Students join 9-mile march for workers' pay
Peter M.T. Agbeyegbe / Staff Writer
Issue date: 12/6/07 Section: News
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FIU students joined the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a community-based worker organization in Florida, on a nine-mile march to the Burger King headquarters in Doral, on Nov. 30.
"Students don't support exploitation," said Marc Rodriguez with the Student/Farmworker Alliance during a protest in front of the Burger King in the Graham Center on Nov. 28. "We don't want it in our schools. We don't want it [on] our tables."
Among the CIW's demands to Burger King: a penny per pound raise for workers who pick tomatoes.
The CIW persuaded Yum Brands and McDonald's to increase wages of migrant workers and impose a code of conduct on tomato suppliers in Florida. So far, Burger King has not given in to demands of protestors.
"The workers are demanding that Burger King follow in the steps of Yum Brands and McDonald's by paying a premium for its tomatoes to directly improve workers' sub-poverty wages and work with the CIW to address the labor abuses endemic to Florida agriculture," said a Nov. 30 CIW press release.
During the protest in GC, flyers for the nine-mile march to Burger King's corporate headquarters were handed out.
"I think it's time for students to have a hand in social justice," said senior Ashley Richards, who attended the march. "It's going on in our state, so we have to do something about it."
Robert Alvarado, a 66-year-old blind man, came from San Antonio, Texas, to attend the protest.
"I'm blind but not crippled. All these poor people work so hard and they're only asking for one penny," Alvarado said.
A statement issued by Burger King Corporation to The Beacon demanded that CIW suggest alternatives to current business practices.
"The CIW's 'penny-per-pound' slogan is a PR catch phrase that fails to provide any solutions for the real issues facing farm workers. The CIW has done nothing to explain how ... Burger King can overcome the legal and technical hurdles associated with the money transfer scheme," said Denise T. Wilson, senior analyst, communications for Burger King Corporation.
"Students don't support exploitation," said Marc Rodriguez with the Student/Farmworker Alliance during a protest in front of the Burger King in the Graham Center on Nov. 28. "We don't want it in our schools. We don't want it [on] our tables."
Among the CIW's demands to Burger King: a penny per pound raise for workers who pick tomatoes.
The CIW persuaded Yum Brands and McDonald's to increase wages of migrant workers and impose a code of conduct on tomato suppliers in Florida. So far, Burger King has not given in to demands of protestors.
"The workers are demanding that Burger King follow in the steps of Yum Brands and McDonald's by paying a premium for its tomatoes to directly improve workers' sub-poverty wages and work with the CIW to address the labor abuses endemic to Florida agriculture," said a Nov. 30 CIW press release.
During the protest in GC, flyers for the nine-mile march to Burger King's corporate headquarters were handed out.
"I think it's time for students to have a hand in social justice," said senior Ashley Richards, who attended the march. "It's going on in our state, so we have to do something about it."
Robert Alvarado, a 66-year-old blind man, came from San Antonio, Texas, to attend the protest.
"I'm blind but not crippled. All these poor people work so hard and they're only asking for one penny," Alvarado said.
A statement issued by Burger King Corporation to The Beacon demanded that CIW suggest alternatives to current business practices.
"The CIW's 'penny-per-pound' slogan is a PR catch phrase that fails to provide any solutions for the real issues facing farm workers. The CIW has done nothing to explain how ... Burger King can overcome the legal and technical hurdles associated with the money transfer scheme," said Denise T. Wilson, senior analyst, communications for Burger King Corporation.
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