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Dear Mr Chidsey,
I am concerned about forced and exploitative labour
in US agriculture.
Farm workers are some of the poorest paid and most
exploited workers within the US economy. They earn
on average US$10,000 a year, have no health insurance,
no sick leave, no pensions, no right to overtime pay
and no right to organise. In the most severe cases,
farm workers are subjected to forced labour.
The vast purchasing power of fast-food corporations
and their continual demand for low prices from their
suppliers impacts directly on the conditions experienced
by farm workers, as suppliers reduce costs, which
can lead to lower wages and poor working conditions.
Burger King is a major purchaser of Florida tomatoes.
In Immokalee, Florida, tomato pickers work 10 - 12
hours each day, often seven days a week. They are
paid 45 cents for each full 32 lbs (14.5 kilos) bucket
of tomatoes picked; a rate that has remained stagnant
for nearly 30 years, and at which a worker would have
to pick nearly two and a half tonnes of tomatoes just
to earn the minimum wage.
Labour exploitation creates the conditions in which
forced labour can occur. In the past 10 years there
have been six successful federal prosecutions of Florida
farm employers for slavery and servitude cases, and
over a thousand workers released from debt-bondage.
Federal prosecutors have called Florida "ground-zero
for modern day slavery".
Both McDonalds and Yum Brands! have already committed
to directly improving farm workers' wages and working
conditions by signing historic agreements with the
Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW). I am very disappointed
that Burger King has so far refused to work with the
CIW to improve the wages and working conditions of
those who pick your tomatoes, and has refused to join
with the CIW in efforts at the industry level to raise
labour standards and eliminate modern-day slavery.
Burger King can and must take responsibility for
the conditions in its supply chain, and help end the
use of forced and exploitative labour in US agriculture.
I urge Burger King to work together with the CIW to
improve the wages and working conditions of farm workers;
by paying a penny more per pound for your tomatoes
to be passed directly back down the supply chain to
the workers, and implementing an enforceable supplier
code of conduct. It is vital that Burger King join
with the CIW in industry level efforts to combat forced
and exploitative labour in US agriculture, and I call
on you to do so immediately.
A copy of this email has been sent to Mr Stephen
Pagliuca, Managing Director of Bain Capital Partners,
one of three principal shareholders of Burger King.
Thank you for your attention.
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