Protest at Chipotle headquarters

Major protest at Chipotle Mexican Grill headquarters for Farmworker Justice

Members of United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) from across the country together with workers from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) will be in Denver to demand that Chipotle ensure fair wages and human rights for farmworkers. Join us in a lively and energetic protest outside Chipotle's national headquarters.

DATE: Friday, August 8th, 12:30pm-1:30pm

Gather at:
Market Street Station (16th St. and Market, downtown Denver)

March to:
Chipotle Mexican Grill headquarters (1543 Wazee St.)

BACKGROUND:
Farmworkers in Florida who pick tomatoes face sub-poverty wages and sweatshop conditions everyday. Workers earn just 40 to 50 cents for each 32lb bucket of tomatoes they pick - the same per bucket piece rate as they received in 1978. At that rate a worker must pick 2.5 TONS of tomatoes just to earn minimum wage for a typical 10hr workday. Farmworkers make, on average, just $10,000 a year. They are denied the right to overtime pay and the right to organize or bargain collectively. In the most extreme situations, farmworkers are held against their will and forced to work in modern-day slavery rings. There have been six successfully prosecuted slavery rings in Florida, involving more than 1,000 workers, since 1997.

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) - an organization of Latino, Haitian and Mayan immigrant farmworkers in Florida - has called on the fast food industry to take responsibility for the poverty and exploitation of farmworkers that has subsidized fast-food profits for decades. After hard fought campaigns, the CIW reached agreements with Yum! Brands (parent company of Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut and others), McDonald's and Burger King - three of the leading fast food companies in the world - to improve the wages and working conditions of farmworkers in their tomato supply chains.

However, Chipotle refuses to follow the precedents set by these companies. In fact in order to avoid improving the lives of farmworkers, Chipotle has claimed that it has suspended Florida tomato purchases while it conducts its own "investigation" into the already well-documented conditions of Florida farm labor. Nearly two year have passed since it supposedly launched its "investigation" and many questions now beg to be answered. Where are the results of Chipotle's inquiry? Where has Chipotle been purchasing tomatoes in the meantime, and how do workers fare in those fields? Did Chipotle ever actually cease purchasing Florida tomatoes or conduct any investigation at all?

Most pressing is the question: How does Chipotle's response to the CIW and its allies fit into the company's supposed dedication to "Food with Integrity"? Guided by this philosophy, Chipotle says it aspires to be a leader in corporate social responsibility, even claiming that it will "revolutionize the way America grows and gathers its food" by leveraging its high volume purchases to change its suppliers' practices. Are full transparency and human rights in its tomato supply chain not a part of Chipotle's definition of "Integrity"?

Join us in telling Chipotle that we need answers now. "Food with Integrity" is either a holistic vision that encompasses dignified working conditions for the women and men who actually gather America's food, or it is simply a cynical marketing ploy designed to cash in on a fad. It can't be both.

Denver Fair Food Committee
For more info: robert@sfalliance.org, 505-980-4220
www.ciw-online.org
www.allianceforfairfood.org
www.sfalliance.org