URGENT ACTION!!

THE HUNGER STRIKERS ARE ENTERING THE SECOND WEEK OF THEIR FAST OUTSIDE TACO BELL HQ....

**CALL YUM! BRANDS (TACO BELL'S PARENT COMPANY) CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS MONDAY, 3/3, AND TELL THEM TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE HUNGER STRIKERS AND OPEN A MEANINGFUL DIALOGUE WITH CIW REPRESENTATIVES NOW!

CALL AT (502) 874-3820 OR FAX AT (502) 874-8315

LET THEM KNOW THAT IGNORING THE FASTERS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. THEY MUST RECOGNIZE THE HUNGER STRIKERS AND MEET THEM NOW!

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CIW DEMANDS OF TACO BELL

The CIW is calling on Taco Bell to use its considerable leverage as a major buyer of Florida tomatoes to help bring about real changes in the wages and working conditions of the farmworkers who pick those tomatoes.

Specifically, workers are calling on Taco Bell to:

1. Convene a meaningful, three-part dialogue -- bringing together representatives of Taco Bell, their Florida tomato suppliers, and representatives of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers -- to discuss solutions to the problems farmworkers face in Florida's fields.

2. Contribute to an immediate increase in farmworker wages through a raise in the per pound rate Taco Bell pays for tomatoes from the Florida suppliers. [For example, a penny per pound increase, passed on in its entirety to the workers, could nearly double the current piece rate for tomatoes picked for Taco Bell.]

3. Join with CIW and tomato industry representatives in drafting a Code of Conduct for Taco Bell tomato suppliers that would define strict wage and working condition standards to be required of all Taco Bell tomato suppliers. Such a code would necessarily require respect for pickers' fundemental labor rights, including the right to a living wage and overtime, and the right to organize without fear of retaliation.