National Convergence for Justice for Farmworkers

IRVINE, CA- On Friday, Feb. 28th, a hunger strike by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and thier allies will culminate in a national convergence at Taco Bell HQ. The hunger strike and demonstration outside one of the world’s largest fast-food corporations will dramatically highlight the injustice of fast-food profits derived, in significant part, from farmworker poverty. see: www.ciw-online.org HISTORY: Since 1997, tomato pickers in Immokalee, Florida’s largest farmworker community, have been organizing for the right to join in talks with the state’s corporate tomato growers to find ways to improve farm labor conditions and raise the crop picking-piece rate. Despite signature drives, three general strikes, marches, and a 30-day hunger strike by six members of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) - ultimately ended by the intervention of former President Jimmy Carter - the growers continue to refuse to meet with farm worker representatives and have only marginally raised wages. When workers discovered that Taco Bell is a major buyer of the tomatoes they pick, they informed company executives in January, 2000 of the deplorable wages and working conditions in Florida’s fields and requested a meeting to discuss possible solutions. To date, Taco Bell has not addressed the concerns of the CIW, and the CIW continues to call for a boycott of Taco Bell.