In just a few short weeks, farmworkers from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) and their allies will travel from Immokalee, FL – home of one of the largest farmworker communities in the country – to Chicago, IL, home of the world’s largest restaurant chain, McDonald’s. The "2007 Truth Tour: Behind the Golden Arches” will culminate in two national days of action on April 13th and 14th in the Chicago area marking a new phase in the Campaign for Fair Food. Now is the time to finalize plans to join us for these historic actions!
*Major Rally at McDonald´s Global Headquarters*
Friday, April 13th, 3pm Oak Brook, IL
Featuring Dolores Huerta, co-founder, United Farm Workers; Kerry Kennedy; Rev. Michael Livingston, President of the National Council of Churches; Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky; music and more! The CIW, joined by a powerful alliance of students, people of faith and human rights leaders, will announce an exciting new phase in the McDonald's Campaign during the largest rally ever to take place outside McDonald's headquarters.
*Carnaval & Parade for Fair Food, Real Rights and Dignity*
Saturday, April14th, 10am Federal Plaza, downtown Chicago
Featuring John Sweeney, President, AFL-CIO; Eliseo Medina, Vice President, SEIU; Zack de la Rocha and Tom Morello, formerly of Rage Against the Machine; Bishop John Manz, Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago; Rev. Calvin Morris; RebelDiaz; Son del Centro; Olmeca; Hot 8 Brass Band; and more! The Parade and Carnaval will be an event to remember, where farmworkers and thousands of their allies will come together in a celebration of culture, music, and hope that will be heard from the fields of Immokalee to the streets of Chicago to the corporate boardrooms of McDonald's.
You can be a part of writing the next chapter of this story:
Get on the Bus! Check here for a list of cities currently organizing transportation to Chicago:
ciw-online.org/2007truthtour/support.html
Visit the official 2007 Truth Tour site with logistical information and outreach materials:
ciw-online.org/2007truthtour
For more information:
ciw-online.org
sfalliance.org
allianceforfairfood.org
Background: Despite increasing public pressure on the fast-food giant, McDonald’s has refused to recognize the seriousness of the exploitation of tomato pickers exposed through the Taco Bell boycott, and instead has taken measures that appear aimed at undermining the hard-won advances in wages and working conditions established in the agreement with Taco Bell. McDonald's recently distributed bonuses to its top three executives totaling over $15 million, yet refuses to pay just a penny more per pound for its tomatoes to alleviate 30 years of stagnant wages for farmworkers. Today, the CIW has grown tired, in the words of Martin Luther King Jr., of “relying on the good will and understanding of those who profit by exploiting us.”