Beltway Area Indymedia

(We are going back to 87.9 as 87.7 has disappeared)(Audio:4 min 36 sec)
Supporters of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers showed up at the Adams-Morgan Burger King to demand that the tomato pickers be paid an addition penny per pound.
Tomato pickers in Immokalee, FL have to pick 2 1/2 tons of tomatoes a day to earn just $50 a day.

The exception is those picking for Yum Brands, Taco Bell-or McDonald's. All of these agreed to raise pay from about 1 1/2 to about 2 1/2 cents per pound after CIW supporters protested and boycotted them.

(AUDIO 5 min 8 seconds)
The Coalition of Immokalee Farmworkers vowed "Burger King is next" after McDonald's agreed to pay a penny more per pound of tomatoes picked. On April 28 CIW supporters delivered on this in many cities-including right here in DC at 5th and G sts.

Protest chants and songs used a lot of imagery of toppling royalty, including "Down with the King-off with his head!" This of course is in response to Burger King's "Kingly" image.

McDonalds and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers have just annonced a labor agreement giving the CIW the penny per pound pay raise for tomatoes they have been seeking.

Following the precedent setting victory against Taco Bell, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a grassroots farmworker organization based in Southern FL, has called upon fast food giant McDonald's to take responsibility for subpoverty wages and working conditions within its supply chain. Instead, McDonald's has gone of its way to avoid working with the CIW and created a weak and hollow monitoring program called SAFE to boost its image of social responsibility. Behind this facade, McDonald's continues to profit from farmworker poverty and the call to action has come...