Coalition of Immokalee Workers
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The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) is an organization of workers and community residents in Southwest Florida, structured along the lines of a 'workers' center' model. It seeks to involve its members in working on behalf of their interests. Formed in 1993, the organization has seen major successes, including an historical agreement with Taco Bell in March 2005 and various anti-slavery actions.
In 2001, the CIW launched a boycott of Taco Bell, asking the company to take responsibility for the working conditions and wages of the farmworkers that supply the company's tomatoes. During the campaign, called "Boot the Bell," the CIW worked closely with religious and community groups and a student network, the Student/Farmworker Alliance, to pressure Taco Bell from different social angles. On March 8, 2005, Yum! Brands, Inc., which owns Taco Bell, agreed to all of the organization's demands, including the CIW’s requests that the company pay a penny more per pound of tomatoes to increase worker’s wages. Yum! will also work with the CIW to enforce a code of conduct to monitor worker complaints and avoid abuses in the fields.
A year after the Taco Bell boycott, the CIW announced a campaign asking McDonald’s to agree to similar terms as Yum! Brands, Inc.. The CIW is calling on McDonald’s to pay an increased price for its tomatoes and work directly with the CIW to implement an enforceable code of conduct. In response to the CIW’s requests, McDonald’s created a code of conduct by working with tomato growers, not pickers, which merely asks tomato growers to follow laws that already exist.
The CIW also works in partnership with Interfaith Action, a broad-based network of people of faith, both in southwest Florida and throughout the nation.
Resources
- [Coalition of Immokalee Workers website]
- [Immokalee Workers Take Down Taco Bell], by Elly Leary in Monthly Review, October 2005. This is an excellent in-depth analysis of the Coalition and their victory in the Boot the Bell campaign for workers' rights.
- [Nobodies: Does Slavery Exist in America?,] by John Bowe in The New Yorker, April 2003 (pdf file)
- [Interview with CIW workers], from Left Turn magazine.
See also
- Social Movement Unionism
- Chicano
- United Students Against Sweatshops
- Immokalee
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