Shouts of “Taco Bell, taco hell” and “Yo no quiero Taco Bell” were heard on State Street Monday when over 100 migrant workers, students and supporters rallied for improved living wages for Taco Bell’s tomato pickers.
The protestors are requesting the Mexican fast-food company pay them another penny per pound of tomatoes picked.
Madison was the sixth stop on a 15-city, cross-country bus tour to raise awareness about the working conditions of migrant farm workers. Based out of Immokalee, Fla., the Coalition of Immokalee Workers recently teamed up with migrant workers, who have been boycotting since April 1, 2001.
Workers assert that their employers treat them badly, forcing them to work overtime without pay, sometimes denying them access to bathrooms and water.
Rafael Solis, originally from Tabasco, Mexico, was one of the boycotters.
“We suffer a lot picking vegetables because the wages are very low,” he said. “My family and I can’t live with this money. We are asking for a living wage. I don’t even make enough for myself.”
Max Perez, a resident of Florida, was another one of the 67 workers who left his family to join the “Taco Bell Truth Tour.” Although leaving their families was a challenge, the workers felt it was necessary, Perez said.
“We’ve been struggling for a while now,” he said. “[There] comes a time when you realize you have to make sacrifices.”
The Madison segment of the tour was hosted by the Student Labor Action Coalition, El Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan and the Peace and Social Justice Council of St. Paul’s Catholic Center.
“Madison is one of our stops because it’s been really supportive of our cause,” Julia Periz, a tour organizer said. “Ever since we’ve been in communication here, everyone’s been great.”
Representatives from the coalition said workers have earned the same wage since 1978, which is 40 cents for every 32-pound bucket of tomatoes they pick.
“The tomatoes Taco Bell buys for its tacos are produced in what can only be described as sweatshop conditions,” Lucas Benitez, organizer of the tour said. “Twenty years of picking at sub-poverty wages, no right to overtime pay, no right to organize or join a union, no health insurance, no sick leave, no paid holidays or vacation is a national disgrace. We as farm workers are tired of subsidizing Taco Bell’s profits with our poverty.”
Madison Police Officer Meredith York supervised the rally and said it was tame.
“This is a small protest,” York said. “Nothing to write home about.”
UW-Madison freshman Chad Wethar was eating in Taco Bell when the rally ascended from Library Mall. He said he was not concerned by the protestors, some of whom had entered the establishment.
“I am not going to stop eating Taco Bell,” he said. “This doesn’t really affect me personally.”
Majid Ben, a protestor from France, told Wethar he should boycott Taco Bell because, “We are not slaves.”
Wethar was undeterred.
“Isn’t it your choice where you want to work?” he asked.
The tour has been staying mostly in churches, with meals donated by labor unions, and funds subsidized by sales of t-shirts, buttons and stickers. The tour goes to Denver next, and will end its crusade in Irvine, Calif.
Representatives from Taco Bell were unavailable for comment.
