Tomato pickers in Florida might lose the first significant raise they've received in thirty years, because Burger King is trying to undermine agreements made with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to pay an extra penny per pound of tomatoes. These workers earn about 40 to 50 cents for every 32-pound bucket of tomatoes they pick. Take action now. (Click here to read more about their harrowing working conditions.)
Telling Burger King to pay an extra penny for tomatoes and provide a decent wage to migrant workers would hardly bankrupt the company. Indeed, it would cost Burger King only $250,000 a year. At Goldman Sachs [a private equity firm that controls most of Burger King stock], that sort of money shouldn't be too hard to find. In 2006, the bonuses of the top 12 Goldman Sachs executives exceeded $200 million—more than twice as much money as all of the roughly 10,000 tomato pickers in southern Florida earned that year. Now Mr. Blankfein should find a way to share some of his company's good fortune with the workers at the bottom of the food chain. (Link) posted by Elham Shabahat at 12/20/2007 12:35:00 AM
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