National Day of Action Against Taco Bell in Orange County THURS MAY 16 @ 3:00 PM

by tbboycott@yahoo.com Thursday, May. 09, 2002 at 1:19 PM
tbboycott@yahoo.com

BOYCOTT TACO BELL!!!!!!!

errorB O Y C O T T T A C O B E L L
N A T I O N A L D A Y OF A C T I O N !!!

WHERE: TACO BELL CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS!! 17901 Von Karman St. Irvine, California 92614

WHEN: THURSDAY MAY 16

TIME: 3:30 - 6:30 PM

DIRECTIONS: COMING FROM LA Take the 405 South, Exit McArthur and make a RIGHT, Make another Right on MAIN st. and another RIGHT on Von Karman, The Taco Bell building will be on your immediate right hand side




WHY: On May 16 there will be actions against Taco Bell in solidarity with Tomato pickers in FL who are STILL being expolited by Taco Bell. On May 16 the farmworkers are planning actions at the Tricon shareholdes' meeting in Louisville, Kentucky. A solidarity action on the 16th in your community is a great way to keep the pressure up on Taco Bell.


Immokalee farmworkers to take boycott campaign to Kentucky

Farmworkers and supporters will rally outside Tricon Global Restaurants headquarters and Taco Bell corporate Headquarters in their ongoing boycott of Taco Bell.

Wednesday, May 1, 2002

By MIREIDY FERNANDEZ, mmfernandez@naplesnews.com

A farmworker campaign that some say is a crusade to stop
sweatshop-like conditions in the fields is taking laborers and their
supporters to Kentucky this month.

Coalition of Immokalee Workers and church leaders will protest May 16
at Tricon Global Restaurants headquarters in Louisville to make their
voices heard by the company's movers and shakers.

While Tricon shareholders hold their annual meeting inside the
corporate premises, farmworkers and supporters will rally outside in
their ongoing boycott of Taco Bell.

Tricon is the parent company of fast-food chains Taco Bell, Pizza Hut
and KFC. The global company also recently acquired Long John Silver's
and A&W All American Food restaurants.

Lucas Benitez "We already have a group of responsible Tricon
shareholders who are on our side and have joined us in this fight,"
said Lucas Benitez, a coalition leader. "People who we'll reach will
start thinking they're eating sweatshop taco products. Taco Bell
shouldn't just be known for fast food but for fair food also."

Collier County farmworkers are employed by local distributors who
sell tomatoes to Taco Bell. Laborers are demanding the fast-food
chain voluntarily pay 1 cent more per pound of tomatoes. Workers say
the raise would enable them to live better.

Tricon Senior Vice President Jonathan Blum said the company doesn't
have a role in disputes between growers and workers. He said Taco
Bell and Tricon deal with tomato brokers — not farmers — to
get the best prices.

"This is unrelated to our company and we're not going to get
involved," Blum said. "We're not going to get in the middle of some
other company's labor disputes."

Once protesters arrive at Tricon later this month, organizers say
they will distribute fliers to shareholders on their way to the
meeting.

"We're not going to cause a problem at the meeting," said Benitez,
26. "All we want, as in past protests, is to give information to
shareholders who will arrive there that day."

Farmworkers say the jolt of a long-standing boycott will inevitably
affect Tricon's global brands negatively, forcing the company to take
farmworkers' concerns seriously.

An April 2001 company report of a four-week period stated store sales
increased by 4 percent for Pizza Hut and 2 percent for KFC stores.
Taco Bell suffered a 2 percent loss for the same period. Sales
figures for 2002 haven't yet been released.

In 2001, Tricon Global, with more than 30,000 restaurants around the
world in more than 100 countries, reported earnings of $22 billion.

One business expert said neither Taco Bell nor Tricon wants negative
publicity on their brand name because of the trickle-down consequence
it may have.

"There's a profound effect on morale in what employees are thinking,"
said Galen Kroeck, an industrial/organizational psychologist and
chairman of the department of management and international business
at Florida International University in Miami-Dade.

"It's doubtful the boycott will have an economic impact in the
profits of the company but it will have an impact in other aspects,"
Kroeck said. "No one wants to work for an organization that makes
people look bad. If employees start to question their own role in the
company, this will hurt the company."

Kroeck said Taco Bell and Tricon need to do damage control before the
corporations begin to have a high turnover and fewer recruits.

"No one wants to work for a company that doesn't care about people,"
he said. "Taco Bell spends so much money on their good name that they
can't afford to have a negative association with their name."

Student/Farmworker Alliance, a national organization, comprised of
college students and laborers, also will participate in the rally.
The alliance recently spearheaded its own fight against Taco Bell
with "Boot the Bell," a campaign to encourage colleges and university
students to kick Taco Bell franchises off campuses. So far, 20
universities participating in Boot the Bell are considering whether
to renew contracts with companies that do business with Taco Bell.

The Taco Bell boycott has been in effect for more than a year. The
coalition's biggest effort came in March when farmworkers, students
and other supporters embarked on a 17-day cross-country "Taco Bell
Truth Tour." Coalition leaders met with Taco Bell executives at
corporate headquarters in Irvine, Calif.

The coalition wants to establish an ongoing dialogue with Taco Bell,
something that failed during the Coalition-Taco Bell meeting.

Benitez said he's optimistic negotiations between the corporate giant
and farmworkers could occur in the future.

Taco Bell executives are reluctant to say anything more than the
demands Collier farmworkers are making should be made to growers.

Laurie Gannon, a Taco Bell spokeswoman, said the company's position
with regard to the possibility of further talks or a compromise
stands: There are no negotiations on the table.

Among the issues shareholders will address at the May 16 Tricon
meeting is whether the parent company of five fast-food corporations
should change its name to YUM! Brands, Inc.