Thursday, February 22nd, 2007

President of the National Council of Churches, Bishop Manz to join CIW for April Truth Tour

Hello everyone,

There is some exciting news as we prepare for the CIW’s upcoming McDonald’s Truth Tour!

The Rev. Michael Livingston, President of the National Council of Churches, Catholic Bishop John Manz, Kerry Kennedy, and Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers, will all join CIW farmworkers this April, either for the rally at McDonald’s Headquarters on Friday, April 13th or the parade for Fair Food in downtown Chicago on Saturday, April 14th.

We invite you to join CIW farmworkers in the Chicago area on April 13 & 14th!   For two years now, we all have been patiently encouraging McDonald’s to improve sub-poverty wages and abuses in its tomato supply chain and McDonald’s has steadfastly refused while farmworkers continue to suffer.   Make your plans now to join the CIW at McDonald’s Headquarters this April for historic actions to call on McDonald’s to do the right thing!  Buses will be leaving from cities across the country to join the CIW in ushering in a new phase in the McDonald’s Campaign and we invite you can join us as well!  For more information or help with logistics for transportation and lodging, contact info(at)interfaithact.org or 239-986-0688.
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Wednesday, February 14th, 2007

Get on the bus!

People of New York!!!

Fair Food NYC is organizing two caravans of justice headed to Chicago for the CIW mobilization in April and we want you to come!

What: McDonalds Truth Tour and major CIW mobilization in Chicago

When: The bus from NYC leaves late evening Thursday April 12th, and returns late night Sunday April 15th

Who: Students, workers, community groups, people of faith and folks from around New York City

Why: To rise up with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers for their annual Truth Tour and to tell McDonalds that we won’t back down until they agree to work with the CIW for farmworkers rights and a penny more per pound!

To secure your place on the bus, email Leanne at lentejasrojas(at)gmail.com with your name, email address and phone number and we’ll take it from there.

Additionally, the week of February 26th, Celeste from the Student-Farmworker Alliance will be in New York meeting with some local groups and there will be a few public events you can attend to learn more about the local campaign and the trip to Chicago. Look for emails soon about a final schedule for those.

See you in the streets!

Fair Food New York CIty

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Tuesday, February 13th, 2007

We’re Headed to Chicago

From the Student/Farmworker Alliance:

Excitement builds for Chicago mobilizations – Get on the Bus!

2007 McDonald’s Truth Tour and major Chicago mobilizations quickly approaching!

• Major rally outside McDonald’s global headquarters - Friday, 4/13, Oak Brook, IL
• Carnaval and Parade for Fair Food, Real Rights, and Dignity - Saturday, 4/14, downtown Chicago

Feb. 1, 2007 - In recent years, many of us have climbed into cars, vans and buses to go to anti-war marches, global justice summits, and movement conferences.

The time has come, once again, for another such caravan of justice, this one leading from all points of the country to the Windy City, Chicago – home of fast-food giant McDonald’s. The Coalition of Immokalee Workers has called two days of historic mobilization for farmworker justice in the Golden Arches’ backyard capping off this year’s Truth Tour.

The Campaign for Fair Food – demanding that McDonald’s take responsibility for the decades of grinding poverty and degradation in its tomato supply chain – is quickly hurtling toward a decisive turning point. Farmworkers from Immokalee and their allies are going up against one of the world’s largest corporations to demand the dignity of workers and consumers alike. Will you be there?

Just this week, long-time McDonald’s supplier Ag-Mart was in the news yet again, this time for allegedly failing to pay tomato pickers minimum wage. How much longer will McDonald’s keep its head in the sand while the fiction of social responsibility in its tomato suppliers’ fields continues to crumble around it? The answer, in part, lies in your hands.

This April, join us for a pivotal and historic convergence. For two years, we’ve been patient while McD’s stalled. Now is it’s time to show our collective strength and turn out the largest possible numbers in Chicago. Keep reading for resources and ideas on how to mobilize your community to come to Chicago: More…

Thursday, February 1st, 2007

SAVE THE DATE! April 13-14

F r o m C I W - O n l i n e . o r g

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers announces a major mobilization for farmworker justice, April 13-14, 2007, in the greater Chicago area. Make your plans to join us for historic actions that will usher in a new phase in the Campaign for Fair Food.

CIW: “Today, we are tired, in the words of Martin Luther King Jr., of ‘relying on the good will and understanding of those who profit by exploiting us.’”

Nearly two years have passed since Taco Bell and the CIW announced an historic initiative to address the ever-deepening poverty and decades of degradation faced by farmworkers in Florida. At that time, Taco Bell challenged its fast-food industry counterparts to join in demanding fair wages and humane treatment for the workers who pick their tomatoes.

McDonald’s, the undisputed leader of the $100 billion fast-food industry, has refused to meet that challenge. Despite increasing public pressure on the fast-food giant, McDonald’s has refused to recognize the seriousness of the exploitation of tomato pickers exposed through the Taco Bell boycott, and refused to work with the CIW to address that exploitation. Instead, it has taken measures that appear aimed at undermining the hard-won advances in wages and working conditions established in the agreement with Taco Bell.

Today, after nearly two years of waiting patiently for McDonald’s to join us in addressing the crisis of human rights abuses and sub-poverty wages in its tomato supply chain, we are tired of waiting. We are tired, as Martin Luther King Jr. said, of “relying on the good will and understanding of those who profit by exploiting us.”

Our members and allies feel that it is now time to intensify our efforts. As such, the campaign is entering a new phase this year, and support from our allies across the country will be more important than ever. The action in Chicago this April will mark the first major engagement in this new phase of the Campaign for Fair Food.

Mark your calendars today and start organizing to bring members of your community to McDonald’s backyard this April to join us in a:

• Major rally outside McDonald’s global headquarters in Oak Brook, IL, Friday, April 13, 2007.

• Carnaval and Parade for Fair Food, Real Rights, and Dignity - Saturday, April 14, 2007 in downtown Chicago.

We strongly encourage our allies from across the country to join us in Chicago this April and to participate in the colorful carnaval and parade action. Groups are encouraged to organize their own floats and delegations for this action. Contact workers@ciw-online.org for more info.

ALSO… Be sure to check out all the highlights from last year in the Campaign for Fair Food. Click here to see the extensive “2006 Year in Review” from the Student/Farmworker website.