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Treda Catheus from Lagonav Island, Haiti, flew in just for the protest at the Taco Bell headquart

By Youmi Chun

Daily Bruin Contributor

ychun@media.ucla.edu

A group of protesters gathered outside Taco Bell headquarters in Irvine this week as part of a weeklong hunger strike demanding better wages and working conditions for tomato workers in Florida.

Around 65 people from various pro-worker groups, including representatives from the UCLA chapter of United Students Against Sweatshops, set up a virtual campsite as activists in cities nationwide assembled at the same time to fast in solidarity with workers.

Protesters said they are targeting Taco Bell rather than farm owners because they feel the restaurant chain would be more inclined to listen to their pleas.

“(Taco Bell) is one of the major buyers of the tomatoes, and has a lot of influence,” said Limber Hernandez, a member of the Coalition of Immokalee workers, a union of Florida tomato growers.

Participants hope to convene a meeting between Taco Bell, tomato growers in Florida and the workers, to discuss the demands set forth by the coalition.

The weeklong fast will end with a rally scheduled to happen today which organizers speculate will gather thousands of supporters.

Eric Schlosser, author of “Fast Food Nation” as well as Tom Morello, former Rage Against the Machine guitarist, will be among the speakers.

The working conditions were  described as “generally bad conditions,” because workers are treated with a lack of respect and sometimes not given breaks.

Lobbyists are demanding an increase in worker wages, meaning growers would pay one penny more per pound of tomatoes, potentially doubling wages.

USAS member Suzan Luu, a fifth-year sociology and Asian American studies student, feels that workers are not asking for much.

“Since 1978, workers wages have not been raised,” she said.

According to Hernandez, workers currently earn about 40 cents for every 32 pounds of tomatoes they haul, and would thus be paid 32 cents more if demands were met. Tomato pickers make $7,000-7,500 annually, a figure well beneath the poverty line.

Protesters are optimistic about the outcome of the strike.

“In just a year and a half, they have moved incredibly far (and) with students organizing and protesting, it will be effective,” said Brian Payne, one of the organizers of the strike and a representative of the Student Farmworker Alliance.

As part of the protest, a caravan of farm workers and protesters has been travelling south from Sacramento, stopping along the way to educate communities through protests and teach-ins.

UCLA-based members of USAS hope to spread awareness of this matter by encouraging students and community supporters to get involved in the rally.

Luu said students can also support the strike by not eating at Taco Bell.

“Our aim is to educate students here, mainly draw attention to Taco Bell and what’s been going on and let them know they can make a difference,” she said.

“It doesn’t feel like there is much support out there right now, because not many people know what’s going on,” added third-year biochemistry student Danny Yass, another USAS member.

Nathan Lam, a second-year anthropology student and a member of USAS, took a break from classes to participate in the weeklong campout.

Lam said the tomato pickers work in “bondage-like conditions” and suffer outrageous violations of their rights.

“Even though it is distant, we should try to make a difference,” he said. “I think that there’s a good chance that (the protest) will work.”