Press Release: Coalition of Immokalee Workers Solidarity Picket to be held at Wendy’s in Pensacola on June 29, 2013 at 12:00pm.
Florida tomato pickers are among this country’s most exploited workers; they earn sub-poverty wages, lack most standard rights and benefits and have not received a significant raise in 30 years. At the current rate, one must harvest over 2.5 tons of tomatoes to earn minimum wage for a 10-hour workday. In extreme cases, workers are held in modern-day slavery rings. In December 2008, four people were sentenced in federal court in a cast that involved beating, chaining, and enslaving tomato pickers who worked on some of Florida’s major tomato farms.
Yum Brands, McDonald’s, Burger King, Whole Foods, and Subway have all reached precedent-setting agreements with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), www.ciw-online.org, to improve wages and enforce a code of conduct for fair conditions in their tomato supply chains, including zero tolerance for modern-day slavery.
Wendy’s refuses to enter into an agreement with the CIW to guarantee fair wages and dignified working conditions for the tomato pickers in its supply chain.
It’s time for Wendy’s to work with the CIW to ensure humane wages and working conditions for the people who harvest its tomatoes.
A coalition of local students, labor activists, and concerned citizens stands in solidarity with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and will hold a picket at Wendy’s at 5685 N. 9th Ave., Pensacola on Saturday, June 29, 2013, at 12:00pm and demands that Wendy’s sit down and negotiate to implement a code of conduct in their supply chain and pay one cent more per pound for tomatoes picked.
For more information contact Johnny Ardis at 850-474-1495 or progressivestudentalliance@cox.net or visit www.ciw-online.org