[1762] in peace2
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daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Jeff Duritz)
Thu May 23 16:43:49 2002
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Date: Thu, 23 May 2002 16:43:43 -0400
From: Jeff Duritz <jdu@MIT.EDU>
From: "Mexico Solidarity Network" <list-owner@mexicosolidarity.org>
To: <mexicosolidaritynetwork@mexicosolidarity.org> ( Mexico Solidarity
Network Email List)
Subject: MSN Emergency "E-Mail Action" for TACO BELL BOYCOTT
Date: Wed, 22 May 2002 10:10:46 -0700
EMERGENCY "E-MAIL ACTION" ALERT:
For the Taco Bell Boycott
Most of you have by now heard of the Taco Bell Boycott
being carried out by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers &
Mexico Solidarity Network?s work with this important
campaign for immigrant and labor rights.
This boycott, declared in April 2001 in order to pressure
the multinational corporation-Taco Bell to negotiate and
improve the conditions of the workers that pick their
tomatoes, has rapidly become one of the better known labor
struggles in this country and a clear example of the links
between the new global economy and the local struggle, in
this case, of a community of farm workers in Southern
Florida.
Since last summer, the Mexico Solidarity Network has been
working closely with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers in
order to develop this campaign at the local, regional and
national levels.
As a new front in this boycott, universities in different
parts of the country have started organizing in order to
kick Taco Bell restaurants off of their campuses, with a
focus on those campuses that use Aramark as a dining
service provider. In order to get the campaign rolling,
nation-wide focus has been placed on the University of
Chicago so as to set a precedent of administrations
cutting contracts with an exploitative food provider such
as Taco Bell. The Mexico Solidarity Network has been
working closely with the students at the U of C in
advancing this campaign started towards the end of April.
In just two short weeks this campaign has generated
incredible amounts of campus and community support
including dozens of organizational endorsements, a
community forum attended by about 200 people, over a
thousand signatures and more.
HERE?S THE EMREGENCY!!
The University of Chicago will make a decision this Friday
on removing or keeping the Taco Bell. People from around
the country are sending emails to the administrators to
let them know we support the boycott, think that
institutions of higher education should not be places
where exploitative labor practices and immigrant abuse are
given subtle approval, and that the moment the university
outsourced services to a multinational corporation they
became accountable to a much larger community than their
own campus.
This campaign is a vital step in advancing the boycott
nation-wide. Even if the Taco Bell isn?t removed this
week the administration, Aramark, and Taco Bell, must know
they will face fierce campaigning around this issue come
fall!
PLEASE EMAIL THESE TWO MEMBER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
ADMINISTRATION: Just email them!!
Jen Bird
Director or the Reynolds Club and Student Activities
j-bird@uchicago.edu
Cheryl Gutman
Director of the Universtiy Housing System
cgutman@midway.uchicago.edu
The email you send can be short and sweet. All they want
to know is that you don't want Taco Bell in Hutch, at Uof
C campus. It can be as short as 1 line. If you want, HERE
IS A SAMPLE LETTER THAT CAN BE USED FOR THIS ACTION:
To the University of Chicago Administration & Aramark
As a highly reputed institution of higher learning, the
University of Chicago (U of C) plays a significant role in
creating a positive or negative image of university
education in this country. In this regard, the precedent
Aramark, as the dining service provider for the U of C, is
setting is very worrisome.
Aramark holds a substantial business relationship with
Taco Bell, a company that is being boycotted for its role
in the exploitation of thousands of farmworkers.
Farmworkers? sub-poverty wages and total lack of benefits
have allowed tomato growers to control their costs and
provide Taco Bell with cheap, high quality tomatoes,
boosting Taco Bell?s bottom line. The workers have asked
that Taco Bell use its influence as a major buyer of fresh
tomatoes to bring growers to the table. To date, Taco
Bell has refused to open meaningful dialogue.
By continuing to practice business with Taco Bell, Aramark
and the U of C are maintaining a chain of exploitation
that affects thousands of farmworkers. In order to foster
an environment within Chicago and within the university
system of this country, respectful of human rights, I join
students, faculty and employees of the U of C in demanding
that:
1. The U of C administration and Aramark, the dining
services provider for the U of C, remove and replace the
Taco Bell in Hutchinson Commons
2. That the workers currently working in Hutchinson
Commons in general and Taco Bell specifically not lose any
work or pay when Taco Bell is replaced
3. That the U of C Administration write a letter to
Aramark explaining why it is removing Taco Bell from the U
of C campus.
University education must not be provided at the cost of
human rights abuses. With this endorsement, a commitment
is being made to spread the word to no longer eat at Taco
Bell and to pressure Aramark and the U of C into honoring
the above demands to ensure that our schools and
universities are places where human rights are respected.
Sincerely,
#############################################################
Mexico Solidarity Network http://www.mexicosolidarity.org
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