A FARMWORKER SUNDAY SPECIAL REPORT

Tomato prices

DENISE O’TOOLE KELLY | FLORIDA CATHOLIC MANAGING EDITOR

Posted: 11.02.07

Lucas Benitez, co-director of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, outlines how the coalition is attempting to work for better wages and conditions during a meeting with Bishop John R. Manz at the coalition's headquarters in Immokalee, Fla. in 2004.
ED FOSTER JR. | FC FILE

The Farmworker Association of Florida also has worked to educate the vegetable- and citrus-growing community in the Immokalee region — Lee, Collier, and Hendry counties — about pesticide health and safety protections, Moreno said. Meanwhile, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, another grassroots organization from the region, has persuaded some fast-food giants to pay more for tomatoes to boost workers wages.

This past April, McDonald’s agreed to pay a penny more per pound for tomatoes. The coalition, headed by Lucas Benitez, previously secured a similar agreement with the parent company of Taco Bell. Next on the agenda is to bring “Burger King to the negotiating table,” Benitez said. A series of informational protests at Burger King restaurants around the state have been held recently and a march at Burger King’s Miami headquarters is planned for Nov. 30.

ONE :: Agricultural laborers, advocates celebrate progress | TWO :: Immigrants' Rights, Workplace Safety
THREE :: Tomato Prices | FOUR :: Union Holds Ground | FIVE :: Meeting Families' Needs