wfn.org | UMNS# 05142-Worker coalition ends boycott of Taco Bell

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Worker coalition ends boycott of Taco Bell

Mar. 9, 2005	 News media contact:   Linda  Bloom * (646) 3693759*  New
York {05142}

NOTE: Photographs are available at http://umns.umc.org.

A UMNS Report
By Linda Bloom*

A United Methodist-backed consumer boycott against Taco Bell has ended.

The Florida-based Coalition of Immokalee Workers announced March 8 that
it is ending the boycott after Taco Bell agreed to work with the
organization to address working conditions and the wages of farm workers
in the Florida tomato industry.

In a joint press release with the coalition, Taco Bell President Emil
Brolick said the company recognized "that Florida tomato workers do not
enjoy the same rights and conditions as employees in other industries
and there is need for reform." Any solution must be industry-wide, he
said, but Taco Bell will play a leadership role to be part of the
solution.

The United Methodist Church officially joined the boycott last spring by
a vote of the denomination's 2004 General Conference, its top
legislative body. Delegates also had approved a worker-related boycott
of Mt. Olive Pickle Co., which ended with an agreement last September.

"I look forward to having a bean and cheese burrito and am very glad
Taco Bell has cooperated with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to
address fundamental rights and working conditions for the tomato pickers
in Immokalee, Florida," said Jim Winkler, chief executive, United
Methodist Board of Church and Society.

"I believe this shows very clearly what an enormous impact the United
Methodist Church, the third largest denomination in the country, can
have when we put our full weight behind struggles for justice and
peace."

On Feb. 28, farm workers began their "2005 Taco Bell Truth Tour," which
was to include a week of action and a mass rally in Louisville, Ky.,
where Taco Bell's parent company, Yum! Brands, has its headquarters.

John Hill, a Church and Society executive who said he was "surprised and
delighted" by the agreement, expects that the March 12 mass rally will
now be used to call on other companies to follow Taco Bell's lead.

The success of the boycott, he added, "helps to address those skeptics
who think economic boycotts aren't effective."

Other religious groups that had endorsed the boycott included the
National Council of Churches, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the United Church of Christ and
the American Friends Service Committee.

The Rev. Robert Edgar, a United Methodist pastor and chief executive of
the National Council of Churches, said he was excited about achieving
"two victories in one year on migrant labor issues" through agreements
with Taco Bell and Mt. Olive Pickle.

"It's really very pleasing to see the church and people who are
struggling collaborate together, much like they did back in the civil
rights movement," he told United Methodist News Service. "They can make
a difference."

Such work for economic justice must continue, according to Edgar, who
pointed to the U.S. Senate's recent vote against an increase in the
minimum wage. "People living on minimum wage are showing up at soup
kitchens and homeless shelters because they can't make it any more," he
declared.

Edgar, who himself had made several attempts to speak directly to Taco
Bell's chief executive officer about the boycott, pointed out that "here
is a company that did the right thing."

According to the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, the agreement with Taco
Bell "sets a new standard of social responsibility for the fast-food
industry."

The boycott originated in 2001 because the coalition and others believed
that Taco Bell was not addressing issues of alleged worker exploitation
by its tomato suppliers. The average wage of 40 cents per 32-pound
bucket has not changed in more than 20 years, according to the U.S.
Department of Labor.

Taco Bell recently secured an agreement with several of its tomato
growers to "pass through" the equivalent of one-cent per pound directly
to workers in an effort to improve wages, according to the press
release. Brolick said the company would work only with growers who
comply with that procedure.

# # #

*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York.

News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or
newsdesk@umcom.org.

********************

United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org