Richard H. Lenny, Board of Directors
McDonald’s Corporation
2111 McDonald’s Dr
Oak Brook, IL 60523

Dear Mr. Lenny,

I am writing to you on behalf of millions of union members and consumers who are part of the AFL-CIO family. We are very concerned about the living and working conditions of Florida’s field workers, especially those who pick tomatoes that end up in the food sold at McDonald’s franchises and corporate stores throughout the US and the world.

As the world’s largest restaurant chain, McDonald’s is in a unique position to set standards around the world. McDonald’s, in its “Standards of Business Conduct” document, proudly states on its cover, “The basis for our entire business is that we are ethical, truthful and dependable.” I am hoping that in your position as a member of the Board of Directors, and with a long association with the union movement, you can insure that McDonald’s lives up to its promise in the fields of Florida, the tomato capital of the world.

Tomato pickers in Florida are some of the lowest paid workers in the US, making on average, according the United States Department of Labor, only $7,500 – $10,000 per year. These workers have no right to overtime pay, nor do they have benefits of any kind – no health insurance, no sick leave or vacation time, and no pensions.

But that’s not all. Numerous cases of slavery in the fields have been documented and prosecuted by the federal government. Central to these cases is the tomato pickers’ own organization, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, founding members of the national organization, Freedom Network USA to Empower Victims of Slavery and Trafficking. The CIW alone has been involved in the discovery, investigation, and prosecution of six slavery cases in Florida since 1997.

In March 2005, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers signed an historic agreement with Yum Brands, ending a four-year, national boycott. Yum! Brands committed to pay one penny more per pound for the tomatoes it buys from Florida and to buy only from suppliers who can guarantee that they will pass that increase directly to the workers who pick the tomatoes. The agreement also included important new policies for Yum’s tomato suppliers, requiring strict compliance with applicable laws, preferential purchasing commitments for suppliers who go beyond the rights required by law, and, most importantly, an explicit role for workers through the CIW in the enforcement of the new policy. Yum! And CIW have established a joint monitoring process to ensure that the agreement is carried out. The Federation was involved in the campaign that resulted in this agreement. We are prepared to do the same to get McDonald’s on board.

We don’t think this demand is far-fetched. We know that McDonald’s has agreed to the responsible treatment of animals that go into McDonald’s products, and has developed a detailed code of conduct for its China-based toy suppliers that calls for the respect of fundamental labor rights, such as the right to overtime and freedom of association.

Most significantly, McDonald’s has recently agreed to sell only fair–trade coffee in more than 650 of its restaurants. By agreeing to pay a premium over the market price for coffee so that the workers who pick McDonald’s coffee can receive a fair wage for their labor and enjoy decent working conditions, McDonald’s has already acknowledged that it can, and should, directly address the conditions of workers in their supply chain when those conditions do not permit workers to meet their basic needs. That is the case in the coffee market, where pressure on market prices is passed on to workers in the form of long-stagnant wages. And that is the very same situation workers in the tomato market face today – workers who have not seen a raise in the picking piece rate in nearly three decades due to falling prices for tomatoes and the power of tomato growers to keep a lid on wages. If McDonald’s can pay a premium to address workers’ needs on coffee plantations, then it certainly should be able to do so for tomato pickers right here in the fields of Florida.

We are however, extremely concerned about McDonald’s recent announcement of its intention to purchase tomatoes only from growers certified by the newly formed, Florida-based, farm labor accountability initiative “SAFE.” SAFE (Socially Accountable Farm Employers), as perhaps you are aware, is made up of two organizations, the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association (FFVA) and the Redlands Christian Migrant Association (RCMA). The FFVA is Florida’s largest and most influential agricultural employers’ lobby with a staunchly anti-labor record. The other participant, the RCMA, is an excellent child care agency and is the FFVA’s favorite charity. Its Executive Director told the press that “as far as she knows, no farmworkers were involved in the writing,” of the SAFE code of conduct.

Given the leading role of the FFVA in this new undertaking, we are concerned that the agreement with SAFE does not meet that truthfulness or ethical standards McDonald’s has set for itself. Only the most credulous onlookers could believe that a powerful agribusiness lobby with a long track record of resisting any advancement of rights and protections for their workers can be trusted to develop strong new standards to improve working conditions and strictly enforce those standards. In some circles this might be characterized as a case of the fox guarding the henhouse.

In short, I am asking you, in your capacity as a member of the board of directors of McDonald’s Corporation, to lobby for a corporate policy that would open direct talks with the farmworkers and their organization, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, and sign an agreement similar to the one executed by Yum! Brands.

If you wish to discuss this matter further I am always available.

Sincerely,

John J. Sweeney
President