“American consumers will not patronize a company that is perceived to profit from the exploitation of farmworkers”…!

In a must-read new letter to McDonald’s CEO James Skinner, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney sends a clear and powerful message, telling the fast-food giant it’s time to “protect McDonald’s brand name by improving wages and working conditions of farm workers who supply produce for McDonald’s.”

And — in what now appears remarkably prescient in light of the recent high-profile conviction of a farm labor boss for crimes against his workers in Florida — President Sweeney admonishes Skinner against further pursuing any solution to farmworker exploitation that excludes workers and instead “partners” with employers, writing:

“Labor exploitation is so severe and deeply-rooted in Florida agriculture that it is unconscionable to leave the solution to the very employers who have been responsible for those abuses.  Your company must not let its vision – and its reputation – be defined by agricultural employers who do not share McDonald’s commitment to principles of social responsibility.”

He adds, “I, personally, and the AFL-CIO institutionally, are committed to robustly supporting the CIW and the Campaign for Fair Food.”  President Sweeney’s letter is the most powerful yet in a series of recent high-level messages from religious, community, and labor leaders to McDonald’s CEO Skinner.  You can read it in its entirety by clicking here (pdf file).  Don’t miss it!