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) – 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 "pass-through" with its suppliers of Florida tomatoes, and will
undertake joint efforts with the CIW on several fronts to improve working
conditions in Florida’s tomato fields. For its part, the CIW has agreed to
end its three-year boycott of Taco Bell, saying that the agreement "sets a
new standard of social responsibility for the fast-food industry."
"As 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," said Emil Brolick, Taco Bell
president. "We 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," 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.
"With this agreement, we will be the first in our industry
to directly help improve farmworkers’ wages," added Brolick, "And 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."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
"We are challenging our tomato suppliers to meet those higher standards and
will seek to do business with those who do," said Jonathan Blum, senior vice
president, Yum! Brands. "We 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," 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 "human rights are universal and
we hope others will follow our company’s lead."
"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 leader of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers.
"Systemic 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," Benitez added. "We 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."
Representatives from the Carter Center assisted the
discussions and resolution between the two organizations. "I 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 Bell’s lead to help the tomato farmworkers,"
said former President Jimmy Carter.
Taco Bell Corp., based in Irvine, California, is a
subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. and the nation’s leading Mexican-style quick
service restaurant chain serving tacos, burritos, signature Quesadillas,
Border Bowls®, nachos and other specialty items. In 2004, Taco Bell
purchased approximately 10 million pounds of Florida tomatoes, representing
less than one percent of Florida’s 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.
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
PCUSA Presbyterian Hunger Program
Noelle Damico
ndamico@ctr.pcusa.org
