Hold the tomato!
Farmworkers seek justice from fast-food giants
by Cruz Salucio
When you go to Taco Bell, Burger King, or other fast-food restaurant, you just think about how hungry you are and are happy the food is cheap. You probably don’t give a thought to the fact that tomatoes served at those places are cheaper because they are sold at reduced prices to companies who buy them by the tons. What does that have to do with your hunger? Or even with your faith? But what is at stake with those cheap prices is nothing less than the dignity of hundreds of people, all children of God.
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) is a community-based organization, whose members come mostly from Latino, Haitian, and Mayan Indian backgrounds. They are migrant farmworkers, who labor in the giant tomato industry. Immokalee is the largest farmworker community in Florida.
In our work we endure abusive conditions: salaries that are substantially below the poverty level, nearly 31 years without wage increases (to earn minimum wage we must pick 2 tons of tomatoes per week) a basic lack of rights (such as overtime pay, the right to organize, etc.), and what amounts to modern-day slavery.
The CIW has organized to attain fair wages, respect for our human rights, and put an end to the slavery that exists in this country. To achieve this, we have carried out work stoppages, 30-day hunger strikes, and marches. We have put pressure on the large tomato companies in our community.
Luckily, things have been changing: The beatings and the theft of our salaries have declined, and the price paid per bucket has increased a little in some areas. However, looming over the tomato industry are large corporations such as fast-food restaurants, which purchase enormous quantities of tomatoes and demand the lowest market price without any consideration for the respect, dignity, and fair salaries for the workers who plant and harvest the tomatoes. The coalition is fighting to change all that and transform the farming industry.
In 2001, we launched a national boycott of Taco Bell, exerting pressure from consumers, including students, activists, and people of faith. After four years we achieved a historic victory. We got a pay increase from approximately 45 cents to 77 cents per bucket of tomatoes picked and an agreement on a code of conduct that regulates the working conditions in the fields. In 2007 we reached a similar agreement with McDonald’s, and now we are targeting Burger King.
We are attaining real changes that are improving the lives of thousands of farmworkers but we must continue our struggle. We are tired, as Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “of depending on the goodwill and understanding of those who benefit from exploiting us.” We invite you to join us in our struggle for fair prices and justice for farmworkers. Toward victory always!
—Cruz Salucio is a CIW organizer
