Dear Mr. Skinner:

On behalf of Chicago Jobs With Justice (JWJ), we write to urge you to raise your standards for the growers that supply tomatoes to McDonald’s. Earlier this month, the Steering Committee of Chicago JWJ, composed of its over 40 local labor and community organizations, agreed to support the call by the (CIW) and the Alliance for Fair Food for just wages and working conditions throughout the food supply chain. We took this decision when we learned about the troubling lack of rights and fairness for the workers who pick tomatoes for your suppliers.

Many farm workers in the United States face a human rights crisis, working under deplorable conditions prohibited by International Labor Organization Conventions and other human rights standards. Farm workers in Florida make sub-poverty wages picking tomatoes at a piece rate that has remained stagnant for decades now. Since 1997 the U.S. Department of Justice has successfully prosecuted five agricultural operations for modern-day workplace slavery, where workers have been forced to work against their will, held captive, and coerced through violence and threats. This human rights crisis is at odds with the values of America’s working people, and only by improving the wages and working conditions of farm workers can McDonald’s preserve its brand reputation among its main consumers.

As local community leaders and consumers, we encourage McDonald’s to partner with the CIW to develop an enforceable grower code of conduct that reflects the needs and priorities of those who work to harvest produce for your company. This code should ensure that farm workers receive a living wage and adequate benefits. Specifically, McDonald’s should immediately agree to pay a fairer price of at least one more penny per pound for the tomatoes it purchases, with that increase passed on to farm workers. Particularly given the decades of stagnant farm worker wages, documented by the U.S. Department of Labor, immediate economic relief is imperative.

The grower code of conduct should also guarantee basic worker rights, including the right to organize and collectively bargin. Farm workers are excluded from key federal laws, including the National Labor Relations
Act, that protect the rights of workers in other industries. Unfortunately, McDonald’s current supplier standards exploit these legal deficiencies.

McDonald’s has enjoyed a positive civic profile in its home in the Chicago area, and we are confident you will take the necessary steps to fulfill the responsibilities of a good corporate citizen by preventing human rights abuses in the produce industry in the United States. As a first step, we encourage you to work with the Coalition
of Immokalee Workers to improve the lives of farm workers. We look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

James Thindwa
Chicago Jobs with Justice