Coalition of Immokalee Workers to protest Subway

Updated Dec 3, 2008 PGA North America

Subway, the third largest fast-food chain in the world and the biggest fast-food buyer of Florida tomatoes, reached an agreement yesterday morning (12/2) with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to help improve wages and working conditions for the workers who pick their tomatoes!

Visit http://sfalliance.org today for links to coverage of this exciting development, the joint CIW/Subway press release, and to a listing of public events taking place over the next 10 days as representatives of the CIW and Student/Farmworker Alliance make their way to the following cities:

Washington, DC

Baltimore

Philadelphia

Boston

Providence
New Haven

New York

If you are planning a protest as part of the Northeast tour, we ask
you to stand down.
Stay tuned for reports from the tour as well as more on the next
steps in the Campaign for Fair Food!...
-- Marc Rodrigues
Student/Farmworker Alliance
(239) 292-3431
http://sfalliance.org/
http://ciw-online.org/
http://allianceforfairfood.org/

Naples Daily News Nov. 26, 2008

Farmworkers from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers will launch a 10-day protest tour calling on Subway -- the world’s largest sandwich chain and the biggest fast-food buyer of Florida tomatoes -- to follow McDonald’s, Burger King and Yum Brands in agreeing to help improve wages and working conditions for the workers who pick their tomatoes.

The tour will begin on Tuesday, Dec. 2 at the Miami headquarters of Subway’s purchasing cooperative, make its way north to a protest outside Subway’s corporate headquarters in Milford, Conn., and culminate with a march from the United Nations in New York City to a local Subway restaurant in commemoration of International Human Rights Day on Dec. 10.

Lucas Benitez, a Coalition founder and member, said there was a need to do the tour because Subway is one of the big leaders in the fast food industry and it needs to support the "good life for workers" and that is exactly what the organization is asking Subway to do. The Coalition is demanding better wages, respect and dignity for the farmworkers.

Benitez said the organization is doing the tour to educate the public, specifically Subway customers.

He is confident that it will be a success, similar to the past fast
food industries that the Colation has reached agreements with.

info from ciw-online.org

MEDIA ADVISORY:

CIW, Allies to Launch Subway Protest Tour

New: Click here for an up-to-date list of actions and events in cities along the route!

Also new... see a story on the upcoming Subway tour published today by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) online news service!

IMMOKALEE, FL, November 25, 2008 –
Farmworkers from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers will launch a
10-day protest tour this coming Tuesday, December 2, calling on Subway
-- the world’s largest sandwich chain and the biggest fast-food buyer
of Florida tomatoes -- to follow McDonald’s, Burger King, and Yum
Brands in agreeing to help improve wages and working conditions for the
workers who pick their tomatoes.

The
tour is designed to bring public attention to Subway’s inaction in the
face of the longstanding and well-documented exploitation of Florida
farmworkers.  It will also serve to lay the groundwork for a more
extensive protest tour in early 2009. 

The tour will begin at the Miami headquarters of Subway’s purchasing cooperative (the Independent Purchasing Cooperative,
or IPC), make its way north to a protest outside Subway’s corporate
headquarters in Milford, Connecticut, and culminate with a march from
the United Nations in New York City to a local Subway restaurant in
commemoration of International Human Rights Day, December 10th.

“The
brutal exploitation of workers in Florida’s fields can no longer be
disputed or ignored,” said Gerardo Reyes of the CIW.  “The latest slavery prosecution
– involving tomato harvesters beaten, chained inside u-haul trucks, and
forced to pick tomatoes against their will right here in Immokalee –
speaks for itself.  The other leaders of the fast-food industry have
spoken, and they agree that it is time to turn the page for a more
modern, more humane Florida agricultural industry.  At this point, we
can only ask: What in the world is Subway waiting for?”

Who: The Coalition of Immokalee Workers and its student, faith, labor, and community allies

What: 10-day Subway Protest Tour

When/Where: Below is a schedule of the cities and dates:

2008 Northeast Tour
December 2 - 10

December 2 - Miami, FL
December 3 - Raleigh-Durham, NC
December 4 - Washington, D.C. // Baltimore, MD
December 5 - Philadelphia
December 6 - Boston // Providence, RI
December 7 & 8 - New Haven & Milford, CT
December 9 & 10 - New York City

Contact: Gerardo Reyes or Julia Perkins (CIW) 239 986-0891

For more information about specific events, or to help organize an event in your community, contact info@allianceforfairfood.org.

Click here for pictures from an exciting Subway action (11/9/08)