Campaign Highlights:

3/15/08: Congress hears the call! Petition campaign wins powerful new support...


In a whirlwind three-day visit, a delegation from Immokalee traveled to Washington, DC, this week and won some powerful new support for the campaign to end slavery and sweatshops in the fields. Here, Sen. Richard Durbin (speaking) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (left) joined CIW members, Rep. John Conyers and Rep. Dennis Kucinich, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, and representatives from dozens of religious, student, labor, and human rights organizations for a stirring public signing ceremony in the shadow of the Capitol building to kick-off the nationwide petition drive!

4/8/08: "... And other food industry leaders"... The bell tolls for Chipotle in Denver!

The nationwide Petition Campaign to End Slavery and Sweatshops in the Fields isn't just about Burger King. As the petition site puts it, the petition "will serve as notice that those who sign are 'prepared to stop patronizing Burger King now, and other food industry leaders in the future, should they fail to'," comply with the petition's demands.

In the Mile High city, Denver Fair Food -- a local network of Fair Food activists that has made Denver-based Chipotle its own hometown focus in the Campaign for Fair Food -- organized a march on Chipotle headquarters of nearly 100 people (above, right) last week, demanding that the burrito giant do its part to end farmworker exploitation in Florida's fields.

See a great report, with pictures from the event and all the press coverage, by clicking here!

 

Scroll down for more campaign updates from the past two months!...

Campaign Update: 4/22/08

  • Crazy and creative, petitions are making their way in from coast to coast!... From Asheville, North Carolina, where Fair Food activists have fashioned a papier mache petition in the form of hamburger buns crushing a worker....

... to Los Angeles, California, where the South Central Farmers and other community activists are showing their support for the Campaign for Fair Food by signing a massive banner of solidarity...

... countless consumers across the country are joining forces to demand an end to modern-day slavery and sweatshop conditions in Florida's fields. Click here to sign the petition now! And, if you've already launched a petition drive in your own community, don't forget to get the signatures in by the end of the week so that your numbers can be counted this April 28th at the delivery action in Miami!


Campaign update: 3/31/08

Immokalee steps up!... The CIW's "12th Annual Year of the Worker Party" brought nearly two thousand workers to a day-long festival of music and organizing outside the CIW's community center in Immokalee...

... where workers joined Fair Food activists in hundreds of communities across the country in signing the Petition to End Slavery and Sweatshops in the Fields! See the report from the party here!

Go to the petition site for more ideas and materials to bring the campaign to your community today!


Campaign update: 4/10/08
  • Student/Labor Week of Action galvanizes CIW petition drive on campuses across the country!... The 2008 Student/Labor Week of Action came to a successful close with students taking action for economic justice and human rights in communities across the US.

    Check out the picture slideshow from the action-packed week, as well as highlights and brief reports courtesy of our friends at the Student/Farmworker Alliance, here!

    The CIW's National Petition Campaign was a central theme of the Week of Action (including lots of creative petition ideas, like this stunning t-shirt on the left from the Twin Cities!) and continues to grow as tens of thousands of consumers demand that Burger King and other food industry leaders take the necessary steps to end human rights abuses and modern-day slavery in the fields, and pledge to boycott Burger King if it fails to do so.

    From the upcoming April 15 Senate Hearings in DC that will examine the causes of continuing farmworker exploitation, to the April 28 petition delivery and action at BK headquarters in Miami, get ready for an action-packed few weeks as the Campaign for Fair Food heats up!


Campaign update: 4/03/08

  • The Power of One!... In our last update, we shared organizing news from Immokalee, where 2,000 people gathered for a community party and petition signing event. Today, we bring you the inspirational story of one Graciela Lopez, shown on the right during a United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) tour of apparel factories in Mexico. Graciela is a Fair Food activist extraordinaire from Washington, DC, whose efforts to circulate the petitionas far and as wide as possible would put Thomas Clarkson himselfto shame! Here's an excerpt from her latest report:

    "I was able to collect signatures at the USAS ten year after party, and on the National Mall (which was quite an adventure that I took on ALONE!). Once I got a big group of young teens, the petition practically signed itself. I also attended an event at the city council building to demand paid sick days and did a street theater performance which was pretty fun and people were more willing to sign after watching me be silly... When we were all waiting for the meeting to begin, I crawled through rows of people explaining the campaign and asking them to sign. In my crawling I met some pretty cool georgetown interested folks and got 11 new contacts!!

    We will be doing a video petition of some sort (I was thinking something like: "I will not not buy Burger King because..."). This video petition will also be a video project for one of my classes. Also I have a date set up for the fundraiser/dance party/drumcircle/art exhibit/crafts party/pot luck/ sangria (flyer on left) will be served :)... Lets see... I guess thats all for now!"


Campaign update: 3/25/08


Campaign update: 3/23/08

  • Two days ago, we brought you news of a creative new video by Fair Food activists in New York City. Today, we bring you the kids of Moorestown Friends School (above) from New Jersey and their student-run "Emancipation Rocklamation Concert," with over fifty volunteers, six local bands, and countless new signatures for the petition campaign!

Campaign update: 3/15/08

  • As the campaign surges forward, the creativity of petitioners across the U.S. is becoming apparent! Click on the image to the right to check out the amazing video petition put together by Student/Farmworker Alliance members in New York City. Keep the petitions coming!



Campaign update: 3/11/08


Campaign update: 3/9/08


Campaign update: 3/5/08