Salt of the Earth: Tomato pickers target Taco Bell

Salt shakers
March 2001

Web site brings the supermarket to the poor
Tomato pickers target Taco Bell

Tomato pickers target Taco Bell
"Yo no quiero Taco Bell!" is the message a group of Florida farm workers want America to hear. They're calling for a boycott of the fast food giant until it helps improve working conditions for the people who pick the tomatoes that end up in its tacos, burritos, and Chalupas.

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers says Taco Bell is partly to blame for Florida tomato pickers' poor wages and working conditions. Farm workers for the Immokalee, Forida-based Six L's Packing Company, Inc., a major tomato producer and Taco Bell contractor, earn only 40 cents for each 32-pound bucket of tomatoes they pick, according to the coalition. That rate hasn't changed since 1978. Today workers must pick and haul two tons of tomatoes to bring home $50 a day. The tomato pickers receive no health insurance, sick leave, paid holidays, pensions, or other benefits.

The farm workers have joined forces with Florida college students to demand that Taco Bell pay more for its tomatoes. They hope extra money for companies such as Six L's Packing will eventually make its way into their pockets.

"It seems that, for whatever reason, agribusiness leaders in Florida think they operate in a world all their own, a world where workers are no more than tools," says Lucas Benitez, a member of the coalition. "We are joining forces with students from across Florida, students who have made their voices heard as consumers throughout the world."

The coalition members think if they convince enough students to boycott Taco Bell, the restaurant will agree to discuss working conditions with tomato pickers.

Brian Payne, a member of the Student Farm Worker Alliance says, "As Taco Bell's target market, students are in a unique position to dedicate our resources and creativity towards helping Taco Bell realize the importance of the farm workers' role in its success."

Taco Bell officials have so far refused to talk with the workers. They say the company does not employ the pickers and therefore cannot address their concerns.

Florida tomato pickers are not the only farm workers to organize against end users. A group of North Carolina cucumber pickers, led by the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC), launched a boycott of the Mt. Olive Pickle Company in 1999. The pickers wanted Mt. Olive to raise cucumber prices, recognize FLOC as a legitimate collective bargaining organization, and ensure FLOC received union dues.

Mt. Olive's response was similar to Taco Bell's. In a public position statement the company said, "We believe union representation on the farm is a decision for the farmer and the farm workers—a decision we will honor but not dictate. Because our company does not employ farmers, we cannot, and we should not, dictate whom they must hire."

Steve Steel, FLOC communications director, rejects Mt. Olive's defense. "The structure of the industry is such that farm workers' conditions are controlled by the economics of the growers, which are controlled by their contracts with food processors," he says. "You have to look at who is controlling the millions of dollars that go into the industry."

According to Steel, Mt. Olive did raise cucumber prices but only based on market conditions. He says the company still refuses to negotiate union matters. FLOC's boycott is ongoing. —Anne Graber

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