Historic Chicago Mobilization for Farmworker Justice - April 13-14, 2007

In just 3 weeks, farmworkers from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) and
their allies will travel from Immokalee, FL – home of one of the largest
farmworker communities in the country – to Chicago, IL, home of the world’s
largest restaurant chain, McDonald’s. The 2007 Truth Tour: "Behind the Golden
Arches" will culminate in two national days of action on April 13th and
14th in the Chicago area marking a new phase in the Campaign for Fair Food.

Come out and represent Chicago! Join thousands of people from the Windy City and
across the country in demanding justice for farmworkers in McDonald's own
backyard!

*Major Rally at McDonald´s Global Headquarters*
Friday, April 13th, 3pm Oak Brook, IL

Featuring Dolores Huerta, co-founder, United Farm Workers; Kerry Kennedy; Rev.
Michael Livingston, President of the National Council of Churches;
Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky; music and more! The CIW, joined by a powerful
alliance of students, people of faith and human rights leaders, will announce
an exciting new phase in the McDonald's Campaign during the largest rally ever
to take place outside McDonald's headquarters.

*Carnaval & Parade for Fair Food, Real Rights and Dignity*
Saturday, April 14th, 10am Federal Plaza, downtown Chicago

Featuring John Sweeney, President, AFL-CIO; Eliseo Medina, Vice President, SEIU;
Zack de la Rocha and Tom Morello, formerly of Rage Against the Machine; plus
Chicago's own Nuestro Tambó, Fandanguero, Los Vicios de Papá, and RebelDiaz;
Bishop John Manz, Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago; Rev. Jorge Morales,
Associate Illinois Conference Minister of the UCC; Son del Centro; Olmeca; Hot
8 Brass Band; Rev. Calvin Morris; and more! The Parade and Carnaval will be an
event to remember, where farmworkers and thousands of their allies will come
together in a celebration of culture, music, and hope that will be heard from
the fields of Immokalee to the streets of Chicago to the corporate boardrooms
of McDonald's.

You can be a part of writing the next chapter of this story! Visit the official
2007 Truth Tour site with logistical information and outreach materials:
ciw-online.org/2007truthtour

Contact marc (at) sfalliance.org or 239-292-3431 for outreach palmcards and posters.

For more information:
ciw-online.org
sfalliance.org
allianceforfairfood.org

Background: Despite increasing public pressure on the fast-food giant,
McDonald’s has refused to recognize the seriousness of the exploitation of
tomato pickers exposed through the Taco Bell boycott, and instead has taken
measures that appear aimed at undermining the hard-won advances in wages and
working conditions established in the agreement with Taco Bell. McDonald's
recently distributed bonuses to three top executives totaling over $15 million,
yet refuses to pay just a penny more per pound for its tomatoes to alleviate 30
years of stagnant wages for farmworkers. Today, the CIW has grown tired, in the
words of Martin Luther King Jr., of "relying on the good will and understanding
of those who profit by exploiting us."