Latest News

May 7-New York Times editorial on Burger King

April 28-CIW, Interfaith Action, and people across Florida deliver 85,000 petitions to Burger King

Read the National Catholic Reporter Article

During a ceremony at the Catholic Social Ministry Gathering in Washington, DC, the CIW was recognized for its work fighting farmworker poverty and modern-day slavery with the Catholic Campaign for Human Development's 2008 Sister Margaret Cafferty Development of People Award. Shown here are Gerardo Reyes of the CIW, right, and CCHD Director Ralph McCloud, with the award.

The Catholic Campaign for Human Development is the domestic anti-poverty and social justice program of the U.S. Catholic bishops. Its mission is to address the root causes of poverty in the United States through promotion and support of community-controlled, self-help organizations and through transformative education.

The award, named in memory of the late Presentation Sister who served as executive director of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious and a member of the Catholic Bishops' Committee for CCHD, honors an individual or group who exemplifies a commitment to the development of people and the elimination of poverty. Recipients of this award have made significant contributions to human development and have offered heroic responses to the needs of the economically disadvantaged. The award was established 20 years ago in 1987 and was called the Development of People Award until 1997, when it was renamed in Sister Margaret Cafferty's honor after her death.

Feb 1 - National Farm Worker Ministry Board and Miami clergy hold an interfaith prayer vigil at Burger King Headquarters and deliver bitter herbs. Click here for pictures and a full report.

Jan 19 - U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders visits Immokalee and releases letters from four U.S. Senators (Sen. Kennedy, Sen. Durbin, Sen. Brown, and Sen. Sanders) to Burger King and to the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange.

See more about Senator Sanders' visit and a video of his powerful speech during the press conference by clicking here.

Find all the news articles from Senator Sanders' visit and press conference
at Senator Sanders' website.

Jan 18 - A federal grand jury indictes six people for their part in what US Attorney Doug Malloy called "Slavery, plain and simple" Read the Ft. Myers News-Press article about "one of the largest slavery prosecutions Southwest Florida has ever seen," which involved Immokalee tomato pickers.

Photo by Scott RobertsonDec 24- "Tomato Pickers' Wages Fight Faces Obstacles." New York Times article examining Burger King's refusal to improve tomato pickers' wages and conditions.

Dec 19 - "Slave Labour that shames America: Migrant workers chained beaten and forced into debt, exposing the human cost of producing cheap food." A front-page special by the British publication The Independent about the newest slavery investigation in the Florida tomato industry.


December 14th-- Join Sojourners in calling on Burger King to stop being a Scrooge this holiday season!

Send an e-mail to Burger King and Goldman Sachs via Sojourners.
Read the God's Politics Blog about Burger Scrooge.


Read former President Jimmy Carter's letter to the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange.

Over 100 National and Florida Religious Leaders send an open letter to Burger King! Click here to read the letter.

Signers of the letter include the Rev. Michael Livingston, President of the National Council of Churches; the Rev. Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk of General Assembly, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.); the Rev. John H. Thomas, General Minister and President, United Church of Christ; Jim Winkler, General Secretary, United Methodist Church - General Board of Church and Society; the Rev. William G. Sinkford, President, Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, and the Rt. Rev. Leo Frade, Bishop of Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida. Click here to read the letter

In the photo, a delegation of religious leaders, including Rev. Kent Siladi, Conference Minister of the Florida Conference of the United Church of Christ, and Rev. Marta Burke of Fulford United Methodist Church, deliver the letter to Burger King officials during the rally at Burger King Headquarters on Friday, November 30th.

1,500 farmworkers, people of faith, youth, and others march to Burger King Headquarters! Click here for photos from the colorful 9-mile march to Burger King Headquarters, the delivery of the letter to Burger King, and the closing candlelight vigil.

People of faith from across Florida and the country joined with the farmworkers of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) for November 30th's march and rally to Burger King Headquarters. In the photo, Bishop Estevez of the Archdiocese of Miami addresses the farmworkers and allies as they prepare to begin the march to call on Burger King to join McDonald's and Yum Brands in paying one more penny per pound to directly improve tomato pickers' wages and work with the CIW to develop and implement a code of conduct against human rights abuses in the fields.
Click here for photos from the colorful 9-mile march to Burger King Headquarters, the delivery of the letter to Burger King, and the closing candlelight vigil.at the CIW's march website.

September 27, 2007 - Florida Mini Tour

CIW and IA hit the road on a Florida Mini Tour!
For updates from the road as CIW members and IA staff travel the state of Florida sharing about the Campaign for Fair Food and the November 30th Burger King Mobilization, visit the CIW's website.


September 17, 2007 - New Book on Slavery

If you're looking for some interesting reading, a new book by John Bowe entitled "Nobodies: Modern American Slave Labor and the Dark Side of the New Global Economy" was released in bookstores this week. "Nobodies" features the CIW "for its key role in bringing several farm worker slavery cases to successful prosecution in court," according to a St. Petersburg Times article on the book.

A USA Today review of "Nobodies" finds it to be.... "Investigative, immersion reporting at its best"... "fine tuned and fearless"... "a masterwork and mixing pot of ideas."

Author John Bowe takes an in-depth look at three modern-day slavery prosecutions, including the 2004 Ramos case in Central Florida that was discovered and investigated by CIW members. This case is featured in an excerpt from the book posted on the Wall Street Journal online, which begins:

"On April 20, 1997, at around 10 p.m., the Highlands County, Florida, Sheriff's Office received a 911 call; something strange had happened out in the migrant-worker ghetto near Highlands Boulevard. The "neighborhood," a mishmash of rotting trailer homes and plywood shacks, was hidden outside the town of Lake Placid, a mile or two back from the main road. By day, the place was forbidding and cheerless, silent, its forlorn dwellings perched awry, in seeming danger of oozing into the swamp. By night, it was downright menacing, humid and thick with mosquitoes.

When the sheriff's officers arrived, they found an empty van parked beside a lonely, narrow lane. The doors were closed, the lights were still on, and a few feet away, in the steamy hiss of night, a man lay facedown in a pool of blood. He had been shot once in the back of the head, execution-style. Beyond his body stood a pay phone, mounted on a pole.

The 911 caller had offered a description of a truck the sheriff's officers recognized as belonging to a local labor contractor named Ramiro Ramos. At 1:30 a.m., officers were dispatched to Ramos's house. It's unclear how much the officers knew about the relationship between Ramos and his employees... "

Find the full excerpt here.

September 3, 2007 - Catholic Bishops' Labor Day Statement and more!
As we honor work and workers this Labor Day, the CIW and the McDonald's agreement are highlighted as a "Sign of Hope" in the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops annual Labor Day Statement issued by Bishop DiMarzio, Chairman of the Domestic Policy Committee. An excerpt:

"This sign of hope is, first and foremost, the achievement of the Coalition and the workers themselves. They organized, protested, fasted, demonstrated, insisted, and would not be pushed aside. When no one gave them much of a chance, they stood up for their own lives, dignity, and rights.... this is also a sign of hope for our Church that has supported and stood with these workers in their just cause and legitimate aspirations.... The Catholic Bishops of Florida, the broader religious community, the labor movement, and many others called for dialogue and greater justice.... But in the final analysis, it is the workers who created this sign of hope for the rest of us. They are an example of how courage, sacrifice, and a passion for justice can make a difference. There is much more to be done and a long way to go for the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and for all farmworkers who remain among the most invisible, neglected, and vulnerable workers in our nation. However, as we mark Labor Day in 2007, this small but impressive sign of hope is worth celebrating. It offers a call to all of us to stand with vulnerable workers who deserve our support and solidarity."

As the CIW's efforts to expand the Yum Brands and McDonald's agreements to the rest of industry and bring justice to all Florida tomato pickers, religious leaders and people of many faiths continue to take an important role. Most recently, the new Conference Minister of the Florida Conference of the United Church of Christ, Rev. Kent Siladi, sent a strong letter Burger King! Here's an excerpt:

"Surely you are aware of the crisis in Florida’s tomato fields. The conditions of the workers in our fields are appalling.... The offer to “retrain” farm workers for employment at Burger King restaurants is not a solution to the problem. The problem exists because of the poor working conditions among the farmers who grow the tomatoes that your company uses. A penny more per pound for the tomatoes that you purchase is a real and viable solution...I urge you to work with the CIW to bring about real and substantial change for Florida farm workers. "

A copy of Rev. Siladi's letter to Burger King was hand-delivered to Burger King representatives by Miami clergy during a Labor Day action at Burger King's Headquarters this past Friday. Later that day, the CIW announced plans for three days of action focused on Burger King Headquarters starting on Friday, November 30th, following the Burger King shareholder meeting. More details to come!