May 28, 2004
Dear David Novak,
I am the Executive Minister
of Justice and Witness Ministries at the United Church
of Christ, a mainline Protestand denomination with 1.3
million members. The UCC's General Synod endorsed the
boycott of Taco Bell in 2001 and many of our congregations
have been very active supporters of the boycott and
the Coalition of Immokalee Workers ever since.
I am glad to gear of
your May 20th offer to work toward an industry wide
sucharge of one penny per pound to be paid by all buyers
of Florida tomatoes and to lobby the Florida legislature
for better working conditions for farm workers. It is
gratifying to see Yum acceptinf its responsibility to
bring justice to the Florida tomato fields.
But if the press reports
are true, you propose to initiate these efforts only
after the Coalition of Immokalee Workers ends the boycott
fo Taco Bell.
Consequently, the CIW
has rejected Yum's proposal. And rightly so, I believe
-- workers can't eat promises.
The UCC will also continue
to boycott. Our General Synod Resolutoin called on the
church to boycott Taco Bell until "substantive
action to improve the wages and working conditions of
the farm workers who pick the tomatoes that go into
Taco Bell's products" occurs. Proposals are not
sufficient.
I urge you to negotiate
in good faith with the CIW and to use your power and
influence with the tomato growers to help put in place
a three-way agreement with Taco Bell, the growers, and
the CIW to improve wages and working conditions for
farmworkers.
I look forward to the
day when such a contract will be signed. I will be one
of the first in line to once again enjoy some good food
in my local Taco Bell restaurant.
Sincerely,
Bernice Powell Jackson
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