| The Palm Beach Post
- May Day Protest |
The Palm Beach Post
Tomato pickers protest at Taco Bell
By Scott McCabe, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 2, 2001
Gerardo Reyes stood outside Taco Bell, worlds away from the Mexican
chili fields he picked as an 11-year-old, but still in the middle
of his life-long struggle.
 Reyes
and a dozen tomato pickers marched outside the fast-food restaurant
in suburban West Palm Beach, asking for a raise to the 40 cents
they make for every 32-pound bucket they pick. That's about $7,500
a year.
"The exploitation will continue for many more generations
if we don't do something now," Reyes said through an interpreter.
"What's happening in the sweatshops is happening in South Florida.
Instead of sweatshops, we work in sweat fields."
Members from the Coalition of Immokalee workers waved signs stating
their cause: "Drop the Chalupa," "Don't Eat Injustice,"
and "Let Freedom Ring, Boycott the Bell." They were joined
by a rowdy bunch of activists: a 92-year-old woman, a person dressed
as a tomato, a bearded man on stilts, an American Indian Movement
representative, and former state Rep. Barry Silver.
One hanger-on threw himself in front of a station wagon, blocking
the lot entrance and a lane of lunchtime traffic for about 15 minutes
before sheriff's deputies dragged him to the side. No one was arrested.
Conditions in Immokalee, captured in Edward R. Murrow's groundbreaking
1960 documentary Harvest of Shame, haven't changed in decades, workers
said.
Wages have remained unchanged in 20 years, according to the U.S.
Department of Labor statistics.
"It's shameful. The politicians and corporations know about
the conditions. But consumers don't know," said organizer Laura
Germino. "Things will change because the public has a heart
and the corporations and politicians will respond."
The Taco Bell managersaid he wasn't allowed to comment.
Inside, Greg Steimetz, of Davie, folded his Wall Street Journal
and shook his head in disapproval as a woman dressed as a felt tomato
shouted to customers in line.
"If they want to earn more, they can do some other service,"
Steimetz said. "I believe in personal responsibility."
The Immokalee workers protested at 15 Taco Bells around the state
Tuesday in connection with International Workers' Day. The holiday
began in the 1880s with the fight for the eight-hour workday.
Alice Jarvis, 92, said she has fought for workers' rights since
she was 13 when she earned 25 cents an hour working in a factory.
"Till the day I die, I'll be marching," said Jarvis of
West Palm Beach. "Seven-thousand dollars a year? What's that?
As a human being you can't stand by."
scott_mccabe@pbpost.com
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