Archdiocese of Los Angeles Endorses Taco Bell Boycott

Hey everyone -- Here is the latest from the Taco Bell Boycott:

1) Cardinal Roger Mahoney of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor join the fight!

2) Get your Taco Bell postcards here -- make your voice heard by sending a postcard to Emil Brolick, CEO, supporting the boycott.

Cardinal Roger Mahoney, a long-time, staunch supporter of farmworkers and labor in general, Bishop Jaime Soto of the Diocese of Orange in California, and the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, an extremely powerful voice for labor both in California and on the national level, all joined the growing list of people and organizations calling on Taco Bell to meet with the CIW and help improve wages for the farmworkers who pick their tomatoes. You can see the full text of their letters and/or endorsements on the CIW web site at www.ciw-online.org.

Here is an excerpt from Cardinal Mahoney's September letter to Taco Bell: "For some thirty-six years now I have been very closely involved with efforts here in California to improve wages, benefits, and working conditions of the countless numbers of people who labor day and night in the fields, orchards, and vineyards of our country.

I am writing you at this time to plead with you to exercise the leadership of the Taco Bell corporation in protecting and enhancing workers rights in the tomato industry, especially in Florida, where the Taco Bell Corporation receives so much of its tomato product..."

And this is from the LA County Federation's formal endorsement in October: "... THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor endorses the nationwide boycott of Taco Bell called for by the CIW, and urges all of its affiliated unions and members to refrain from patronizing Taco Bell Restaurants in observance of this boycott;

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the LCFL urges all of its affiliated unions and members to join in the planning of and participate in the protest against Taco Bell in Los Angeles and endorses the protests at the Taco Bell headquarters in Irvine, California."

The importance of the LCFL's endorsement and the letters from Cardinal Mahoney and Bishop Soto cannot be overestimated. These nationally recognized voices bring a powerful moral authority to the campaign, and, on behalf of the members of the CIW, we extend our deepest gratitude to Cardinal Mahoney, Bishop Soto, and the LCFL for their support. We are stronger today for having them by our side in this fight.

The second piece of news is the launching of a new initiative in the boycott -- a postcard campaign that we need your help to get out to as many people as possible around the country.

You can see this powerful new card, front and back, on our website (again, www.ciw-online.org!). You can choose to either use the text on the back of the card to send your own letter to Taco Bell, or -- if you think you have some family, friends, co-workers, or members of your church that might be interested -- we would be happy to send you 10, 20, 50, or even 100 cards that you could help get signed and into the mail to Taco Bell. It's a great -- and convenient -- way to send a message to Taco Bell, so email us now if you think you could use some cards in your school, church, union, or community.

Finally, there is more good news just around the corner as the campaign is picking up steam again following the postponement of the Truth Tour in September. Soon we will have dates for both a National Day of Action and the re-scheduled Truth Tour (sometime in early Spring). And a shareholders' action is just getting underway, promising to be an important new front in the campaign. As soon as we can get some information out about the shareholders' plans, including how you can get involved, we will let you know!