ALLies,
Southern Nevada ALL is proud to support the the efforts of wildcat unions like the C.I.W. and grassroots community groups like MEChA de UNLV to win living wages and better conditions for workers by the most radical means imaginable — the use of pickets, solidarity, voluntary community organizing, hardball secondary boycotts, and other exercises of pro-worker free association — to undermine the exploitation of government-privileged corporate capitalism, to build alternatives to the corporate-statist quo, and to stand with fellow workers struggling to gain a living wage and control over the conditions of their labor. We extend our solidarity and our support to MEChA de UNLV, the organizers of this local campaign.
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a grassroots, community-based union representing farmworkers in central Florida, has called on fast food restaurants, grocery stores, and other large tomato buyers to step up and help farmworkers gain a living wage for their work — by agreeing to pay an extra penny per pound of tomatoes that they purchase from large tomato growers, which will go directly to the farmworkers who picked those tomatoes. (The penny-per-pound program costs participating buyers only a quarter for every 25-pound box of fresh tomatoes that they buy — but it could raise farmworkers’ wages by almost two-thirds. In an industry where the average worker makes approximately $10,000/year, and where wages have not risen significantly since 1978, the penny-per-pound program could finally break through this exploitation, and offer many farmworkers a chance to finally win a living wage for their labor.) Since the C.I.W. began its penny-per-pound campaign, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway, and Whole Foods have all signed agreements with the C.I.W. committing to participate in the penny-per-pound program, and to implement codes of conduct requiring their suppliers to respect the rights and safety of farmworkers in their fields. But Chipotle — while promising “Food With Integrity” and marketing themselves to customers as a leader in socially-responsible business practices — has repeatedly refused to sign any penny-per-pound agreement with the C.I.W. Let’s tell Chipotle that we don’t enjoy the taste of exploitation!
In solidarity with Immokalee farmworkers and the C.I.W.’s historic campaign, MEChA de UNLV has called for a DEMONSTRATION TOMORROW (Wednesday, 9/30) 11 A.M. – 2 P.M. in front of the Chipotle location at Maryland and Harmon, across the street from UNLV. Join us! Bring a sign, bring a friend; most importantly bring yourself. Chipotle exploits farmworkers — let’s tell them ya basta!
WHAT: Picket for fair food and the C.I.W.’s penny-per-pound agreement
WHERE: Chipotle Mexican Grill, Maryland and Harmon, across the street from UNLV.
WHEN: Wednesday, 9/30/2009, 11:00 A.M. – 2 P.M.
WHO: Anyone who supports a living wage for farmworkers and opposes exploitation!
Hope to see y’all there!
For more information on the C.I.W. and its campaign, check out their website at ciw-online.org.
