At 4 a.m. Friday, six Northwestern students awoke, piled into cars and drove six hours to Louisville, Ky., where they marched 8 miles through the town, chanting alongside Florida farm workers.
Holding signs emblazoned with “One penny more” and “Taco Bell profits come from farm worker exploitation,” these students, members of NU’s Students for Economic Justice, joined the Coalition of Immokalee Workers in protesting the low wages the workers receive from Taco Bell-contracted farm owners.
“It was great to see a lot of the farm workers themselves fighting for their own livelihoods,” said Britt Gordon-McKeon, a Weinberg senior who helped organize the trip. “They were able to see community organizations like us who make all of this effort to be marching side by side with them.”
The workers — who pick the tomatoes Taco Bell uses for its food products and are paid per bucket picked — receive the same wages as they did in the 1970s. Currently the workers have to pick two tons of tomatoes in a single day to get $50.
The march culminated at the headquarters of Yum! Brands, a conglomeration of restaurant chains, including Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.
Yum! Brands could not be reached for comment.
According to Gordon-McKeon, if Taco Bell’s farm owners paid the workers one cent more per pound, the workers’ wages would double. However, Gordon-McKeon, said the fast-food chain doesn’t think this is its responsibility because it doesn’t directly pay the workers. Thus Taco Bell hasn’t responded to requests.
“Taco Bell just refuses to admit the role they play in affecting prices,” she said. “A tiny price difference, which would practically be no cost for them, would make a tremendous difference in the life of a tomato worker. But what is important to them is getting tomatoes as cheap as possible and not basic humane, decent wages.”
Because protesters did not expect a response from Taco Bell or Yum! Brands, the protest mainly served to make the general public aware of the conditions and to encourage a boycott of the fast-food restaurant. The Immokalee Coalition, named for a farm town in Florida, called for the boycott nearly two years ago, hoping Taco Bell might respond if profits decrease.
“The march was less directly about getting a response from (Taco Bell) and more to do with getting Americans in general to associate the idea that a place like Taco Bell exploits workers,” Gordon-McKeon said. “When people make this association, that’s when Taco Bell will be really scared and will change things. We wanted to raise publicity about what is going on so people can put pressure on Taco Bell.”
The protesting NU students said they wanted to support the workers and said they found the protest a success because they “reached a lot of people,” Gordon-McKeon said.
“It was a really good trip to go on,” said Kyle Schafer, a McCormick freshman. “What was important to me was that the workers saw that there are people behind them who are helping them fight. They see that they are not alone.”
Gordon-McKeon agreed.
“I am definitely glad I went,” she said. “We sacrificed some sleep, but we got a chance to stand up for what we believe in, and that’s what it’s all about.”
