Florida farmworkers pressure McDonald's for higher wages

[NNN0LHI]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FL_FARMWORKERS_FAST_FOOD_FLOL-?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US

CHICAGO (AP) -- Police officers kept the drive-thru at McDonald's Corp.'s flagship restaurant open Saturday as several hundred supporters of a farmworker advocacy group demanded better wages for the people who pick the tomatoes used by the fast-food giant. snip

Members of the Florida-based Coalition of Immokalee Workers, which represents the largely Hispanic work force that picks tomatoes for growers who supply produce for McDonald's sandwiches and salads, organized the rally at a busy downtown intersection.

Demonstrators pounded on drums and held signs that read 'I'm Not Lovin' It' - a play on McDonald's advertising slogan - as speakers in yellow T-shirts painted a bleak picture of supposedly inhumane working conditions.

Rolando Sales, 26, said workers who must fill 125 buckets to make $50 a day are being exploited so that McDonald's can purchase tomatoes at a low price.

[MADem]

1. Jeez, I'd pay a buck for a bucket of tomatoes, even two bucks! n/t

[Selatius]

2. 50 dollars a day in an eight hour workday? That's rock bottom min. wage.

It's $6.25/hour. In Florida, that is the minimum wage.

The wages wouldn't be so low if all people in this country showed worker solidarity with each other and helped each other fight for better wages, even if it means elevated prices for certain foods at the supermarket. Humanity is worth a lot more than "low prices, everyday."

No, we've moved in the opposite direction of consumerism and have been made to compete against each other in a struggle for survival rather than thriving through mutual cooperation with others.

[John Q. Citizen]

4. This same group of workers won a simular battle with Taco Bell a

short while back.

NOW (PBS) did a great piece on them.

It turns out that just a couple of cents a pound more in the price of tomatoes makes a huge difference in the lives (and the incomes) of the workers.

Taco Bell tried to ignore them but they finally negotiated and dedicated the extra two cents per pound exclusively to the pickers. It doubled the pay for those workers in fields who had contracts with Taco Bell.

The union said at the time they were going to continue the struggle with other corporate giants. I'm glad to see they are doing it.


Here's a link to the union's web page http://www.ciw-online.org/

[Gormy Cuss]

3. Good for them. I like direct action.

I'd boycott McDonald's if it weren't for the fact that I already don't eat their food.

[John Q. Citizen]

5. Go down to your local McMac place and ask the manager to tell the

owner that you won't buy there unless they come to terms with the union.

That would definately help, because if the Corp. hears back from local owners they are much more likely to come to terms with the union.