*** MEDIA ADVISORY ***

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 16, 2005

Contact: Lucas Benitez, Coalition of Immokalee Workers - Office/fax: (239) 657-8311; cell: (239) 503-0133; Julia Perkins, cell: (239) 986-0891; E-Mail: workers@ciw-online.org; website: www.ciw-online.org

MARTIN SHEEN TO JOIN FARMWORKERS IN HISTORIC PROTEST OUTSIDE HEADQUARTERS OF WORLD’S LARGEST RESTAURANT COMPANY

Florida farmworkers to lead week-long tour through 15 major cities on way to seven days of demonstrations at Yum Brands’ headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky;

Immokalee, FL -- Farmworkers from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) will be joined by human rights award winners, religious leaders, youth, and labor allies on a two-week tour demanding that the fast-food giant Taco Bell take responsibility for human rights and other labor abuses in the fields where it buys its tomatoes. The CIW is spearheading a national boycott of Taco Bell due to the company’s refusal to demand more humane labor standards of its Florida-based tomato suppliers.

The highlight of the “2005 Taco Bell Truth Tour” will be a mass rally on Saturday, March 12th, outside of Yum Brands’ headquarters, where several thousand boycott supporters of all ages -- including actor Martin Sheen and human rights activist Kerry Kennedy, daughter of the late Robert F. Kennedy -- will gather for a day of music, speeches, and colorful theater in a carnival atmosphere. During the entire week of March 6th -12th, farmworkers from Immokalee and their allies will hold an intensive week of educational events and actions in and around the city of Louisville designed to highlight the inhumane working conditions behind the tomatoes in Taco Bell’s products.

WHO: COALITION OF IMMOKALEE WORKERS

WHEN: FEBRUARY 28TH THROUGH MARCH 14TH, 2005

KEY EVENTS:

February 28 - March 5 -- Farmworker tours from Immokalee to Louisville:
February 28 -- Atlanta, GA; Montgomery, AL
March 1 -- Nashville, TN; Memphis, TN
March 2 -- Cincinnati, OH; St. Louis, MO
March 3 -- Cleveland, OH; Indianapolis, IN
March 4 -- Columbus, OH; Chicago, IL
March 5 -- Lexington, KY; Chicago, IL
March 6-13 -- Week of action in Louisville, Kentucky
March 11th -- Conference, “Our World, Our Rights,” at University of Louisville
March 12th -- Day-long rally at Yum Brands’ HQ, Louisville, KY with Martin Sheen and Kerry Kennedy

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