Advisory: Sanders to Meet Florida Farm Workers

WASHINGTON, January 16 – Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will meet with farm workers in Florida on Thursday and Friday to support their campaign to persuade Burger King to join other fast-food chains that have raised the pay for tomato pickers by paying a penny a pound more for the product.

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers has asked Burger King to match agreements by rivals McDonald’s and Taco Bell to pay slightly more for tomatoes bought from farms in Florida. Overworked and underpaid pickers for more than two decades have been paid about 45 cents per 32-pound bucket. Some tomato employers are even being prosecuted on slavery charges.

“The ruthless exploitation of farm workers is a national disgrace,” Sanders said. “At a time when there is growing consumer concern about how products are produced, the American people deserve to know the way Burger King and some growers treat their harvesters is a shame and not acceptable in our country.”

Who: U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers

What: Press Conference on Tomato Pickers Penny-a-Pound Campaign

When: Noon, Friday, January 18, 2008

Where: Coalition of Immokalee Workers
215 F West Main Street
Immokalee, Fla.

Contact: Michael Briggs (Sanders) 202 224-5141 or Julia Perkins (CIW) 239 986-0891

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