Tell McDonald's to Support Improved Working Conditions and Fair Wages for Farm Workers!
During the Student Labor Week of Action, students and Jobs with Justice coalitions are standing with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) and allies across the country to call on McDonald's to do the right thing: Follow Taco Bell's lead and work with CIW to establish fair wages and working conditions for the farmworkers who pick its tomatoes.
In March of 2005, Taco Bell agreed to take responsibility for the abysmal conditions faced by the farmworkers who pick their tomatoes. The agreement established a partnership between Yum Brands, Taco Bell’s parent company, and the CIW and set several important precedents for social responsibility in the fast-food industry. Among those precedents, Taco Bell agreed to pay a penny more per pound for the tomatoes it buys from Florida growers -- an increase that could nearly double workers' sub-poverty wages -- and to establish the first-ever enforceable Code of Conduct for US agricultural suppliers. Yet despite strong public support for the ground-breaking agreement, McDonald’s has steadfastly refused to follow Taco Bell’s lead on this simple path to justice. Act now to tell McDonalds to do the right thing.
| Sample Letter for Campaign |
Subject: Help end Human Rights Violations in the Fields
Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,
I am writing to urge you to work with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) to improve the wages and working conditions of the farmworkers who pick tomatoes in McDonald's supply chain. I call on you to:
1. Pay a fair increase per pound for the tomatoes McDonald's purchases and ensure the increase is passed along to tomato pickers
2. Establish an enforceable code of conduct to ensure safe working conditions
Your recent initiative to offer only fair trade coffee in your New England restaurants demonstrates your commitment to the principles of fair wages and working conditions for those who produce and harvest the food you sell.
You have the opportunity to ensure the same kind of dignity for the tomato pickers in your supply chain by following the lead established by Yum Brands earlier this year.
The agreement reached by the CIW and Yum Brands is already yielding concrete improvements in workers' wages and conditions -- improvements including almost doubling workers' wages when workers pick for Taco Bell. As a self-proclaimed leader in corporate accountability, I hope McDonald's will exceed what Yum has done by paying even more than a one penny a pound increase for its tomatoes so that workers can regain what they've lost to inflation over the last three decades.
As we celebrate the harvest this season, I ask you to remember the harvesters. McDonald's has the power to make a profound and lasting contribution to human rights. Don't miss this opportunity.
Sincerely,
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