Posted on 12/14/2007 8:29:04 AM PST by Terriergal
Farm workers who toil to pick tomatoes for Burger King's sandwiches earn 40 to 50 cents for every 32-pound bucket of tomatoes they pick, a rate that has not risen significantly in nearly 30 years. Workers would have to pick 2.5 tons of tomatoes just to earn minimum wage for a typical 10-hour day.
But instead of joining other fast-food chains in paying an extra penny per pound for its tomatoes, this Christmas Burger King is working to undermine those chains' existing agreements with the Coalition for Immokalee Workers. As a result, tomato pickers in Florida are facing the prospect of losing the first significant raise some of them have seen in nearly 30 years.
Tell Burger King to stop being a scrooge and start paying farm workers fair wages!
I'm thinking a whopper for lunch...
Sounds like BK needs some encouragment in their effort to keep prices down...
Then again, I do hope they're putting pressure on tomato growers to hire only legal workers.
Here's the body of the email I got.
A few months ago, we asked you to send messages to Burger King, asking them to join McDonald's and Taco Bell in increasing the sub-poverty wages of Florida tomato pickers.
Almost 20,000 of you responded, but Burger King's behavior has only gotten worse. Not only have they failed to heed the faith community's call to improve wages and working conditions for tomato pickers - they're working to undermine the Coalition of Immokalee Workers' existing agreements with other fast-food chains!
This Christmas season, tell Burger King to stop being a Scrooge and start paying farm workers fair wages.
As Eric Schlosser, author of Fast-Food Nation, explained in the New York Times:
The migrant farm workers who harvest tomatoes in South Florida have one of the nation's most backbreaking jobs. For 10 to 12 hours a day, they pick tomatoes by hand, earning a piece-rate of about 45 cents for every 32-pound bucket. During a typical day each migrant picks, carries, and unloads two tons of tomatoes.
Yum! Brands (owner of Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC) and McDonald's had agreed to pay a penny more per pound to increase wages by 70 percent per bucket, but this holiday season workers aren't receiving the increase. Why? Because Burger King has refused to pay the extra penny ...
and its refusal has encouraged tomato growers to cancel the deals already struck with Taco Bell and McDonald's. This month the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange, representing 90 percent of the state's growers, announced that it will not allow any of its members to collect the extra penny for farm workers.
A Burger King spokesman responded, "Florida growers have a right to run their businesses how they see fit" - apparently, even if that means putting profits ahead of justice and dignity for their workers.
Meanwhile, on Wall Street, Goldman Sachs - a major shareholder in Burger King, with two representatives on the board of directors - is preparing to pay holiday bonuses. Last year, Goldman Sach's top 12 executives received more than $200 million in bonuses - more than twice the annual earnings of 10,000 Florida tomato pickers.
Click here to send a message to Burger King and Goldman Sachs, calling for justice for farmworkers!
As we read of such injustices in this time of Advent, we reflect upon God's justice and mercy, as described in the words of Mary:
[God] has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; [God] has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty (Luke 1:52-53).
Advent reminds us that God intends well-being for all, not just some. We hope you'll join us in taking action.
Blessings,
Elizabeth, Ryan, Duane, and the rest of the team at Sojourners
P.S. We need Burger King to hear loud and clear that it is time to ensure fair wages for tomato pickers. Can you please share this message with at least five of your friends, members of your family, or congregation?
Quote source: Eric Schlosser, "Penny Foolish." The New York Times, 11/29/2007.
How much do the Heinz-Kerrys pay their tomato pickers?
One has to wonder, doesn’t one?
The liberal Presbyterian Church USA is on this bandwagon, as well.
Don't do it! Burger King has the kid's meal toy tie-in for the "Golden Compass".
Whoppers with cheese are really tasty.
Flame broiled, the Whopper is.
I picked potatoes as a kid. A team of two was paid a total of $.07 per hundredweight of potatoes picked and bagged. That $0.45 sounds pretty good to me. No, I’m not THAT old. ;o)
The Feds need to deport all those farm workers so that Burger Kink can pay American Citizens $15.00 an hour to pick tomatoes.
The Feds need to deport all those farm workers so that Burger King can pay American Citizens $15.00 an hour to pick tomatoes.
That’s true! Make sure you order tomatoes on it. I tried the Firecracker chicken Crisp sandwich today (it has tomatoes). Too spicy. Also got a regular chickenCrisp which is in the fridge. And a BK double stacker. Don’t like the sauce on those, should have ordered without sauce — and WITH tomatoes.
:-)
OH well. I won’t order a kids meal.
Just about every denomination is going south these days.
Great pic! Where can I get me one of those (I play violin... only on occasion anymore, neck problems)
I agree. So if these workers are illegal, why should we pay them more?
Yeah — kids these days ... my hubby and his whole FAMILY used to detassel corn in the summer. Hard hot work. But you know... americans won’t DO that kind of work.. (rolling eyes)
See when we were kids lots of us picked strawberries, raspberries, etc... I don't remember any 'migrant workers.' Of course nowadays the liberals have everyone scared they'll get skin cancer from hard work outside, so they pawn it off on the illegals and want us to make it even more lucrative for them to break the law to come here.
BTW if the price goes up because of legal activity then so be it. The market works when it’s allowed to. Sojo is one of those liberal whiner groups that works very hard to stop the market from working.
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