By Shara Esbenshade

Gargoyle contributor


Posted Sunday, April 8, 2007, The OG, news

[April 9 update: McDonald's has agreed to the Coalition of Immokalee Workers' demands: a penny more per pound to workers harvesting tomatoes for McDonald's; a stronger code of conduct based on the principle of worker participation; and a collaborative effort to develop a third-party mechanism for monitoring conditions in the fields and investigating workers' complaints of abuse. As for Tuesday's planned visit by CIW members, they will not be here, but Ricky Baldwin, who is an organizer for the CIW events in town, will come in to talk about this victory and show some short video clips about the CIW's work. Visitors are still welcome. The events described below for this weekend are still on, but altered: Friday's rally outside McDonald's headquarters will now be a conference of the groups involved in the campaign. Saturday's planned “carnaval” and march in downtown Chicago will be a victory celebration — and promises to be an exuberant one. If you are interested in going, e-mail ccisidro@gmail.com for transportation info.]

MEMBERS OF THE Coalition of Immokalee Workers will visit history teacher Chris Butler's World Since 1945 class Tuesday at 8 a.m. They will speak about their struggle to improve conditions for farmworkers.

Suzanne Linder's Social Advocacy class is scheduled to sit in. All other Uni students, faculty, and staff are invited to attend. The first-period class is held in Room 218.

The workers will be in C-U on their way to McDonald's corporate headquarters in suburban Chicago. They are currently on their “McDonald's Truth Tour” to demand fair wages for the people who pick tomatoes for the company.

The CIW is a group of immigrant farmworkers, largely Mexican and Haitian, based in the agricultural town of Immokalee in southwest Florida. Most of them are tomato pickers, although other crops such as cucumber are commonly picked as well. Workers are paid about 40 cents for each 32-pound bucket of tomatoes gathered. These tomatoes are bought by Yum! Brands, whose holdings include Taco Bell, Subway, Burger King, Wendy's, McDonald's, A&W, and more.

Because minimum wage does not apply to farmworkers, in order to make $50 a day they must pick about 125 32-pound buckets of tomatoes, in climates that are often 90 degrees or higher. Work is never guaranteed, overtime is not paid, bosses are rude and there have been instances of violence against workers. On top of all that, rent for the dilapidated trailers they can live in is very high.

The Immokalee workers had no one to fight for their rights until the CIW was formed in 1995. Since then the CIW has been campaigning to get Yum to pay more by addressing Yum's brands one at a time.

After a four-year boycott, massive demonstrations, and hunger strikes in front of company headquarters, CIW got Taco Bell to agree to pay workers one penny more per pound of tomatoes. Although this was a huge achievement, only a portion of Immokalee workers were affected because Taco Bell is just one of the fast-food chains that buys tomatoes from there.

Now, the CIW is waging a campaign to get McDonald's to pay one penny more per pound for its tomatoes. Since McDonald's is the nation's biggest fast-food chain, it could set the example for other fast-food restaurants.

The group's “McDonald's Truth Tour: Behind the Golden Arches” will culminate in a mass protest in front of McDonald's headquarters in Oak Brook on Friday, followed by a carnaval and march for fair wages Saturday in downtown Chicago (Festival Plaza, West Adams Street and South Dearborn Street). Saturday's event will feature Zach de la Rocha of Rage Against the Machine and other artists and speakers.

Below is the CIW's schedule while in C-U, as well as the itinerary for Friday's protest and Saturday's events. CIW members will be speaking at local schools and marching. Their schedule includes a solidarity rally noon Tuesday on the Quad.

SCHEDULE OF CIW EVENTS

Monday, April 9

• 4 p.m. — Noyes Lab, 505 S. Mathews Ave., Urbana

CIW presentation & discussion

• 7:45 p.m. — Central Illinois Mosque & Islamic Center, 106 S. Lincoln Ave., Urbana

CIW presentation & discussion

Tuesday, April 10

• Noon to 1 p.m. — U of I Quad

Solidarity rally

Friday, April 13

• 8 a.m. — Carpools leave U of I campus

• All day — McDonald's headquarters in Oak Brook

Saturday, April 14

• 6:30 a.m. — Carpools leave U of I campus

• 10 a.m. — Carnaval and parade kickoff, Festival Plaza, West Adams Street & South Dearborn Street, downtown Chicago

Note: If you would like to go to the rally or the carnaval in Chicago, several campus groups are working together to provide transportation from Urbana-Champaign. E-mail ccisidro@gmail.com for more info.

RELATED

— Background: Coalition of Immokalee Workers

— Background & daily updates: McDonald's Truth Tour

— Gargoyle column: Standing up for a living wage