Mr. Thomas E. Davin January 12, 2000
Taco Bell Corp., Chief Operating Officer
17901 Von Karman
Irvine, CA 92614

Dear Mr. Davin:

We are writing to you today from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW). The CIW is a community organization of farmworkers based in Immokalee, Florida. Our members pick the tomatoes that restaurants like Taco Bell buy from the many fresh tomato producers that operate in our area. We would like to meet with representatives of your company to discuss a problem we are facing here in the fields of Florida.

We are aware that your company has recently developed a long-term "partnership" with the Six L's Packing Co. Inc., one of the major employers in our area, for the year-round supply of tomatoes. We -- the men and women who plant, cultivate, and pick those tomatoes -- have also been trying to establish a better, more productive relationship with Six L's for the past several years. Last year, hundreds of Six L's workers signed a petition seeking talks with the directors of the company on the issue of the picking piece rate (we are paid 40-45 cents for every 32-pound bucket of tomatoes that we pick). The piece rate has been effectively stagnant for over twenty years. To date, however, Six L's has refused to meet with us, and that is why we are writing to you.

We believe that we, too, are partners in this industry, and that by virtue of our hard work we have earned the right to talk with our employers about our wages and the conditions of our work. Two years ago, two thousand farmworkers in Immokalee signed cards supporting the CIW's call for dialogue with ten of the area's largest tomato growers. When that petition was ignored by nine of the growers, six of our members went on a hunger strike. Their fast lasted for one month, and only ended when former President Jimmy Carter intervened (as the late Governor Lawton Chiles had before him), asking for talks. The growers still refused. Again this season, farmworkers throughout Immokalee signed a petition asking for dialogue. Once again the growers (including Six L's) refused, leading to a community-wide protest and work stoppage for a week this past December. Since that time we have met with US Senator Bob Graham and representatives of Governor Jeb Bush about our situation, but the growers still refuse to meet.

We would like to talk with representatives of your company to discuss the conditions that we face picking tomatoes for Six L's and other companies in our area, and to share our ideas as to how Taco Bell could help bring about much-needed change for the workers who pick your tomatoes. We have included here a few articles about our situation, so that you might have a fuller idea of the problems that we continue to face today, nearly 40 years after the famous CBS documentary "Harvest of Shame". We truly believe that Taco Bell is a responsible corporate neighbor and that your company understands that conditions like those you will find in the attached articles are no longer acceptable. We look forward to your response and thank you for your attention to our situation. Please feel free to call us at the number below with any questions you might have as you review these materials.

Sincerely,

Lucas Benitez, CIW