Student activists Friday took a step toward the termination of
the Associated Students of UCLA’s contract with Taco
Bell.
ASUCLA’s Services Committee voted to recommend to the
board of directors that the contract not be renewed.
Until Taco Bell settles disputes with workers, the committee
also recommends that the eatery be phased off campus.
Student activists pushed for Taco Bell’s removal because
it purchases tomatoes from the Immokalee region. They say the
companies do not pay workers a living wage.
A Taco Bell representative said store officials visited the
location and did not find labor violations. She also said the labor
rights groups were unable to prove that pickers are not paid the
living wage.
“I appreciate their passion for their cause, but the
(activists) untruthfully disparages our brand name,” said a
company spokeswoman.
On Dec. 5, the board of directors is scheduled to make the
ultimate decision on whether Taco Bell’s contract will be
renewed.
The on-campus eatery is a university-owned franchise.
It employs only UCLA-hired workers who receive union wages. A
percentage of its earnings are sent to the Taco Bell company.
Employees will not lose their jobs or benefits if the contract
is not renewed. They will have new jobs elsewhere on campus, the
services committee said.
With a thousand customers a day, Taco Bell is the second most
frequented restaurant on campus. Panda Express, which is open
longer, serves 2,000-3,000 a day.
One issue the committee addressed was the possibility that if
Taco Bell is eventually taken off campus its customers must eat
elsewhere at more pricey locations.
ASUCLA will look to replace Taco Bell if it is removed. Other
companies would not take on current employees, so UCLA would need
to create its own restaurant.
“This is risky. People like what we already have, and we
can’t reproduce Taco Bell’s menu items. They have
secret recipes,” said ASUCLA Food Services Director Bob
Williams.
But the risk could very soon become reality if ASUCLA votes not
to renew the contract, which expires Dec. 30. Williams would have
about a month to replace the restaurant.
Some service committee members suggested asking Taco Bell to
allow the eatery to remain open a few more months so that
preparations could be made for a replacement, but also believe that
Taco Bell is unlikely to accept such a proposal.
“That’s not the way it works,” said the Taco
Bell spokeswoman, regarding keeping Taco Bell on campus after
terminating the contract.
The committee had other concerns about setting precedents they
could not uphold in the future.
Some members feared that student activists would boycott other
companies as well.
“The fact of the matter is that Immokalee has the cheapest
tomatoes out there, so the probability that other restaurant
companies buy them also is high,” said service committee
member Dria Fearn.