for whom the bell tolls

I arrive, after a particularly cumbersome train-to-Baltimore, connection-through-Philly flight to Louisville, at the U of L. There’s a student conference that was originally building for a huge protest yesterday, a culmination of the efforts of four years of struggle and boycott by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers against Taco Bell and their parent company, Yum! Brands.

But instead of more settling in for another round of chanting, marching, picketing, and leafletting, we were CELEBRATING! It was announced last Wednesday that Taco Bell and Yum had conceded to ALL of their demands, the most central of which is a raise of 1¢ per pound for each pound of tomatos picked.

To see more details of this historic accomplishment see the Coalition of Immokalee Workers website.

One of the particular significances of this agreement is that it’s the first time a fast food company has taken responsibility for the profits they reap through exploitation in the supply chain. Now that they’ve conceded, Yum! will definitely be pressuring other brands to step up; I’m sure they don’t want to lose the ‘competitive edge’ of profits that child labor and modern-day slavery conditions has gained them thusfar.

It’s been inspiring to be in the company of so many luchadores. We got a sneak preview of a movie that will no doubt be coming out soon, although perhaps not to the big multiplex theaters near you...track it down, it’s work watching.

During the conference there was a panel called “New Models of Organizing” which included representatives of Worker’s Centers from Minnesota to Mississippi, and the MST (Landless Workers’ Movement in Brazil). Facing the INS, the Klan, the police, poverty, homelessness, and myriads of divide-and-conquer mechanisms, workers are coming together and fighting for their rights/lives. The most exciting part is, they’re winning! Everybody was clear that this work is far from over, we have a long way to go - but what a way to keep going in the meantime!The keynote speaker was Anne Braden, it was amazing to get to hear her in person.

It’s hard to leave the celebration. The CIW organizers go back to picking tomatoes in pesticide-laden fields that my friends and relatives will eat, and live in trailers with collapsing floors. I go back to an apartment in Washington where I sleep, do laundry, eat food other people prepared, grew and harvested for me, and get ready to travel (again) courtesy of dues from service workers’ paychecks. How do we remain honest about the exact situations of our world while struggling for justice? How are these truths reconciled? I don’t know that they are, but I hope to never stop asking myself that question.