Coalition of Immokalee (USA) Workers' petition to end slavery, Sign Today!

[Omaha Steve]

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers and Student/Farmworker
Alliance have been leading a National Petition Campaign to end
modern-day slavery and sweatshops in the fields. The signatures
will be delivered to Burger King headquarters in Miami this
Monday, April 28, and there's still time to sign and forward the
petition if you haven't already!

Now more than ever, YOUR signature is needed! The CIW and SFA
have recently come under attack, with an infiltration/spy
attempt and a nasty online slander campaign launched against
them and directly connected to Burger King headquarters (link to
DN story? -
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/4/14/did_burger_king_target_and_spy
)

Stand up for Fair Food and for our brothers and sisters in the
movement: Sign and forward the petition today!

Take Action on this Issue:

- Visit <http://fairfoodnation.mayfirst.org/petition> to read
the petition and sign electronically today;

TEXT OF PETITION:

WHEREAS, there is an ongoing human rights crisis in Florida's
fields, including:

* poverty wages, rooted in an antiquated piece-rate pay system
that hasn't changed significantly in nearly 30 years;

* long hours without overtime pay when work is available,
unemployment and transience when it is not;

* physical abuse and wage fraud by crewleaders, supervisors, and
growers;

* damage to body and soul from back-breaking labor, with no
employment benefits such as sick days, paid leave, health
insurance, or pensions;

* retaliation against workers who protest or organize to
alleviate these inhuman conditions;

* and, most shamefully, modern-day slavery, with six successful
federal prosecutions of farm labor operations for servitude in
Florida over the past decade, and a seventh just initiated,
involving well over 1,000 workers and more than a dozen farm
employers;

WHEREAS, by leveraging their high-volume purchasing power to
extract the lowest prices possible, Burger King and other food
industry leaders profit from and play an active role in creating
the miserable conditions in Florida's fields;

WHEREAS, Burger King and other food industry leaders have not
only refused to join Yum! Brands and McDonald's in working with
the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) to improve farm labor
conditions, but have actually sought to reverse gains made by
workers in agreements with those corporations;

WHEREAS, private equity firms including Goldman Sachs, Texas
Pacific Group, Bain Capital and others, which are principal
shareholders in Burger King and other food industry leaders,
have made significant investments in the restaurant industry
over the past decade, and have ignored calls by farmworkers and
consumers for farm labor reform, while continuing to draw
billions of dollars in private profits from their investments;

THEREFORE, I add my name and voice to those of countless
consumers calling upon Burger King and other food industry
leaders to immediately join with the CIW in efforts to end
exploitation in the fields and modern-day slavery in the 21st
century. I am also prepared to stop patronizing Burger King now,
and other food industry leaders in the future, should they fail
to do so.

Specifically, I call on Burger King and other food industry
leaders to:

1. Pay a penny more per pound for tomatoes and ensure that the
increase is passed on to tomato pickers in the form of increased
wages; and

2. Work with the CIW to establish and enforce a human
rights-based code of conduct, including zero tolerance for
forced labor, to ensure fair and safe working conditions.

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