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The National Farm Worker Ministry (NFWM) has witnessed
firsthand the abuses experienced by farm workers in
Florida and nationwide for many years. Farm workers
endure poverty-level wages and inhumane conditions to
put the food on our tables. All of us who benefit from
their labor - individual consumers, retailers, restaurants,
and corporations - have a responsibility to help end
that suffering. YUM Brands, a major player in the fast-food
industry, has tried to disavow its responsibility for
too long. It took a three-year boycott of YUM subsidiary
Taco Bell, shareholder actions, public demonstrations,
student hunger strikes, and media attention to bring
YUM management to acknowledge that this is an issue
of concern to their business. YUM has now expressed
a willingness to work toward solutions on the condition
that the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) call off
its boycott. But a “willingness to work toward
solutions” is not the solution farm workers need.
Given the great public pressure required to bring YUM
even this far, CIW understandably has no confidence
that YUM would actually implement any substantial changes
in the absence of that pressure. It would be premature
for CIW to call off the boycott until they have a legally
enforceable commitment from YUM that ensures lasting
improvements in the lives of the workers.
NFWM applauds CIW for its determination to bring justice
to Florida’s tomato fields. We thank our member
organizations and their millions of constituents nationwide
for their support of CIW’s campaign. And we urge
them to continue their support of the Taco Bell boycott
until notified by CIW that tangible results of genuine
value to Florida farm workers have been achieved and
the boycott is no longer needed.
For more information
314/726-6470
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