The CIW is today spear-heading the Taco
Bell boycott. But before we launched the national boycott in April of
2001, we had been organizing locally for many years in an effort to
modernize labor relations in Florida's fields, improve wages and working
conditions for our members, and eliminate modern-day slavery.
To learn more about the history of the
Coalition, you can go to the CIW site
where you'll find all the non-Taco Bell info on the Coalition from 1995
to 2001, including past CIW campaigns, Press Archives, Photo Galleries,
and more!
1997 General Strike
Immokalee, Florida
Or, you can simply click on some of
the links here below to go directly to the pages from the CIW site that
interest you... just remember to hit the back button on your browser
to return to the boycott site!:
The day started early, with the band
and the party committee setting up the stage and the sound
equipment, then blocking off the street for the day's activities.
As usual, the festivities
commenced with the traditional Taco Bell piñata (or
something approximating a chihuahua) for the kids...
Followed by a rousing opening discourse...
...inspiring those in attendance to hit
the card table, where they signed post cards to Taco Bell
by the dozens.
As the crowd grew, the games continued,
but now for the adults, including a serious match of tug-of-war...
... some open mike time, where CIW members
addressed their compañeros about the Taco Bell boycott
in various indigenous languages...
... some spirited competition to catch
water balloons -- intact -- for a Truth Tour t-shirt...
... and, of course, more
signing!
Faces in the crowd...
...
...
...
... a crowd that, by the way, continued
to grow throughout the day...
... as did the piles of signed cards!
As the afternoon went along, it was time
to introduce the party committee to the crowd...
... an appreciative crowd...
And finally it was back to the music
to round out the day, including our own CIW DJ, "El
Sonero Mayor" of Immokalee....
And two Immokalee-based bands, el Grupo
Mision y el Grupo Mix. The bands played into the night...
... and like the bands, the crowd didn't
let nightfall get in the way of a good party...
... as people stayed late,
dancing and enjoying the last hours of a great day.
