LA area actions bring out dozens of Taco Bell Boycott veterans, Tour heads north!

Like the heat wave spreading across the country this week, Trader Joe’s summer just keeps getting longer and hotter. The California tour continued yesterday, joining up with some of the CIW’s most loyal and oldest allies — the Taco Bell-toppling, Fair Food pioneers of the Irvine, Santa Ana, Orange County, and LA areas.

And from the looks of things, that’s one giant Trader Joe’s really didn’t want to wake up…

Here below is a quick photo report of the latest news from the Tour, including actions at the Irvine and UCLA Trader Joe’s stores. But first, here are your links from the first days of the week-long Trader Joe’s CA Truth Tour:

• “A love story” (Santa Ana protest, 7/10/11)
• Trader Joe’s CA Truth Tour calendar of actions (dates, times and locations for actions throughout the week)

The crowd that gathered yesterday at the Irvine Trader Joe’s was so big we needed…	… two pictures to capture it from end to end. The action brought out the very best people of Orange County, many of whom are old friends from the campaign that started it all, the Taco Bell Boycott (including one very recent newlywed, still glowing from her glorious weekend nuptials – see if you can pick her out from the crowd!).
Also in the crowd were some farmworker movement stalwarts from the Orange County Interfaith Committee to Aid Farmworkers, making the protest not just a great day for Fair Food, but a grand reunion, too, with the joyous sounds of old friendships rekindled — “We hosted you at our church!… “I remember you!”… “I marched on Taco Bell from East LA with you!!”… — filling the air outside the Irvine Trader Joe’s store.	Inside the store wasn’t quite so joyous, however, as the delegation delivering the manager’s letter toward the end of the action was met by manager who seemed, though cordial, more eager to repeat the company’s empty arguments for inaction than to learn the story of exploitation behind Trader Joe’s tomatoes and Trader Joe’s inexplicable refusal to work with the CIW to address that exploitation.
The day before, however, was a different experience all together, when a Fair Food delegation — including an animated group from National Farm Worker Ministry and students from UCLA’s Labor Studies Program — visited the store and handed out flyers outside. Here a Trader Joe’s employee talks with a longtime farmworker movement activist and learns about his employer’s position on the Campaign for Fair Food. He ended up taking a postcard to send to the CEO…	… while the manager at the UCLA store (in the pink Hawaiian shirt) was far more gracious and understanding than her Irvine counterpart, listening with genuine interest to the call for Trader Joe’s to put its money where its mouth is when it comes to ethical supply chain management.

Southern California Fair Food activists received the Trader Joe’s Truth Tour crew with open hearts, and the visit helped rekindle old friendships that will no doubt serve to open a strong new front in the Trader Joe’s Campaign.

But now it is time for the Tour to head north to its next stop in Santa Cruz, on the way to an action-packed weekend in the Bay Area! Check back soon for the very latest from the road!