http://www.unionvoi
Stop the Servitude
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) is launching a national
petition drive to demand that Burger King and other food industry
leaders work with the CIW to improve the wages and working conditions of
the workers who pick their tomatoes and join with the CIW in an
industry-wide effort to eliminate human rights abuses from Florida's
fields.
Please take a moment to sign the petition, which will serve as notice
that those who sign are "prepared to stop patronizing Burger King now,
and other food industry leaders in the future, should they fail to do
so." Full Petition Text:
WHEREAS, there is an ongoing human rights crisis in Florida's fields,
including:
--Poverty wages, rooted in an antiquated piece-rate pay system that
hasn't changed significantly in nearly 30 years; --Long hours without
overtime pay when work is available, unemployment and transience when it
is not; --Physical abuse and wage fraud by crew leaders, supervisors and
growers; --Damage to body and soul from back-breaking labor, with no
employment benefits such as sick days, paid leave, health insurance or
pensions; --Retaliation against workers who protest or organize to
alleviate these inhuman conditions; --And, most shamefully, modern-day
slavery, with six successful federal prosecutions of farm labor
operations for servitude in Florida over the past decade, and a seventh
just initiated, involving more than 1,000 workers and more than a dozen
farm employers;
WHEREAS, by leveraging their high-volume purchasing power to extract the
lowest prices possible, Burger King and other food industry leaders
profit from and play an active role in creating the miserable conditions
in Florida's fields;
WHEREAS, Burger King and other food industry leaders have not only
refused to join Yum! Brands and McDonald's in working with the Coalition
of Immokalee Workers (CIW) to improve farm labor conditions, but have
actually sought to reverse gains made by workers in agreements with
those corporations;
WHEREAS, private equity firms including Goldman Sachs, Texas Pacific
Group, Bain Capital and others, which are principal shareholders in
Burger King and other food industry leaders, have made significant
investments in the restaurant industry over the past decade and have
ignored calls by farm workers and consumers for farm labor reform, while
continuing to draw billions of dollars in private profits from their
investments;
THEREFORE, I add my name and voice to those of countless consumers
calling upon Burger King and other food industry leaders to immediately
join with the CIW in efforts to end exploitation in the fields and
modern-day slavery in the 21st century. I also am prepared to stop
patronizing Burger King now, and other food industry leaders in the
future, should they fail to do so.
Specifically, I call on Burger King and other food industry leaders
to:
1. Pay a penny more per pound for tomatoes and ensure that the increase
is passed on to tomato pickers in the form of increased wages; and
2. Work with the CIW to establish and enforce a human rights-based code
of conduct, including zero tolerance for forced labor, to ensure fair
and safe working conditions.
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