Geronimo Pratt
20th February 2007, 17:48
BURGER KING ANNOUNCES PLAN TO END FARMWORKER POVERTY... Burger giant offers to retrain Immokalee tomato pickers to work in Burger King restaurants...
Although the headline reads like a bad joke, it's not. Yesterday, Burger King issued a statement announcing that the company "has extensively considered the Coalition of Immokalee Workers 'penny per pound' request and has declined to accept the proposal." Instead, the statement went on to announce Burger King's alternative solution to farmworker poverty:
"We have spoken to CIW representatives about our interest in recruiting interested Immokalee workers into the BURGER KING® system. We have offered to send Burger King Corporation recruiters to the area to speak with the CIW and with workers themselves about permanent, full-time employment at BURGER KING® restaurants. Burger King Corporation offers ongoing professional training and advancement opportunities around the country for both entry-level and skilled employee jobs, and we are hopeful the CIW will accept our offer."
Lucas Benitez of the CIW, in response to the BK announcement, said, "This suggestion might seem comical, until you stop to think that Burger King is actually responsible for keeping the workers in poverty through their leveraging of volume purchases to drive down tomato prices and, consequently, tomato pickers’ wages.” [See the article "Big fast-food contracts breaking tomato repackers," for an industry insider's perspective on how fast-food giants depress tomato prices and wages.]
In its announcement, Burger King also claimed that it would be impossible to replicate the Taco Bell penny-per-pound payment in its supply chain, explaining that the company does “not identify the specific growers, tomatoes, or workers who pick the tomatoes that are used in our restaurant.” This despite the fact that Burger King's supply chain managment team assured the CIW during talks that the ability to trace tomatoes back to the farm where they were grown would not be an obstacle to instituting a penny per pound payment as did Taco Bell.
In the CIW's response, Benitez replied, “It is ridiculous for Burger King to claim that it does not know where its tomatoes come from. If that were true, then Burger King could not tell its customers that its tomatoes aren't being picked on any of the Florida farms recently connected with slave labor. Nor could it reassure its customers that its tomatoes come from farms that are taking appropriate steps to avoid food-borne illnesses like the recent E.Coli outbreaks. In short, Burger King's statement shows as little respect for its customers as it does for the farm workers who pick the produce that goes into its products.”
Perhaps The Reverend Clifton Kirkpatrick, the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), put it best in a letter to Burger King CEO John Chidsey on January 10th of this year:
“Already at the table are the CIW’s expertise, a flexible model, and clear precedents. The only thing missing in order to end the human rights abuses of tomato pickers is Burger King’s willingness. Any company who profits from the exploitation of others is morally and ethically responsible for that exploitation.”
More information at http://www.ciw-online.org/
Although the headline reads like a bad joke, it's not. Yesterday, Burger King issued a statement announcing that the company "has extensively considered the Coalition of Immokalee Workers 'penny per pound' request and has declined to accept the proposal." Instead, the statement went on to announce Burger King's alternative solution to farmworker poverty:
"We have spoken to CIW representatives about our interest in recruiting interested Immokalee workers into the BURGER KING® system. We have offered to send Burger King Corporation recruiters to the area to speak with the CIW and with workers themselves about permanent, full-time employment at BURGER KING® restaurants. Burger King Corporation offers ongoing professional training and advancement opportunities around the country for both entry-level and skilled employee jobs, and we are hopeful the CIW will accept our offer."
Lucas Benitez of the CIW, in response to the BK announcement, said, "This suggestion might seem comical, until you stop to think that Burger King is actually responsible for keeping the workers in poverty through their leveraging of volume purchases to drive down tomato prices and, consequently, tomato pickers’ wages.” [See the article "Big fast-food contracts breaking tomato repackers," for an industry insider's perspective on how fast-food giants depress tomato prices and wages.]
In its announcement, Burger King also claimed that it would be impossible to replicate the Taco Bell penny-per-pound payment in its supply chain, explaining that the company does “not identify the specific growers, tomatoes, or workers who pick the tomatoes that are used in our restaurant.” This despite the fact that Burger King's supply chain managment team assured the CIW during talks that the ability to trace tomatoes back to the farm where they were grown would not be an obstacle to instituting a penny per pound payment as did Taco Bell.
In the CIW's response, Benitez replied, “It is ridiculous for Burger King to claim that it does not know where its tomatoes come from. If that were true, then Burger King could not tell its customers that its tomatoes aren't being picked on any of the Florida farms recently connected with slave labor. Nor could it reassure its customers that its tomatoes come from farms that are taking appropriate steps to avoid food-borne illnesses like the recent E.Coli outbreaks. In short, Burger King's statement shows as little respect for its customers as it does for the farm workers who pick the produce that goes into its products.”
Perhaps The Reverend Clifton Kirkpatrick, the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), put it best in a letter to Burger King CEO John Chidsey on January 10th of this year:
“Already at the table are the CIW’s expertise, a flexible model, and clear precedents. The only thing missing in order to end the human rights abuses of tomato pickers is Burger King’s willingness. Any company who profits from the exploitation of others is morally and ethically responsible for that exploitation.”
More information at http://www.ciw-online.org/