General

Report-Back from CIW Action at McD's HQ

Saturday, 09 June 2007
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM

Report Back from Twin Cities Caravan to CIW action at McDonald’s HQ in Chicago

Earlier this year, over 70 Minnesotans drove to Chicago to join the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) at McDonald’s Global Headquarters to demand an end to human rights violations in the fast-food giants’ tomato supply chain – AND WE WON! Join participants for a Report-Back from the action, and to learn more about the continuing struggle to end sweatshops and slavery in the fields of Florida:

Saturday, June 9, 10am
Coffee Hour
Resource Center of the Americas
3019 Minnehaha Ave., Minneapolis

BACKGROUND:
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) is a community-based worker organization made up of Latino, Haitian and Mayan immigrants who are working in low-wage jobs throughout the state of Florida. The work of the CIW to end human rights violations in the fields of Florida has been recognized internationally, due in large part to the historic Taco Bell Boycott which ended in significant pay increases and improved working conditions for thousands of tomato pickers.

Following the victory in the Taco Bell Boycott, the CIW began focusing pressure on the largest restaurant chain in the world – McDonald’s - to meet the same demands. After a two year battle with McDonald’s, the CIW and their allies took an important step forward. Only days before thousands of people were to converge on McDonald’s headquarters in Chicago, McDonald’s and the CIW reached a landmark accord that not only met the standards set in the Taco Bell agreement, but also committed the fast food giant to collaborate with the CIW to establish an industry-wide third-party mechanism for monitoring conditions in the fields and investigating abuses. The agreement consisted of:

1. A penny more per pound to workers harvesting tomatoes for McDonald’s
2. A stronger code of conduct based on the principle of worker participation
3. And a collaborative effort to develop a third-party mechanism for monitoring conditions in the fields and investigating workers’ complaints of abuse

The Twin Cities CIW Solidarity Committee is inviting the community to join local participants from the historic Caravan to Chicago in a discussion about the work of the CIW:

Saturday, June 9, 10am
Resource Center of the Americas
3019 Minnehaha Ave., Minneapolis

Location: