"Como trabajadores y mujeres, tenemos que luchar por nuestros derechos y contra la violencia tanto en la labor como en la casa"
"As women and as workers, we have to fight for our rights and against violence both in the fields and in our own homes"
|
|
 |
The summit began, appropriately,
in the fields, where participants formed teams
and picked tomatoes and oranges for a day...
or, at least, tried.
|
The look says it all...
This team of three make it back to town well
after dark having picked six bins of oranges
(about 6,000 pounds of high quality Florida
citrus), which translates into about $40 ($13
dollars each)... and a new appreciation for
"unskilled" labor.
|
Since it was a little difficult
for some of the participants to sit the next
day... we came up with a new form of cooperative,
full-body support to deal with the post-harvest
aches and pains.
Not really... this dynamic
was actually part of a full, two-day schedule
of reflection and action on the Taco Bell
boycott.
|
Keeping with CIW tradition,
participants learned more about the CIW's
organizing history,...
|
... about our approach
to education and leadership development...
|
... and about the history
of student movements.
The majority of the time,
though, was spent in planning, working together
to forge strategies for a national action
in the Spring that combines the different
strengths of workers and young people and
promises to make Taco Bell executives wish
they had dealt with the boycott a long time
ago...
|
|
Then, finally,
it was time for action, preparing signs, art,
and noisemakers... |
... and hitting
the streets at a Ft. Myers Taco Bell (which
has the great misfortune of being the closest
Taco Bell to Immokalee...) |
|
The protest
lasted into the early evening... |
...when the
summit came to an end. But not before these
participants had the opportunity to put their
heads together one more time...
The summit
was a huge success, with the forging of stronger
bonds and more exciting strategies than ever
before -- just what we will need to propel the
boycott even higher in the coming year! Stay
tuned for more details as plans for the Spring
action are revealed! |
|
|
|
