Having taken tacos to task two years ago and winning, Florida’s migrant tomato pickers united within the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) are now taking a bite out of burgers. Burger King burgers to be precise.
“Make fast food fair!” and “It’s time for the King to do the right thing!” protest signs read and protesters chanted outside the Miami corporate headquarters of the fast food giant. “Nuestro sudor no es gratis,” (Our sweat isn’t free) stated tomato-shaped placards held by about 50 Mexican farmworkers and supporting clergy.
What’s the complaint? That practically communist idea in our time that the laborer is worthy of his hire. Or is that a Biblical idea? Some workers in Immokalee currently bring in about $8,000 a year.
Today’s Miami Herald reports laborers and clergy are calling for “justice,” citing
unfair wages and working conditions in the fields where Burger King’s tomatoes are picked.
Rev. Noelle Damico, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and director of the Campaign for Fair Food characterizes the wages paid by Burger King as a “moral outrage.” Continuing,
“Burger King and the other fast-food companies not only profit from the farmworkers’ poverty, their purchasing practices have a hand in creating that poverty.”
Similar demonstrations against Taco Bell won the workers a 1-cent per pound concession to be paid to those who picked the tomatoes sold to the fast food chain. But this only after a 4-year boycott called the “Taco Bell Truth Tour” when farmworkers went around “asking people to stay away from Taco Bell and restaurants run by its Louisville-based parent, Yum! Brands Inc.” (Yum! Brands include KFC, Pizza Hut, Long John Silver’s and A&W All-American Food Restaurants.)
Prior to 2005, Taco Bell purchased approximately 10 million pounds of tomatoes from Florida each year. So, the penny-a-pound increase means about $100,000 to the workers, collectively.
Is one cent per pound too much to ask from Burger King, the only recently publically traded ground beef sandwich and shakes manufacturing giant? Apparently so.
Perhaps the more vocal “attacks” against McDonald’s lulled Burger King executives into believing their stalling tactics and appearance of cooperation with CIW would work. It seemed to be working for their competitor who threw CIW a bone by joining the
Socially Accountable Farm Employer (SAFE) voluntary certification program. The initiative purports to certify producers that have “complied with all applicable laws and regulations governing employment” and foster a work environment “free of hazard, intimidation, violence and harassment.”
Great! you’re thinking. But SAFE doesn’t take any input on how compliant farmers are from the farmworkers themselves. It’s totally run by the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association industry group and the [local SoFla] Redlands Christian Migrant Association, a nonprofit providing childcare to migrant workers. Nor does SAFE do anything to address low wage abuse.
Getting back to those two years of private negotiations by Burger King. . .they certainly seemed to be lulling CIW as well.
But.
That changed last week when Burger King went public announcing it would not agree to pay the extra penny for its tomatoes.
Burger King claims it can’t pay more because it doesn’t have the accounting system in place to trace how many pounds each worker picked since
it buys its tomatoes from repacking companies, not directly from the farms.
Thank god for the middle man!
Feeling safe from any moral obligation to approach paying a living wage to lowly tomato-pickers at the moment, BK can throw them some bones, a la McDonalds.
. . .Steve Grover, vice president of quality assurance and regulatory affairs. . .said Burger King has been willing to look at other ways to help. The company offered to remove any suppliers from its system if the coalition can show proof that they are violating federal labor laws. But none have been identified.
Burger King also looked at ways it could provide charitable contributions to the workers through its Have It Your Way Foundation, with ideas including building houses or creating a day-care program for workers’ children, Grover said. The company offered to send recruiters to interview workers who might be interested in a restaurant job.
“We were legitimately trying to find a way to work with these folks,” Grover said. “They pretty much slammed the door on us. They were unwilling to look at any other alternatives.”
Yeah. They’d rather have a penny a pound. How greedy.
Contrary to its successful marketing slogan, Burger King just can’t let them have it their way.
So, what are you gonna do/say next time you step up and place your, “Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce” order? How about, “Keep your tomatoes, too, cheapskates!” Better yet, why not indulge in a little Truth Tour boycott of your own? Your waistline and Florida farmworkers will thank you.
[Crossposted To: DailyKos
