Will Romney Restore Workers' Dignity?

Mitt Romney co-founded Bain Capital more than two decades ago. Today, Bain and its partner firms own roughly 43 percent of Burger King and control six seats on the company’s board.

Burger King has sided with the extreme elements of Florida’s tomato industry to undermine worker agreements between farm workers and companies like Yum Brands and McDonald's. Burger King’s actions have enabled a “harvest of shame.”

Tell Mitt Romney and Bain Capital to restore dignity to the workers of Florida’s tomato industry.

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Will You Restore Workers' Dignity?

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

I have a few questions I hope you will answer:

Why is Bain Capital, the firm you co-founded, refusing to protect farm workers in Florida from shameful working conditions?

Will you and Bain Capital continue to support a system that keeps workers in subpoverty conditions?

And will you stand silently as the modest gains made by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers are rolled back?

The real question is: what will you do to restore dignity to the workers of Florida's tomato industry?

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
February 01, 2008


Background Information

Mitt Romney co-founded Bain Capital in 1984.  In December 2002, Bain joined with two other buyout firms to purchase Burger King for $1.5 billion. To date, Bain and its partners have nearly tripled their original investment. Bain and its partner firms own roughly 43 percent of Burger King and control six seats on the company’s board.

During the same period, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), a community organization in Immokalee, Fla., organized the Campaign for Fair Food, calling on major buyers of Florida tomatoes to take responsibility for the chronic poverty and horrific labor abuses faced by tomato workers.

The CIW campaign achieved several unprecedented successes, bringing companies like McDonald’s and Yum Brands behind two key principles:

  • Economic relief for farm workers through a penny-per-pound surcharge passed on directly to workers in the form of a raise in the piece rate.
  • A code of conduct with strict consequences for violating workers’ rights.

Burger King has chosen to join with the most extreme elements of Florida’s tomato industry to undermine these agreements and enable a “harvest of shame.”