MIAMI Burger King last month joined Yum! Brands Inc. and McDonald’s Corp. in agreeing to pay an extra penny per pound for tomatoes grown in Florida. —After a lengthy and often-heated dispute with a farm workers advocacy group,
The agreement followed closely the firings of two BK executives who were linked to what the company said were unauthorized Internet postings criticizing the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, which long has advocated that the supplemental payments would help improve Florida tomato pickers’ wages and working conditions. —After a lengthy and often-heated dispute with a farm workers advocacy group,
In striking the agreement, the No. 2 burger chain also said it would encourage grower participation in the program by paying an extra half penny per pound to help defray additional payroll taxes and administrative costs. —After a lengthy and often-heated dispute with a farm workers advocacy group,
A group of Florida tomato growers has resisted involvement in channeling the penny-per-pound payments to farm workers, and has threatened to sanction members who participate. —After a lengthy and often-heated dispute with a farm workers advocacy group,
Burger King officials estimated that the agreement would cost the Miami-based company about $300,000 annually. —After a lengthy and often-heated dispute with a farm workers advocacy group,
“We are pleased to now be working together with the CIW to further the common goal of improving Florida tomato farm workers’ wages, working conditions and lives,” said John Chidsey, chief executive of Burger King. “The CIW has been at the forefront of efforts to improve farm labor conditions, exposing abuses and driving socially responsible purchasing and work practices in the Florida tomato fields.” —After a lengthy and often-heated dispute with a farm workers advocacy group,
In announcing the deal, Burger King apologized again for the online comments made last month that bashed the CIW. The comments, made under assumed names, were eventually traced to BK executive Steve Grover. The company later said neither Grover, who was its vice president of food safety, quality assurance and regulatory compliance, nor corporate spokesman Keva Silversmith worked for Burger King any longer. —After a lengthy and often-heated dispute with a farm workers advocacy group,
Burger King said it has established a zero-tolerance policy for tomato growers that act unlawfully with regard to the treatment of farm workers. The company said it would allow farm worker participation in the monitoring of growers’ compliance, and said the chain also will work with the CIW to develop an industrywide vendor code of conduct. —After a lengthy and often-heated dispute with a farm workers advocacy group,
Lucas Benitez, co-founder of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, praised Burger King’s participation in “righting the wrongs that have been allowed to linger in Florida’s fields for far too long.” —After a lengthy and often-heated dispute with a farm workers advocacy group,
He added, “We are one step closer to building a world where we, as farm workers, can enjoy a fair wage and humane working conditions in exchange for the hard and essential work we do every day.” —After a lengthy and often-heated dispute with a farm workers advocacy group,
Benitez said the CIW will continue to push other restaurant chains and supermarkets to pay extra for Florida tomatoes to improve conditions for pickers. CIW officials cited such restaurant chains as Subway, Wendy’s and Chipotle Mexican Grill, along with the Wal-Mart and Whole Foods retailers, as potential targets. —After a lengthy and often-heated dispute with a farm workers advocacy group,
The CIW’s tactics have included lobbying lawmakers and organizing protests against restaurant chains. Yum was the first company to agree to the penny-per-pound charge for its Taco Bell chain in 2005 after boycotts by the CIW. Last year, Yum expanded the program to include tomatoes purchased for its Pizza Hut, KFC, Long John Silver’s and A&W All-America brands. McDonald’s signed a similar agreement in 2007 following boycotts of its restaurants. —After a lengthy and often-heated dispute with a farm workers advocacy group,
Before striking its agreement with the CIW, Burger King had refused to pay the extra penny per pound for tomatoes because it said it was concerned about legally paying additional wages to employees who didn’t actually work for the company. —After a lengthy and often-heated dispute with a farm workers advocacy group,
