Since 1997, tomato pickers in Immokalee, Florida’s largest farmworker community, have been organizing for the right to join in talks with the state’s corporate tomato growers to find ways to improve farm labor conditions and raise the crop picking piece rate, which remains nearly unchanged from pre-1980 levels.

When members of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers discovered that Taco Bell is a major buyer of the tomatoes they pick, they informed company executives in January, 2000 of the deplorable wages and working conditions in Florida’s fields and requested a meeting to discuss possible solutions. Despite numerous pleas from workers and growing public pressure, Taco Bell has refused to meet with CIW representatives.

On February, 28, 2002, a caravan of migrant workers, college students and activists embarked on a fifteen-city, cross-country bus tour to raise awareness about the National Taco Bell Boycott and the sweatshop conditions faced by migrant farmworkers in America’s fields. On Sunday, March 3, Chicago will be the site of a Midwest Regional Convergence to welcome the arrival of the Taco Bell Truth Tour. Read More.

Additional Info: Chicago 'Boycot the Bell' Committee
Taco Bell Boycott Festival: A-Zone
Seth Tobocman Slide Show at 8:00 PM