusa.org/boycott. Please let
us know you are fasting or holding events by emailing
boycott@pcusa.org.
-Make a financial contribution to support
the workers who are fasting. They will be missing work, traveling to CA, and
also need to keep paying rent in their absence. Make a check out to the
Coalition of Immokalee Workers, earmark it "hunger fast", and send it to:
Coalition of Immokalee Workers, P.O. Box 603, Immokalee, FL 34143 or donate
online by visiting the fast page at
www.ciw-online.org.
-If you are in the Irvine area, house
and/or provide showers and/or meals for the support team working with those
observing the fast. Contact the Rev. Noelle Damico, PCUSA Taco Bell boycott
coordinator for more information at
boycott@pcusa.org or 631-751-7076.
-If you are in California (even way up
north) and would like some of the workers who are not fasting to speak at
your congregation during the week of the fast, contact the Rev. Noelle
Damico (info above).
For more information on the fast as well as
background and resources on the boycott, visit
www.pcusa.org/boycott. To let us know of
your support, your ideas or if you have questions please email
boycott@pcusa.org.
