Boycott Taco Bell! Student Hunger Strikes Continue!
Write Taco Bell! Demand Fair Wages!

[Information in this action alert comes from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers.]

In this alert:
1) Update on the student hunger fasts in support of the Taco Bell boycott
2) The demands of Immokalee workers
3) Write President of Taco Bell!

1) Update on the student hunger fasts in support of the Taco Bell boycott

"We are fasting today so that we may taste justice tomorrow." Those are the words of Tom Feeney, one of 19 students on hunger strike at the University of Florida. The UF hunger strikers -- who started their fast this past Monday and are determined to remain on strike through Friday -- are protesting the university's contract with Taco Bell over the fast-food giant's refusal to take steps to clean up labor abuses in its tomato suppliers' operations.

The University of Florida is one of three universities where students are fasting this week in solidarity with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and the boycott of Taco Bell. At Central Michigan University, 12 students began a rolling hunger strike last Thursday, and erected a tent city on Monday that will remain in place until Friday.

And at Notre Dame University, where the now national student hunger strike was born three weeks ago with the week-long fast by Notre Dame student Tony Rivas, 70 students are set to begin a three-day hunger strike on Wednesday. Yes, 70 students!! Notre Dame students are striking in protest of the administration's silence in response to calls for no new contracts with Taco Bell, and to demand that the university provide more fairly-produced products, including fair trade coffee.

In the words of Notre Dame student Alicia Lachiondo, "If the university won't take responsibility, then we will."

The students' actions at Notre Dame set off a chain reaction at schools from Grand Valley State University in Michigan to the University of Florida, with protests at one university moving students at the next to take action. "The commitment of Notre Dame and Grand Valley is inspiring," said Central Michigan University student Angelo Moreno. "We felt compelled to support their struggle for farmworkers' rights."

"We are all, as students, targeted by Taco Bell to buy their food," he continued. "We see it necessary to show solidarity with students across the country."
As the student hunger strike in support of the Taco Bell boycott continues to grow, you can find all the news at the CIW's website, at www.ciw-online.org. The next few weeks are sure to be full of news in the Taco Bell boycott, as the student movement carries the battle for fair food to campuses across the country, and folks gear up for the huge protest at Yum Brands' annual shareholders' meeting in Louisville, Kentucky this May 20.

2) The Coalition of Immokalee Workers demands are the following:

A. Convene a meaningful, three-part dialogue -- bringing together representatives of Taco Bell, their Florida tomato suppliers, and representatives of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers - to discuss solutions to the problems farmworkers face in Florida's fields.

B. Contribute to an immediate increase in farmworker wages through a raise in the per pound rate Taco Bell pays for tomatoes from its Florida suppliers.

C. Join with CIW and tomato industry representatives in drafting strict wage and working condition standards to be required of all Taco Bell tomato suppliers. Such standards would necessarily require respect for pickers' fundamental labor rights, including the right to a living wage and overtime, and the right to organize without fear of retaliation.
3) Write President of Taco Bell!

You can help! Please consider the situation of the farmworkers that pick the tomatoes you eat and let Taco Bell know that you expect them to help raise these hardworking men and women out of poverty. Call, fax, or write:

Emil J. Brolick, President and Chief Concept Officer Taco Bell Corp.
17901 Von Karman
Irvine, California 92614 Tel. (949) 863-4500, fax (949) 863-4537

Your calls and letter really help - thanks. And remember - Boycott the Bell!