No rotten tomatoes have been thrown, but that doesn’t mean
everyone is satisfied with the business practices of the restaurant
advertised by a hungry chihuahua.
Students fasted and handed out fliers Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5
p.m. on Meyerhoff Lawn, protesting Taco Bell’s buying
practices in solidarity with protesters in Kentucky.
The boycott is being spearheaded by the Coalition of Immokalee
Workers which is protesting for better Florida farmworker
conditions at Yum! Brands’ annual shareholders meeting in
Louisville, Kentucky.
The Student Worker Front and Social Justice Alliance have joined
to show their dissatisfaction with the parent company of Taco Bell,
which has been accused by its workers of allowing human rights and
labor abuses to take place.
“We’re supporting the Coalition of Immokalee Workers
in holding Taco Bell accountable for the abuses in its supply
chain,” said Sarah Church, a fourth-year international
development studies student and the program coordinator for Student
Worker Front.
Church is not alone in her disapproval of Taco Bell’s
supply chain.
“Workers want to improve their conditions, and Taco Bell
has the power to change these conditions, said Christina Kaoh, a
second-year molecular, cellular and developmental biology student
and the student organizer for Social Justice Alliance. “No
one should be treated the way the workers are being
treated.”
The Services Committee for the Associated Students of UCLA,
which runs on-campus stores and restaurants, voted last Friday to
deny a renewal of Taco Bell’s contract, which expires June
30. The restaurant chain failed to submit a report on
workers’ conditions to the association by a May 10 due
date.
The board will vote today on whether to finalize its decision on
Taco Bell’s tenure on campus.
At the Kentucky meeting, Yum! Brands Chairman and CEO David
Novak said Thursday Taco Bell would be willing to help lobby for
changes to Florida labor laws and seek ways to improve working
conditions if the CIW agreed to end its boycott of Taco Bell
products.
UCLA’s Taco Bell fast is meant not only to create change,
but to aid students in recognizing the importance of the issue,
organizers said.
“A lot of UCLA students aren’t aware of the human
rights abuses going on that amount to slavery in the tomato
fields,” said Church.
Some students, upon hearing about the fast, said they agreed
with the farm workers’ cause.
“Every time you eat at Taco Bell, you’re putting
your money behind your opinion. It’s like your verdict on the
issue,” said Aaron Lee, a third-year linguistics student.
Others said they felt Taco Bell should not be forced to
leave.
“I kind of like Taco Bell because it’s pretty much
the only place on campus you can get food in 30 seconds,”
said Noe Sanchez, a third-year economics student. “I
don’t want to see Taco Bell go.”
But other students said eating at Taco Bell is not just a
personal, but a political decision as well.