errorSPONSORS: The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (FL), the Garment Worker Center (Los Angeles), the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA, LA), the Korean Immigrant Workers Advocates (KIWA, LA), the Student/Farm worker Alliance, and the Taco Bell Truth Tour Organizing Committee.

WHAT: A 2-DAY NATIONAL CONVERGENCE IN LOS ANGELES... bringing together labor, student, faith-based, and community organizations from around the country to share our struggles and our strategies for the future, to learn from and support the exciting immigrant worker organizing taking place in Los Angeles today, and to face corporate greed head-on in an historic march on Taco Bell corporate headquarters -- all in two jam-packed days!

Day 1: Sunday, March 10, 2002, Los Angeles, Rolfe Hall, UCLA campus -- A day of workshops, music, and art, capped off by an ACTION in support of the LA-based Garment Worker Center’s boycott of the retail apparel chain Forever 21.

There will be a BENEFIT CONCERT for the Taco Bell boycott on Sunday evening with artists to be announced later.

Day 2: Monday, March 11, Irvine -- MARCH ON TACO BELL GLOBAL HEADQUARTERS... Join the cross-country caravan as the Taco Bell Truth Tour culminates in an historic convergence to demand that Taco Bell take responsibility for the sweatshop conditions in the fields where its tomatoes are grown and picked.

Activities Details

WHEN: MARCH 10th and 11th, 2002... The Taco Bell Truth Tour caravan will be arriving in Los Angeles from Fresno, CA, on the afternoon of Saturday, March 9. Caravan riders and participants arriving from outside of California will begin gathering the evening of the 9th at a convergence point to be announced (for more information on Saturday night logistics in LA, contact tbtruthtour@aol.com).

RISE UP 2002 activities are planned to begin the next day, Sunday, March 10th, at 8:00 am, at and around Rolfe Hall on the campus of UCLA, as organizations interested in setting up informational tables, hanging banners, etc. will be arriving in preparation for the day’s activities. Following a plenary session at 10:30 am, there will be workshops, music, and art activities throughout the day, followed by an afternoon protest action and an evening benefit concert for the Taco Bell boycott campaign. Specific times and locations for the workshops, protest, and benefit concert will be announced later.

Early Monday morning, marchers will gather and the caravan will re-form in Los Angeles, drive to Santa Ana, and march to Taco Bell headquarters in Irvine. Following the march there will be a rally outside of Taco Bell offices. Activities will end late Monday afternoon, and transportation back to LA following the rally may be available (again, details for both Sunday and Monday’s activities are still in the process of being defined and will be available through tbtruthtour@aol.com as they emerge).

WHAT TO DO IF YOU WANT TO BE THERE:

1. Contact tbtruthtour@aol.com or check out the CIW web site at www.ciw-online.org for all the latest details on logistics and plans as they become available. You can register to participate at tbtruthtour@aol.com.

2. Suggest a workshop or panel discussion. The agenda for the Sunday workshops remains very much open, and participants are invited to help facilitate workshops and suggest possible themes for discussion.

3. Bring your organization’s materials, set up a table, and share your struggle with activists from across the country!

4. Become a co-sponsor of RISE UP 2002! For all of the above, contact mnuncio@sweatshopwatch.org for more details.

Stay in contact over the coming weeks for more details, and see you in LA! -- The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (Florida), the Garment Worker Center (Los Angeles), the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA, LA), the Korean Immigrant Workers Advocates (KIWA, LA), the Student/Farmworker Alliance, and the Taco Bell Truth Tour Organizing Committee.