NCC Hails End to Consumer Boycott of Taco Bell: Second Major
Industry-Worker Settlement in Year
"This is really, really good news," declared National Council of
Churches USA General Secretary Bob Edgar in response to Tuesday's announcement
of the end of the three-year consumer boycott of Taco Bell. In a joint
statement, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, which had called the boycott
and enlisted the support of the NCC and many other groups, and Taco Bell
confirmed their agreement to work together to address the wages and working
conditions of farm workers in the Florida tomato industry.
Said the Rev. Dr. Edgar, "This is especially good news on the heels
of the disappointing vote yesterday in the U.S. Senate not to raise the
minimum wage. It's good news for another set of workers who have been
exploited, and for the religious community, which has been so active in the
boycott. I know the NCC's President, Bishop Thomas Hoyt, Jr., who took this on
as one of his priority issues, is especially pleased. I hope this victory will
energize all efforts to provide working people with a living wage." Dr. Edgar
quipped: "Taco Bell and Mt. Olive Pickle Company products go well together," a
reference to another consumer boycott that recently ended in a contract for
farm workers.