The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights Joins the Coalition of Immokalee Workers in National Boycott of Taco Bell

Taco Bell Fails to Create Mechanism for Zero-Tolerance of Slave Labor in its Supply Chain

The RFK Memorialís 2003 Human Rights Laureates are three leaders of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) in Immokalee, Florida ñ Julia Gabriel, Lucas Benitez, and Romeo Ramirez ñ recognized for their courageous contributions to fighting modern-day slavery and protecting the human rights of agricultural workers in the US. CIW and the RFK Memorial need your help to pressure Taco Bell to respect farmworkers' human rights, including collective bargaining and fair labor standards and wages.

Tomatoes produced in the US supply multinational corporations. Today, corporate growers sell tomatoes to big corporate buyers, including fast food mega-chains like Taco Bell. Those fast-food giants receive cheap, high-quality US tomatoes thanks to the labor of thousands of Florida farmworkers who pick tomatoes at a piece rate that has remained virtually unchanged for over two decades (40-50 cents for every 32-lb bucket of tomatoes picked). At that rate, workers must pick and haul two tons of tomatoes to earn $50 in a day. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the median annual farmworker income is $7,500. Workers are denied the rights to organize and overtime pay. They receive no health insurance, no sick leave, no paid holidays, no vacation, and no pension. To date, Taco Bell has refused to do its part and take responsibility for human rights abuses in its supply chain.

What Should Taco Bell Do?

Taco Bell should double the picking piece rate paid to farmworkers by agreeing to pay just one penny more per pound for the tomatoes it buys from growers. Even if Taco Bell were to balk and pass this cost onto YOU, the consumer, it would amount to less than º of 1 cent more for a chalupa!

• Convene a dialogue among representatives of Taco Bell, their tomato suppliers, and representatives of CIW to develop solutions to the problems farmworkers face.

• Raise the per-pound rate Taco Bell pays suppliers for tomatoes.

• Join with CIW and tomato industry representatives in drafting strict wage and working condition standards to be required of all Taco Bell tomato suppliers. Such standards would necessarily require respect for pickers' fundamental labor rights, including the right to a living wage and overtime, and the right to organize without fear of retaliation.