FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 8, 2005

Contact:
Amanda Shanor, RFK CHR, 203-247-2195, Shanor@rfkmemorial.org
Todd Howland, RFK CHR, 202-463-757 x 236, Howland@rfkmemorial.org

Louisville, KYóToday the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) announced that it has reached an agreement that ends the CIWís nearly four-year-long boycott of the restaurant giant and Yum Brands subsidiary, Taco Bell. This agreementóreached because of consumer demandóis a groundbreaking first step toward establishing socially responsible purchasing practices within the fast-food industry, while realizing concrete gains for the tomato pickers whose labor supplies Taco Bellís nationwide franchises.

Farmworkers are a labor force in crisis, according to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The CIW has worked with the FBI and US Department of Justice to investigate and federally prosecute five cases of slavery in the past six yearsóliberating over 1,000 workers. As the number of forced labor cases has risen in the agriculture industry, wages have fallen. The DOL reports that farmworkersí mean income is $7,500 a yearófar below the federal poverty threshold. Tomato pickers currently earn approximately 40 cents per 32-pound bucket of tomatoes picked, a figure that has not changed since 1978. Adjusted for inflation, this constitutes a decrease of 65% since that time. A worker must now pick and haul two tons of tomatoes in a single day to earn $50. Farmwokers receive no benefits of any kind and are excluded from federal labor protections that allow other sectors of workers to organize and receive overtime pay.

In 2001, the CIW launched a national boycott of Taco Bell for its refusal to act on the human rights abuses in its supply chain. Taco Bell is a major buyer of Florida tomatoes and, as part of Yum Brands (the largest restaurant company in the world, including Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC, Long John Silverís, and A&W), has substantial influence in the U.S. fresh produce industry.

The agreement that the CIW and Yum! Brands reached will guarantee workers who pick the tomatoes that end up in Taco Bell tacos a penny per pound wage increaseónearly doubling current wages. It will also enact a meaningful supplier code of conduct banning practices such as forced labor. The agreement is expected to immediately affect thousands of workers in Florida and up the East coast.

The RFK Memorial Center for Human Rights commends all parties for their efforts that led to this landmark event and applaud Taco Bell and Yum Brands for their leadership within the fast-food industry. In 2003, three members of the CIW became the first U.S.-based human rights defenders to be awarded the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award. Since that time, the RFK Memorial Center for Human Rights has supported the CIWís innovative work to achieve equal rights for farmworkers and the end of slavery in U.S. fields.

Founder and board member of the RFK Memorial, Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) stated,
"Years ago, Robert Kennedy stood with Cesar Chavez and the farmworkers of California in their epic battle for fundamental human rights. He would have been proud to stand with the Immokalee Workers today in their ongoing battle for fair pay and fair working conditions in the tomato fields."

Todd Howland, Director of the RFK Center for Human Rights concurs: ìTaco Bell has shown that companies can and should reach for a standard higher than only their bottom lineóthat major corporations can be part of the solution to human right abuses instead of simply profiting off of the poverty of others. It's now time for other fast-food industry leaders to follow suit to ensure that those who pick our food are treated with dignity.î

Founder and board member of the RFK Memorial, Mrs. Robert F. Kennedy, continued: ìIt's great to see the tomato pickers get a long- deserved boost now that Taco Bell has taken the lead in fast-food corporate responsibility.î

ìThis is a great victory, ìsaid Congressman Lewis (D-GA) and RFK Memorial board member, ìfor the champions of social justice and equality in America and around the world. The courageous men and women of the Coalition of the Immakolee Workers prove that standing strong in the struggle can remove the greatest obstacles, even the resistance of a goliath in corporate industry. This victory once again confirms that the methods of nonviolence can win deep and lasting change in the most powerful institutions of the world, in American government and in the corporate conglomerate. I applaud all the coalition workers who struggled and suffered for years to win greater equality for American workers.î