UNITED STATES: Taco Bell farmers win

On March 8, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers called off its four year boycott of Taco Bell, after the fast-food giant agreed to pay a penny-per-pound surcharge for its tomatoes, the money to go to the indigent immigrant pickers who make up the CIW. Pickers' pay — roughly US$50 for two tonnes of tomatoes — is the same as it was 30 years ago. The company also agreed to ensure that none of its contractors use indentured servants. The pressure on the company has escalated, as the CIW gained support from student activists who have forced Taco Bell off 22 US campuses. The CIW was just finishing a national "Taco Bell Truth Tour" involving 80 farmworkers stopping in 15 cities en route to Louisville, home to Taco Bell, when the company conceded.

From Green Left Weekly, March 16, 2005.

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From GLW issue 619