They will be at DePaul University's Scmitt Academic Center (Belden & Kenmore; 2322 North Kenmore) Rm 161, on Friday at 2:30pm

Come listen to the farmworkers' struggles and learn what you can do to help!

The University of Chicago was the first school in the country to not renew its license with Taco Bell in the face of student protests. Taco Bell finally left Hutchinson Commons food court in the fall quarter of 2003.

Workers from Immokalee toured Chicago twice in the beginning of 2002. The first time one worker and one representative of the student-farmworker alliance spoke at the University of Chicago after being invited by the anti-sweatshop coalition. The second time a caravan drove into the city as part of the first Taco Bell Truth Tour.

On April 4th U of C students participated in a national student labor week of action in remembrance of Martin Luther King, Jr’s martyred defense of Memphis garbage workers on strike. Members of the anti-sweatshop coalition disrupted lunch in the food court by dropping a banner and staging a skit to show students the hardship and toil that went into their tasty tacos.

At April 16th 2002 Washington D.C. protests for peace and global justice, farmworker supporters gathered to strategize about how take down Taco Bell. Meeting participants agreed that if one school severed its ties to taco bell, it was likely that more would follow. At the meeting, participants picked the University of Chicago as the student-farmworker movement’s first target.

That spring members of the anti-sweatshop coalition gathered letters from around the city and petitions from student organizations across the political spectrum from Chicago Friends of Israel to Students for Justice in Palestine. Meanwhile negotiations started with the director of the dining and the manager of the Reynolds Club. In a large community forum on the issue, administrators heard from representatives from diverse organizations around the city and from throughout the university. A farmworker flew up to Chicago to let U of C decision makers know about the exposure to toxic pesticides, the brutal working conditions, and the busting of slavery rings in Florida’s tomato fields.

Still, at the end of spring quarter, just as the anti-sweatshop coalition thought they were victorious, the administration stonewalled the student activists, citing a 1967 report on academic freedom written shortly after Students for a Democratic Society started protesting University ties to South Africa’s apartheid regime.

The next fall students staged another teach-in and a Halloween march with creative actions through campus to demand the University sever their ties to Taco Bell. Due to the persistence of student agitation, the administration finally agreed to compose a student led committee with two representatives of the anti-sweatshop coalition to find a suitable replacement. Unfortunately, activists’ choice of a local Mexican restaurant lost. Instead generic Mexican food from ARAMARK’s, the university’s dining contractor who’s president also happens to sit on Chicago’s board of trustees, replaced Taco Bell.

By kicking Taco Bell off of one of the most conservative schools in the country, the anti-sweatshop coalition paved the way for boot the bell campaigns nationwide. Unfortunately, despite repeated efforts of the student-farmworker alliance to engage University of Illinois Chicago students, students at UIC have not even attempted to launch a campaign to kick Taco Bell off their campus.

not to diss uic people

You'll have to forgive us if we don't take up every single worthwhile campaign that comes our way. Truth is that we're focused on other campaigns and haven't had the time to worry about kicking what amounts to a snackstand in one of the smaller dorm cafeterias off of campus.

Sorry Dan, we've been busy shutting down military, Pentagon and weapons industry recruiters, forcing the school to abandon its' bid to house a bio-weapons lab, staging some of the largest antiwar protests and student walkouts in the area, building bridges and organizing projects between different schools and communities, fighting against CTA service cuts, putting an end to the Army ROTC Valentine's Day Shoot, getting the school to host a peace and justice career fair, waging a divestment campaign to get the university to stop supporting I$raeli Apartheid, fighting against tuition increases, supporting SEIU workers in their struggles against privatization, fighting the administration for years and finally winning union recognition for grad employees, supporting faculty that have been targeted by the administration for having progressive ideas and politics, supporting diversity in UIC's hiring practices, exposing and taking on the liver transplant scandal in the college of medicine, unifying diverse student organizations to oppose hate crimes/speech at UIC, fighting for the right to exercise free speech at UIC (tougher than you might think), working to "retire" the U of I's racist mascot, battling against the reactionary, right-wing elements on campus when they bring racist, homophobic scumbags like David Horowitz to campus, getting the cultural centers to stop using Coca Cola, supporting contigent academic labor in their fight for union recognition, trying to reach more and more people with an antiwar and social justice message, getting an education, working, raising families, trying to survive, taking the UIC Residence Hall Association to task for crossing the Congress Hotel picket line, not letting John Sweeney dictate to the people who live, work and organize in this city what they can and can't protest against, not allowing backwards political organizations to hijack the student and youth movement, and so on.

Also keep in mind that students at UIC, like our sisters and brothers at DePaul and some of the other schools, are among the most actively involved when it comes to the citywide anti-war, international solidarity, and anti-militarization movements. Not to diss the U of C student activists but I can't recall the last time that I ran into one of you outside of Hyde Park.

@UIC

"Not to diss the U of C student activists but I can't recall the last time that I ran into one of you outside of Hyde Park."

We are busy studying, so you can flip my burgers. ;)

We love both our UofC and our UIC comrades! Buck if you Nuck!

don't go crazy, i was just kidding...

Over a hundred people turned out from the DePaul community for our CIW event. Hope you had fun!!!

COALITION OF IMMOKALEE WORKERS, TACO BELL® REACH GROUNDBREAKING AGREEMENT

CIW to end Taco Bell boycott; Taco Bell to pay penny-per-pound surcharge
demanded by workers, will work with CIW to raise farm labor standards in
supply chain, across industry as a whole

March 8, 2005 (IMMOKALEE/LOUISVILLE) – In a precedent-setting move,
fast-food industry leader Taco Bell Corp., a division of Yum! Brands (NYSE:
YUM), has agreed to work with the Florida-based farm worker organization,
the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), to address the wages and working
conditions of farmworkers in the Florida tomato industry.

Taco Bell announced today that it will fund a penny per pound “pass-through”
with its suppliers of Florida tomatoes, and will undertake joint efforts
with the CIW on several fronts to improve working conditions in Florida’s
tomato fields. For its part, the CIW has agreed to end its three-year
boycott of Taco Bell, saying that the agreement “sets a new standard of
social responsibility for the fast-food industry.”

“As an industry leader, we are pleased to lend our support to and work with
the CIW to improve working and pay conditions for farmworkers in the Florida
tomato fields,” said Emil Brolick, Taco Bell president. “We recognize that
Florida tomato workers do not enjoy the same rights and conditions as
employees in other industries, and there is a need for reform. We have
indicated that any solution must be industry-wide, as our company simply
does not have the clout alone to solve the issues raised by the CIW, but we
are willing to play a leadership role within our industry to be part of the
solution,” Brolick added.

Taco Bell has recently secured an agreement with several of its
tomato-grower suppliers, who employ the farmworkers, to pass-through the
company-funded equivalent of one-cent per pound directly to the workers.

“With this agreement, we will be the first in our industry to directly help
improve farmworkers’ wages,” added Brolick, “And we pledge to make this
commitment real by buying only from Florida growers who pass this penny per
pound payment entirely on to the farmworkers, and by working jointly with
the CIW and our suppliers to monitor the pass-through for compliance. We
hope others in the restaurant industry and supermarket retail trade will
follow our leadership.” Yum! Brands and Taco Bell will also work with the
CIW to help ensure that Florida tomato pickers enjoy working terms and
conditions similar to those that workers in other industries enjoy. CIW/Taco
Bell Resolution Page 2

“We are challenging our tomato suppliers to meet those higher standards and
will seek to do business with those who do,” said Jonathan Blum, senior vice
president, Yum! Brands. “We have already added language to our Supplier Code
of Conduct to ensure that indentured servitude by suppliers is strictly
forbidden, and we will require strict compliance with all existing laws.
Finally, we pledge to aid in efforts at the state level to seek new laws
that better protect all Florida tomato farmworkers,” added Blum.

The Company indicated that it believes other restaurant chains and
supermarkets, along with the Florida Tomato Committee, should join in
seeking legislative reform, because “human rights are universal and we hope
others will follow our company’s lead.”

“This is an important victory for farmworkers, one that establishes a new
standard of social responsibility for the fast-food industry and makes an
immediate material change in the lives of workers. This sends a clear
challenge to other industry leaders,” said Lucas Benitez, a leader of the
Coalition of Immokalee Workers.

“Systemic change to ensure human rights for farmworkers is long-overdue.
Taco Bell has now taken an important leadership role by securing the penny
per pound pass-through from its tomato suppliers, and by the other efforts
it has committed to undertake to help win equal rights for farmworkers,”
Benitez added. “We now call on the National Council of Churches,
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human
Rights and other organizations to join the CIW and end their boycott of Taco
Bell, and to recognize the Company by supporting its ongoing leadership in
our fight against human rights abuses. But our work together is not done.
Now we must convince other companies that they have the power to change the
way they do business and the way workers are treated.”

Representatives from the Carter Center assisted the discussions and
resolution between the two organizations. “I commend the Coalition of
Immokalee Workers for their principled leadership in this very important
campaign. I am pleased Taco Bell has taken a leadership role to help reform
working conditions for Florida farmworkers and has committed to use its
power to effect positive human rights change. I now call on others in the
industry to follow Taco Bell’s lead to help the tomato farmworkers,” said
former President Jimmy Carter.

Taco Bell Corp., based in Irvine, California, is a subsidiary of Yum!
Brands, Inc. and the nation’s leading Mexican-style quick service restaurant
chain serving tacos, burritos, signature Quesadillas, Border Bowls®, nachos
and other specialty items. In 2004, Taco Bell purchased approximately 10
million pounds of Florida tomatoes, representing less than one percent of
Florida’s tomato production. Taco Bell serves more than 35 million consumers
each week in more than 6,500 restaurants in the U.S.

CIW is a membership-led organization of agricultural workers based in
Immokalee, Florida, that seeks justice for farmworkers and promotes their
fair treatment in accordance with national and international labor
standards. Among its accomplishments, the CIW has aided in the prosecution
of five slavery operations by the Department of Justice and the liberation
of over 1,000 workers. The CIW uses creative methods to educate consumers
about human rights abuses in the U.S. agriculture industry, corporate social
responsibility, and how consumers can help workers realize their social
change goals.

that's really good news! let's hope it's real and that the gains can be kept, and more made.

FROM: BARRISTER AKINI SEGUN
OKEAYA INNEH LAW FIRM
ATTORNEYS/LEGAL PRACTITIONERS.
NIGERIA


ATTENTION: XXXXXXXX
DEAR SIR/MADAM,


COMPLIMENTS OF THE SEASON. GRACE AND PEACE AND LOVE FROM THIS PART OF THE ATLANTIC TO YOU. I HOPE MY LETTER DOES NOT CAUSE YOU TOO MUCH EMBARRASSMENT AS I WRITE TO YOU IN GOOD FAITH BASED ON THE CONTACT ADDRESS GIVEN TO ME BY A FRIEND WHO WORKS AT THE
NIGERIAN EMBASSYIN YOUR COUNTRY. PLEASE EXCUSE MY INTRUSION INTO YOUR PRIVATE LIFE.


I AM BARRISTER AKINI ABBEY , I REPRESENT MOHAMMED FEMI, SON OF THE LATE GEN. ATIKU FEMI , WHO WAS THE FORMER MILITARY HEAD OF STATE IN LAGOS STATE INGERIA . HE DIED IN 2003. SINCE HIS DEATH, THE FAMILY HAS BEEN LOSING A LOT OF MONEY DUE TO VINDICTIVE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS WHO ARE BENT ON DEALING WITH THE FAMILY. BASED ON THIS THEREFORE, THE FAMILY HAS ASKED ME TO SEEK FOR A FOREIGN PARTNER WHO CAN WORK WITH US AS TO MOVE OUT THE TOTAL SUM OF US$36,000,000.00 ( THREETY SIX MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS ), PRESENTLY IN THEIR POSSESSION. THIS MONEY WAS OF COURSE, ACQUIRED BY THE LATE PRESIDENT AND IS NOW KEPT SECRETLY BY THE FAMILY. THE SWISS GOVERNMENT HAS ALREADY FROZEN ALL THE ACCOUNTS OF THE FAMILY IN SWITZERLAND, AND SOME OTHER COUNTRIES WOULD SOON FOLLOW TO DO THE SAME. THIS BID BY SOME GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS TO DEAL WITH THIS FAMILYHAS MADE IT NECESSARY THAT WE SEEK YOUR ASSISITANCE IN
RECEIVING THIS MONEY AND IN INVESTING IT ON BEHALF OF THE FAMILY.


THIS MUST BE A JOINT VENTURE TRANSACTION AND WE MUST ALL WORK TOGETHER. SINCE THIS MONEY IS STILL CASH, EXTRA SECURITY MEASURES HAVE BEEN TAKEN TO PROTECT IT FROM THEFT OR SEIZURE, PENDING WHEN AGREEMENT IS REACHED ON WHEN AND HOW TO MOVE IT INTO ANY OF YOUR NOMINATED BANK ACCOUNTS. I HAVE PERSONALLY WORKED OUT
ALL MODALITIES FOR THE PEACEFUL CONCLUSION OF THIS TRANSACTION. THE TRANSACTION DEFINITELY WOULD BE HANDLED IN PHASES AND THE FIRST PHASE WILL INVOLVE THE MOVING OF US$5,000,000.00( TWENTY FIVE MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS ).


MY CLIENTS ARE WILLING TO GIVE YOU A REASONABLE PERCENTAGE OF THIS MONEY AS SOON AS THE TRANSACTIONIS CONCLUDED. I WILL, HOWEVER, BASED ON THE GROUNDS THAT YOU ARE WILLING TO WORK WITH US AND ALSO ALL CONTENTIOUS ISSUES DISCUSSED BEFORE THE COMMENCEMENT OF THIS TRANSACTION. YOU MAY ALSO DISCUSS YOUR
PERCENTAGE BEFORE WE START TO WORK. AS SOON AS I HEAR FROM YOU, I WILL GIVE YOU ALL NECESSARY DETAILS AS TO HOW WE INTEND TO CARRY OUT THE WHOLE TRANSACTION.


PLEASE, DO NOT ENTERTAIN ANY FEARS,AS ALL NECESSARY MODALITIES ARE IN PLACE, AND I ASSURE YOU OF ALL SUCCESS AND SAFETY IN THIS TRANSACTION.


PLEASE, THIS TRANSACTION REQUIRES ABSOLUTE CONFIDENTIALITY AND YOU WOULD BE EXPECTED TO TREAT IT AS SUCH UNTIL THE FUNDS ARE MOVED OUT OF THIS COUNTRY.


PLEASE, YOU WILL ALSO IGNORE THIS LETTER AND RESPECT OUR TRUST IN YOU BY NOT EXPOSING THIS TRANSACTION, EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT INTERESTED.


I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU.


THANK YOU.


TRULY YOURS,


AKIN SEGUN PLS REPLY ME barrister_akinsegun49 (at) yahoo.com