The Honorable Mary Robinson warmed things up for the Tour crew the week before with a lecture on "Social Responsibility and Ethical Globalization." According to students who were present, of the hour-long speech, nearly 30 minutes were spent talking about Taco Bell. She called on BSU to return the money in a principled fashion, saying that such an action would make national headlines and put pressure on Taco Bell to clean up human rights abuses in its supply chain:

"Former UN Commissioner asks BSU to return $4 million"

While at BSU, the crew from Immokalee was fortunate enough to be invited to several different classes with topics ranging from sociology to anthropology to political science. These visits provided a great forum for more intimate discussion about the nuts and bolts of the Taco Bell boycott...

... and as was our experience throughout the Northwest, the CIW presentations were well-received, provoking thoughtful dialogue with students genuinely interested in the issues of farmworker exploitation and social justice.

After a day in the classrooms, it was time for the CIW and SFA delegation to meet with the Organizacion de Estudiantes Lation-Americanos (OELA), a student group that will surely prove crucial in the campaign at Boise State. The meeting with OELA was followed by similar sessions with the Idaho Progressive Student Alliance and other concerned students and community members.

Later, Lucas Benitez, CIW member and 2003 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award Laureate, addressed the BSU Faculty Senate at their meeting, a meeting packed with boycott allies from both the student and faculty communities.

Lucas' speech ended with a standing ovation, as the room literally buzzed with anticipation of the vote to follow. After a lengthy discussion of labor conditions in Taco Bell's supply chain, the Faculty Senate voted 17-2 to voice their opposition to the branding of the Taco Bell Arena and call for the removal of all Taco Bell logos from campus!

Immediately following the Faculty Senate meeting, CIW member Gerardo Reyes Chavez addressed the Associated Students of BSU, who will soon vote on a similar resolution.

Finally, on Tuesday night, after two months of solid organizing in Boise, nearly 200 people poured into the BSU Special Events Center to learn about the Taco Bell boycott firsthand from the workers from Immokalee and their student allies...

... and speaking of student allies, Melody Gonzalez of Notre Dame (left), a leader in that school's boycott campaign, was an invaluable -- and indefatigable! -- member of the NW Tour crew, sharing her experience at Notre Dame with students across the Northwest, translating for presentations by CIW members, and contributing a much-welcomed spirit of solidarity and struggle to the crew's grueling trip.

The audience at the Special Events Center was glued to the crew's presentation...

... and BSU student leaders (Arielle Anderson of Idaho Progressive Student Alliance, far right, and Belle Antchekov of ASBSU, second from left) joined CIW members on stage, letting the audience know how they can get involved in the locally-led campaign to un-brand the Taco Bell Arena.

After a two-hour presentation... another standing O!

Raise a fist! Gerardo pumped up the crowd, leading some chants to bring the night to a close.

And again, after the presentation... the materials table was a veritable a hurricane of activity.

One last meeting before wrapping up our visit to BSU and the NW Tour... the Tour crew sat down with ICAN (Idaho Community Action Network), a group that at the forefront of the fight for farmworker justice in Idaho, to discuss organizing strategies and potential for future collaboration.

The visit to BSU was the perfect ending to the perfect tour. Strong ties of solidarity were established with students, community organizations, religious communities, and unions across the Northwest during a whirlwind two weeks, ties that will surely serve to bolster the boycott in this very important part of the country.

Scroll down this page for more daily reports, photos and media from the tour.

Woodburn & Hermiston, OR, Days 9/10 - Oct. 23/24

Days 9 & 10 of the Northwest Mini-Tour found the CIW and their student allies visiting friends in Woodburn and Hermiston, Oregon -- two rural towns with large farmworker communities who are engaged in their own formidable struggles for economic justice, struggles that resonated all too well with the workers from Immokalee. These stops served as powerful reminders that farmworkers face similar abuses -- and are oganizing to eliminate such abuses -- in every corner of the country. En route to Idaho on Day 10 (and in the aftermath of a stunningly beautiful drive through the Columbia River Gorge), the Tour crew stopped in Hermiston, where they were warmly received with a spirited march and protest outside of the local Taco Bell (pictured above).

But before stopping in Hermiston, we spent Day 9 in Woodburn with our close friends at PCUN (Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste), who have been ardent allies of the CIW and the Taco Bell boycott since the very beginning. Founded in 1986, PCUN is Oregon's union of farmworkers, nursery, and reforestation workers and has grown into the state's largest Latino organization. Currently, PCUN has over 5,000 members (98% of which are Mexican and Central American immigrants), and it encompasses a wide vareity of community and workplace organizing projects throughout the Williamette Valley, the center of Oregon's agricultural industry.

While in Woodburn, we had a full day of activities including some early-morning Get Out The Vote canvassing with seasoned PCUN members as well as a handfull of fired-up youth...

After a morning in the neighborhoods of Woodburn and a tour of the surrounding countryside, the Tour crew was treated to a delicious dinner at PCUN's headquarters. Over enchildas and horchata, a troupe of young PCUNistas performed a wonderful piece of theater about the Taco Bell boycott, capturing the complexity and significance of the campaign in a way that left us all begging for more.

Their festive performance was a tough act to follow, and the workers from Immokalee certainly had their work cut out for them as they addressed the large crowd assembled for the special occassion. Nonetheless, the short presentation by CIW members did not disappoint. The workers discussed Immokalee and the Taco Bell boycott, relating it to the larger struggle for farmworker justice in this country and the work being done by organizations such as PCUN.

After dinner and discussion, it was high time for a group photo in front of this brilliant mural that graces the wall of PCUN's meeting hall. Our trip through the Northwest has been crammed full with inspiring artwork, but this colorful homage to the heroes of the US farmworker movement was easily the highlight.

After bidding farwell to our companeros at PCUN, the Tour crew hit the road Sunday morning, winding its way eastward along the Oregon-Washington border. After crossing the Cascades mountain range, we were reunited with our long-lost friends from South Florida: blue skies and sunshine! And so it was that on a beautiful and windy Day 10, the Taco Bell boycott delegation stopped in the small town of Hermiston, Oregon to link up with local farmworkers and community allies for some serious action.

Continuing a proud tradition of this year's Northwest tour, MEChA -- this time from Blue Mountain Community College in Pendleton, Oregon -- had a strong and vocal presence (as well as some great t-shirts!) at the protest in Hermiston...

The stop in Hermiston also allowed the Tour crew a great opportunity to connect with farmworkers at a local dairy, Threemile Canyon Farms (a key supplier to Precious Cheese), where workers are engaged in a tough fight for union representation with the United Farmworkers of America (UFW).

When it was all said and done, several dozen people in this dusty rural community took to the streets with the clear vision that another world is indeed possible -- a world where farmworkers receive the dignity and wages they truly deserve for hard and dangerous work. The action left the crew from Immokalee re-energized for the home stretch of the tour as they piled back in the van and hurled down Interstate 84 towards a climactic finale at Boise State University, home of the infamous Taco Bell Arena.

Check back soon for updates from Boise State, where student and faculty momentum is building by the day to reclaim their basketball arena from the clutches of the Taco Bell marketing department... Stay tuned!

Also, don't miss this front page story in the 10/26 Idaho Statesman, BSU's hometown paper: "Farmworker Fight with Taco Bell comes to BSU"!

Before moving on to Corvallis for Day 8, the Tour crew had another long day of meetings and presenations lined up for Portland. The main focus of the day revolved around Portland State University, where students are organizing to boot yet another Taco Bell restaraunt off yet another campus! Ironically, Portland State's Taco Bell -- peddler of sweatshop tacos -- is located right next to a fair trade coffee shop, an irony that is certainly not lost on these sharp students who are demanding this very notion of "fair trade" be applied to the fast-food industry and the fields which supply its produce.

After a lunchtime flyering blitz, the Immokalee delegation met with students from two great organizations at Portland State: MEChA and Students for Unity. During this meeting, workers from Immokalee and PSU students dialogued about conditions in the tomato fields. PSU students were also able to talk with members of Student/Farmworker Alliance -- including Melody Gonzalez of Notre Dame -- about some of the past successes of the Boot the Bell campaign, drawing on experiences that could prove useful for the effort at Portland State. Shortly afterwards, we learned that yet another student group at the university -- the College Democrats -- had decided to endorse the boycott! This was only further proof that things are really heating up in Portland, thanks in large part to the efforts of concerned young people -- the very core of Taco Bell's target demographic.

Following the visit to Portland State, the Tour crew were guests of honor at a fabulous potluck dinner co-organized by the Portland Central America Solidarity Committee (PCASC) and Oregon Farmworker Ministry. Over dessert, the workers from Immokalee shared their stories with members of the Portland community, explaining the intricate conections between farmworker poverty and fast-food industry profits. The community members were excited to learn about the recent developments at Portland State and pledged to support the campaign however they could. This type of campus-community alliance has proven very effective in other places, most notably at the University of Chicago; it also has positive implications for a number of other campaigns and issues. All in all, the combination of good food and good friends was a wonderful way to close our two days in Portland.

The next day found the Tour crew in the lovely town of Corvallis, home of Oregon State University and beautiful fall foliage. Here, the workers and their student allies led a well-received presentation to a great group of students, including -- guess who? -- MEChA and our new friends at the United Campus Ministry of Oregon State.

As usual, the materials table was a popular destination following the discsussion as students loaded up on buttons, stickers, flyers, and DVDs to help spread the word about the movement for fair food. After the opportunity for education and reflection...

... It was time for some action in front of a local Taco Bell, where dozens of students and community members gathered to add their voices to the growing chorus demanding socially responsible purchasing practices from the fast-food giant...

...Even the overcast skies and chilly weather didn't deter the assembled supporters of the boycott from getting their message across to the town of Corvallis.

We ended Day 8 with a wonderful dinner at the Centro Cultural de Cesar Chavez, where we got to know our allies in a more informal setting surrounded by gorgeous murals and other reminders of past farmworkwer struggles. It was an honor to gather in a space named after Chavez and filled with the spirit of the UFW, one of the earliest endorsers of the Taco Bell boycott and a steadfast ally ever since. Another great day in Oregon...

Next: Woodburn!

But once we finally did manage to tear ourselves from Washington and reach Oregon, the Tour crew split up in three groups and spread out around the Portland area. One group headed to Salem, where they met with our old friends and rock-solid allies at LUS -- Latinos Unidos Siempre, a Latino youth organization that grew out of a statewide coalition against an anti-immigrant ballot initiative and now works on issues including gang profiling, education, and immigrant justice. LUS has been an animated presence at every Truth Tour action outside Taco Bell headquarters in Irvine, CA -- traveling almost the length of the West Coast -- since 2001!

A second team joined students leaders at Portland State University for a roundtable discussion on the growing Boot the Bell campaign on campus. Of course, MEChA is spearheading the campaign at PSU, which promises to heat up just as campaigns on campuses from UCLA to Boise State, UT Austin, Grand Valley State, and more are really taking off.

The PSU students joined CIW and SFA members for a group picture in front of an incredibly beautiful mural depicting national and local struggles for justice for Latino workers. Though the picture didn't quite turn out as well as we might have hoped... the mural was just too good to leave out of today's report! We can only hope that the Taco Bell boycott may one day be immortalized in a corner of this mural for future generations of PSU students to remember the roots of the fight for fair food.

A third team from the Tour crew joined our friends from the Juarez Caravan once again for a presentation, this time at Portland's Musicians Union Local 99 hall. Ramona Morales of Juarez told of her own bitter experience, suffering the loss of her daughter at the hands of criminals who remain free while they have continued to brutally kill and disappear thousands of women -- many of whom work in the US-owned sweatshops of Juarez -- over the past several years. Mexican authorities have turned a blind eye to the women's plight.

Francisca Cortez of the CIW expressed our solidarity with the Juarez Caravan and, as she did in Seattle, explained why workers in Immokalee feel that our two struggles are really one -- one fight for justice for communities uprooted by corporate-led globalization and treated as disposable tools by the companies and governments that plan and profit from their displacement.

This sign from the Juarez presentation says it all:

"Justice will be done!"

So... now that we have reached the end of the day's report, just what was it we were seeking before leaving the indescribably beautiful state of Washington? Why, Mount St. Helens, of course, in all of her steaming, churning, awesome splendor.

In her commanding shadow, the Tour crew turned into humble tourists, all to eager to ask a passerby to take our picture with the mountain as our backdrop.

Before leaving, we learned of the devastating power of the volcano when it erupted last on May 18th, 1980, from Pamela, a veritable encyclopedia of volcano knowledge... and something of a force of nature her own self. Here she stops one of the Tour crew members from detonating the volcano and setting off a terrible chain reaction of destruction (why they put the detonator right there at the information desk where anyone could set if off is a good question for Park Service administrators...). OK... the detonator's not actually real... but Pamela's exuberance is, as was her commitment to boycott Taco Bell after learning of the conditions in Florida's tomato fields!

Next up: Day Two in Portland

... or in the town's streets -- and not just any street, of course, but in particular the street that runs in front of Taco Bell.

**************

* "ASUCLA shouldn't let Taco Bell call the shots" 10/12/04

* "Board weighs ethics, popularity in Taco Bell debate" 10/18/04

 

Whether in the more intimate settings of a 25-person seminar...

... or in the more festive atmosphere of an auditorium overflowing with 150 people...

.... the CIW's presentation of the truth behind Yum Brands' billion-dollar marketing budget -- the sweatshop conditions and human misery that fuel the fast-food giant's marketing machine -- and the Tour crew's analysis of how corporations like Taco Bell, Nike, McDonald's, and Adidas use those billions to pollute our minds with their logos and all their latest jingles...

... gave hundreds of students throughout the day a powerful new perspective on the food we eat, the clothes we wear, and -- most importantly -- the reason why the fight of farmworkers from a forgotten town in Florida is their fight too.

The connection is clear: farmworker poverty fuels fast-food profits, profits plowed into marketing designed to enslave our minds and render us all incapable of even thinking for ourselves or imagining a world without their products.

But by the end of the day at Evergreen College, people had not only freed their own minds from the fast-food nightmare, but they couldn't get enough postcards, flyers, and buttons to continue spreading the word to their friends and families...

... leaving one overwhelmed Tour crew member calling desperately for back-up on the tabling front!

And in the immortal words of the1970's funk legend Parliament, "Free your mind, and your a.. will follow,"... Following the day of presentations at Evergreen, it was into the streets, making signs...

... and taking action at a local Taco Bell.

In a fine evening of protest and flyering at a Taco Bell off campus, conversation replaced consumption, as dozens of potential Taco Bell clients thought twice about eating exploitation...

... and even those who had already bought themselves some took time to thing before digging into their sweatshop tacos.

Even workers who were let off early due to the protest's impact on the restaurant's sales had an opportunity to reflect on their employer's practices. While they were not overly pleased about losing a couple of hours that night, they did stick around to talk. And given the fact that their most spirited defense of the company was "we'll never really end slavery in this country, there'll always be people sick enough to hold other people in slavery"... well, we figure their loyalty to Taco Bell can't really run too deep.

Between the presentations and the protest, we shared a potluck dinner with area allies and the members of Fato Criminal, a hip-hop group from Brazil affiliated with our long-time friends at the MST (Moviemiento Sem Terra, one of the most powerful movements for social justice in the world today). They were kind enough to do an impromptu performance that we were lucky enough to catch on video. It's not quite ready yet, but we promise to get that video to you on these pages soon. So check back, because you don't want to miss it!

Next up: Portland!

In an intense day of reflection and action that stretched the Northwest Tour crew to its limits, Day Four saw the workers from Immokalee and their student allies split up and take on three universities, six presentations...

... and one Taco Bell, this time at the newest school to join the mushrooming Boot the Bell campaign, Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington, two hours outside of Seattle!

But before we get to the very busy Day Four report, a little about Day Three. Sunday the crew enjoyed a slightly different pace from the rest of the Tour -- a bit more relaxed, with a "House Party" theme, ala Howard Dean, where Seattle area allies hosted gatherings and graciously opened their homes to the Tour crew...

... an organizing idea with the distinct advantage of including great food and a relaxed atmosphere, where easy conversations take the place of more high stakes presentations (for one day, at least...).

But by Day Four it was back to the grindstone. While half of the Tour crew stayed in the Seattle area for presentations at South Seattle Community College (with a fantastic group of students from the business department who, unlike some executives we know, had no problem understanding the importance of human rights and socially responsible business practices...) and at the University of Washington (pictured above), where the class -- on the topic of social movements in agriculture -- had a totally different focus, examining the similarities between the CIW and movements for social justice from the Global South...

... the other half headed to the University of Central Washington for a meeting with the students on campus that are spearheading the Boot the Bell movement's newest campaign.

There the Tour crew felt immediately welcome, with large signs like these announcing their arrival...

... and banners like these announcing who their key allies will be in the fight for fair food on the Central Washington University campus! MEChA has been a key CIW ally on campuses across the country since the launch of the boycott in 2001, and seeing that they will be at the heart of the campaign at CWU gave the Tour crew great confidence that the campaign there will be a success.

 

Following the meeting, workers and students headed to the Taco Bell on campus to take their message to rest of the CWU student body...

... and the students loved it. Here two new converts to the boycott turn their back on the Bell (see the sign in the upper left corner) and proudly break on through to the other side... of the campus food court, where they headed instead for the CWU cafeteria (a little tip of the hat to Jim Morrison, there, for those of you who didn't quite catch that reference...)...

And speaking of hats... this student took time to learn more about the boycott from Melody Gonzalez, a student leader from the Notre Dame campaign who has been a tremendous addition to this year's Tour crew. By the time he was done talking to Melody, he was ready to "Cowboy Up" for the boycott...

In the evening, the two halves of the Tour crew hooked back up at the University of Washington for three more events. First, a meeting with UW student allies, including representatives from United Students Against Sweatshops, from the Fair Trade Coffee movement on campus, and from our new friends at Anakbayan Seattle, an association of Filipino youth who are organizing to study and educate others about the rich culture and proud history of the Filipino people's continuing struggle.

Following the meeting, the Tour crew posed for a solidarity picture with some of the Anakbayan members in the Filipino room of the UW Ethnic and Cultural Center, where the mural on the wall reminded us of the crucial -- but often overlooked -- contribution of Filipino workers to the birth of the UFW and the movement for farmworker justice in California.

Also at the Ethnic and Cultural Center, Tour members met with UW MEChA...

... where, as always, workers from Immokalee were received with great respect and given a place at the table to present the problems faced by farmworkers in Florida.

Finally, the evening ended with a particularly powerful gathering. The CIW joined the Northwest launch of the International Caravan for Justice for the Women of Ciudad Juarez. Ramona Morales, whose daughter was murdered at the tender age of 16, shared the story of her fight for justice for her daughter. Her daughter's disappearance -- like the murder and disappearance of hundreds of young, poor women in Ciudad Juarez -- has gone unsolved, thanks to inaction on the part of the Mexican authorities and cold indifference from the multi-national corporations whose maquiladoras employed many of these women. However, the families of these women refuse to remain silent and have launched an international campaign to find answers to the questions that haunt them, to seek justice for those guilty for the murders, and to demand an end to this most barbaric consequence of corporate globalization.

At the root of the maquila murders is an all too familiar story for the workers in the fields of the United States. Forced to leave their homes and families due to trade policies negotiated in secret between governments and multi-national corporations, these young women and men who seek a better life for their families and children instead find inhumane working conditions, low wages, and no protections whatsoever from industries that see their workers as tools for profit-making rather than human beings with families to support and dreams to achieve.

Sweatshops, slavery, and murders are all to often the realities behind the clothes, electronics, and fast-food we consume today. But, speaking at the event for the women of Juarez, Francisca Cortez of the CIW made it clear that another world is indeed possible. Corporations like Taco Bell have the power in their hands to ensure that the products that they offer consumers are free from these most egregious human rights abuses. And the time is now for them to show the rest of the world how it can be done.

It's a message that Seattle has heard loud and clear over the past few days...

As the day came to a close, the Tour crew was faced with the sad but inevitable task of saying goodbye to the Emerald City and, sadder yet, to our gracious host Helene (middle), who opened her home to seven strangers and took us in like family since we reached Seattle last Thursday. Thanks again, Helene, and there will be a place in Immokalee for you always!

Next up: Olympia!

**********

Breaking news!... Be sure to check out the latest news from the UCLA Boot the Bell campaign. Click on the following two links to see some powerful editorials from the UCLA "Daily Bruin":

Plus, check out this great report by Rev. Noelle Damico, National Coordinator of the Taco Bell Boycott for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), on Lucas Benitez's organizing tour of Long Island!

Still fired up from the health care march, the crew from Immokalee decided to pay a visit to a local Taco Bell for a little one-on-one flyering with the people of Seattle. Here we met up with yet another new friend -- a man who actually used to pick tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables in the fields of south Florida.

While half the crew remained outside to raise awareness about the boycott, a small delegation went inside the restaurant to speak with customers...

... And Taco Bell employees, as well.

Meahwhile, back outside, the flyering continued, and our new friend was so moved by the campaign that he came back and brought us all sodas (not union-busting Cocal Cola products, either)!

The flyering was a huge success. For two hours we turned the streets into a classroom, where dialogue replaced division and reflection took root in a place where complacence usually reigns.

Even this long-time Taco Bell customer on the right -- check out the cup... -- couldn't just walk away from the impromptu community formed outside the restaurant's doors on this day. Like millions of other consumers across the country, she has been eating at Taco Bell for years without any idea of the poverty and sweatshop conditions behind the cheap food and hip advertising of her favorite fast-food company. But today she was presented with the opportunity to think critically about her consumption decisions -- the kind of thinking she does every day in her work with a fair trade coffee organization in Seattle! -- and as a result is now another EX-Taco Bell customer, at least until Taco Bell does the right thing and addresses the labor abuses in its supply chain.

Seattle, WA, Day 1 - Oct. 15


Seattle... a blue-collar city with a style all its own... a city that has given us some of the hardest working, most creative artists in modern music, from Jimi Hendrix (his statue here graces Broadway, a main thoroughfare) to Kurt Cobain and the Grunge movement...

... the world-renowned Pike's Place market, where hardworking fishmongers like the man pictured above are known not just for their fresh salmon...

... and last, but not least, fashion... where black is definitely the new black this year, as in this Matrix-inspired ensemble...

Students at CSCC were great -- a cross section of inspiringly diverse, sincere, and engaged young people from Seattle who connected immediately with the struggle of immigrant workers from Immokalee.

The new CIW postcard campaign to Yum Brands was a big hit, too, as students eagerly asked what they could to do voice their support for the boycott. Remember, you too can get in on the new postcard campaign -- click here to see the new card on our Take Action page, then email us at workers@ciw-online.org and we'll send you as many cards as you can use to distribute among your friends, co-workers, or fellow church members!

The connection between the Immokalee crew and students at CSCC was real and direct -- breaking through the haze created by Taco Bell's marketing and bringing the reality of sweatshop conditions behind Taco Bell's products into sharp focus for the first time in Seattle. The connection inspired some encouraging solidarity, as well -- the young man on the left speaking with Romeo Ramirez of the CIW works as a supermarket bagger to pay for school and was particularly moved by the presentation, excited about organizing at his own workplace after hearing the story of farmworkers in Immokalee.

The day ended with two more presentations -- one at a well-attended political rally (not pictured here) where the boycott was warmly received (and graciously given a speaking spot with no advance notice!), the other a potluck dinner with members of the Community Coalition for Environmental Justice (pictured above with some of the Tour crew).

All in all, a great start to the Northwest Tour. Tomorrow, it's on to meetings with day-haul workers, an SEIU march and rally for affordable health care, and a party celebrating "Bosses' Day" (yes, there really is a Bosses Day, though it probably wasn't intended to be celebrated the way we're planning to...)!

HOME | BREAKING NEWS | ABOUT CIW | TAKE ACTION | ANTI-SLAVERY NEWS | JOIN LISTSERVE | CONTACT US | DONATE | CIW MEDIA