Burger King Says "Not One Penny More" For Farm Workers
"...just part of the message I'm going to have to send you
about the evil that men do" -- Queen Latifah f/KRS-One, "Evil That Men Do"
Fast-food giant Burger King has told the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) that it will not pay a penny more per pound to farmworkers harvesting its tomatoes. The CIW, a Florida-based group of farmworkers receiving support from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and other faith groups, is calling on some of the nation's largest fast-food companies to do their part to improve wages and working conditions for the laborers who pick their tomatoes. It wants Burger King and other fast-food companies, such as McDonald's Inc. and Chipotle Mexican Grill, to follow the lead of Taco Bell's Louisville-based parent company Yum! Brands, Inc.Yum Brands, the parent company for KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Long John Silver's (LJS) and A&W All-American Food Restaurants (A&W), buckled to public opinion following a nearly four-year national boycott to pay its tomato suppliers the additional penny per pound.
One cent per pound of tomatoes can not be breaking the banks of companies like Yum, who posted a positive net income of $232 million in December of 2006.
The agreement not only improved farmworker wages, but guaranteed transparency in Taco Bell's tomato supply chain and established the first code of conduct for Florida agricultural suppliers that guarantees a meaningful role for farmworkers in the protection of their own rights.
Come see the power of one cent! One extra cent per pound provided a measurable increase in quality of life for these people -- granted , we are still talking about wages far below what most of us in urban environments would call "living wages" -- and instituted a framework which could facilitate further improvement.
Burger King, on the other hand:
However, Burger King officials said in a statement Feb. 5 that it has decided not to accept a request by the CIW to pay a penny more per pound for its tomatoes, despite stating that it's "sympathetic and concerned" about the "substandard" living conditions faced by the workers.The announcement prompted the CIW, which is currently engaging McDonald's about wages and working conditions, to hold a press conference outside Burger King's corporate headquarters in Miami, FL. More than 50 farmworkers, clergy, students and community activists attended the press conference on Feb. 15, demanding the company look closer at conditions in the Florida fields where many of its tomatoes are picked. The event kicked off what the CIW is calling a "truth campaign" to highlight the treatment of Florida farmworkers who pick the tomatoes for Burger King.
Let's examine some of the truths of the tomatoes which make their way on the burgers you can have your way:
PC(USA) General Assembly Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick said in a statement to Burger King in January that workers who pick tomatoes in Florida for Burger King continue to face poverty wages and exploitative working conditions. "They still lack rights enjoyed by workers in other industries," Kirkpatrick wrote. Kirkpatrick said in his letter that Burger King is "morally and ethically" obligated to correct the deficiencies because the company profits from the exploitation of the workers. Most tomato pickers still receive roughly the same pay as in 1978 — 40 to 45 cents for every 32-pound bucket of tomatoes they pick.To earn $50 a day, considered a good haul, workers must pick about 125 buckets of tomatoes, or about two tons. A penny more for each [pound] would raise the pay rate to 77 cents [per bucket], providing the workers a 71-percent increase in wages.
But remember, this worker is working for 12 hours in this day, an average of 10 buckets per hour. So we're talking $50 for 12 hours -- roughly $4.17/hour-- of backbreaking labor, and this would raise his wage to $96.25 for the same 125 buckets.
A moral and ethical responsibility? I'd say that's a bare minimum. But don't take my word for it.
Exploitation of this type will not stop without consumer outcries, public relations nightmares and boycotts. A monster like the modern corporation, ruled only by its lust for greed and currency, will not respond to any less.
Comments
what is the fair wage for picking tomatoes, anyways??
$7/hr?
heck, why not make it $50/hr...??
I'll tell you why.
because you're not going to ANY store and purchase a tomato for $150. You won't and neither will anyone else. You would simply stop eating them if they were that expensive.
The market (you and I and all other consumers) has decided a price for tomatoes, and at that price, there is a certain amount of demand for the tomatoes. Burger King will supply tomatoes to us for that same reasonable price. The supply of tomatoes, which comes from the farms, provides the product...
this is simple supply-side economics.. "demanding" more money from "greedy" corporations shows how inconsiderate of the facts you are.
Yes. some people need help - so, let's focus on giving them help with our individual resources, rather than waste time protesting the laws of supply and demand, making unfounded and dishonest claims of "near-slavery" and "racism".
Perhaps if these tomato-pickers knew that they could go work at Burger King for a higher wage than they are currently getting in the fields, they would go there to apply for jobs...
maybe you should tell them that.
Posted by: billy | March 6, 2007 09:01 AM
Mc Donalds and Taco Bell already reached an agreement to pay farmworker a penny more per pound of tomatoes. so this proves that all the boycotts and protesting really worked so it is not a waste a time.
If workers decide that its time for a raise it is time. The pay for a bucket since the 1970's has been about 40 cents. Which is not enough. People have to work really hard just to earn about 40 dollars. We are not talking about sitting under a tree. I am talking about working about 9-12 hours under the hot florida sun hurting your back from picking up heavy buckets of tomatoes. Have you even worked in the fields in your life. Probably not right. I have though.
I know what it is like to wake up at 5 a.m. and start working at 6 a.m. Then head to the fields and work under the sun till 9 p.m. just to earn about 30 to 40 dollars. I did this for a lot of years helping my single working mom.
Now I go to college, and I am glad I am more informed and know that i can i actually help make farmworkers working conditions better, including the pay.
Most workers are really underpaid to do the jobs they do.
And as far as the "near slavery" and "racism" goes, I just want to say that is does happened. I've seen it happen. I am and american citizen and even I have experience racism while i was working in the fields. I met this man who worked from 7 a.m. till 9 p.m. and you want to know what he earned all day. Just 15 dollars picking cucumbers. So now, you can't tell me that that is not near slavery.
All we want now is justice in the fields and for people like you to understand that we still need to improve the the working conditions of farmworkers.
Posted by: Celina Martinez | April 10, 2007 11:32 AM
Mc Donalds and Taco Bell already reached an agreement to pay farmworker a penny more per pound of tomatoes. so this proves that all the boycotts and protesting really worked so it is not a waste a time.
If workers decide that its time for a raise it is time. The pay for a bucket since the 1970's has been about 40 cents. Which is not enough. People have to work really hard just to earn about 40 dollars. We are not talking about sitting under a tree. I am talking about working about 9-12 hours under the hot florida sun hurting your back from picking up heavy buckets of tomatoes. Have you even worked in the fields in your life. Probably not right. I have though.
I know what it is like to wake up at 5 a.m. and start working at 6 a.m. Then head to the fields and work under the sun till 9 p.m. just to earn about 30 to 40 dollars. I did this for a lot of years helping my single working mom.
Now I go to college, and I am glad I am more informed and know that i can i actually help make farmworkers working conditions better, including the pay.
Most workers are really underpaid to do the jobs they do.
And as far as the "near slavery" and "racism" goes, I just want to say that is does happened. I've seen it happen. I am and american citizen and even I have experience racism while i was working in the fields. I met this man who worked from 7 a.m. till 9 p.m. and you want to know what he earned all day. Just 15 dollars picking cucumbers. So now, you can't tell me that that is not near slavery.
All we want now is justice in the fields and for people like you to understand that we still need to improve the the working conditions of farmworkers.
Posted by: Celina Martinez | April 10, 2007 11:33 AM