Truth tour protests Taco Bell policies

photo by Jennifer Contreras

Aryeh Shell of Berkeley, Calif., participated in the organized protest in front of the Taco Bell headquarters in Irvine, in collaboration with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. "I rang the death toll for justice and then I rang the bell for freedom, liberty and justice and for the farm workers and all those who are oppressed," she said. Shell says she has been stilt walking for a few months and uses stilts in her pursuits of street theater with Art and Revolution, an organization based in the Bay Area.

by Anna Roy
Editorial Director

"We are the future; Taco Bell is the past," said Marcos Para, one of the hundreds of students, farmworkers and community workers from across the nation who gathered to march to the Taco Bell corporate headquarters, protesting its commercial dealings with the S. J. Packing Company's poor and exploitative labor standards.

The marchers, led by 65 farmworkers, met in Santa Ana and marched five miles to Irvine for a "Truth Tour."

They arrived in high spirits, with fence barriers, security guards and numerous police officers lining the streets in and around the 12 story glass building.

"I brought my sister here because I want her to see that something else is going on. Being young people, we are Taco Bell's target market," said Andrea Phillips, a student at Saddleback College. "By having them at high schools and colleges, you're closing off competition, completely."

The march was the culminating event to a 17-day tour that included a two-bus caravan filled with students, farmworkers and community organizers.

They stopped in cities throughout the nation to hold rallies and express their reasons for the Taco Bell boycott, which began March 1 of last year.

"The whole trip was pretty amazing. Relationships have developed between farmworkers, students and progressive people," said Eddie Casarez, a University of La Verne alumnus who attended the conference, and also rode the truth bus from Chicago to Los Angeles.

Employees and supporters are angry at the poor working conditions.

Tomato pickers are not paid by the hour, but rather by the pound, receiving 40 cents for every 30 lbs. of tomatoes.

Most employees have to work long hours to make an average of $45-$60 on a daily basis.

Overtime is not a factor since the payment is per pound.

"We wake up at 4 a.m., because that is when tomatoes are picked. We usually work until 6 p.m. and make about $30-$45 a day," said Jesus Carlos Estrada who has worked for the company for 10 years.

Lucas Benitez, another farmworker who has taken on a leadership role with Coaltion of Imokalee Workers, says that the boycott will continue until the company agrees to pay one cent more per pound, establishes a code of conduct for its employees and begins offering overtime pay.

"The Florida Labor Department reports that Florida farmworkers make $7,500 yearly without benefits. This is not a living wage. Farmworkers in Florida are in the same situation as workers in Asian sweatshops," he said.

"Why should I find a new job if I am doing honest work and all I want is dignity? What we want Taco Bell to understand is that it's time to make fair fast food."

Taco Bell, with its 7,000 restaurants, reported earnings of over $5 billion in 1998 and is owned by Tri Con Incorporated, a large multinational corporation that also owns Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Hut. Corporate executives met with the workers as a courtesy, since they had come from so far. However, the company's statement is that it is a labor issue with S. J. Packing Co.

"I like Taco Bell, but I believe that being the multibillion dollar company that they are, they have the power to influence whatever company they subcontract, to pay the workers more," said University of La Verne senior Kristine Werthwein who participated to support the boycott.

Tomatoes are a $500 million industry for the state of Florida, which provides most of the nation with its tomatoes during the winter months.

On Sunday, supporters gathered at the University of California, Los Angeles to attend a conference focusing on the boycott as well as workshops on alternative media and grassroots organizing.

Local sponsors of the protest included the Korean Immigrant Workers Advocates and the Los Angeles Garment Coalition.