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Friday afternoon protests at area Taco Bell restaurants are history, now that the fast-food chain has agreed to work with a Florida-based farmworkers coalition to address wages and working conditions in the Florida tomato industry. Taco Bell, a division of Louisville-based Yum! Brands, agreed March 8 to work with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, the farmworkers organization. That result pleases University of Notre Dame senior Melody Gonzalez, who helped lead protests and awareness efforts in the South Bend area about the working conditions of Florida tomato pickers. "It's over," Gonzalez said this week. She had just returned from a two-week "Taco Bell Truth Tour" sponsored by the workers coalition. The participants traveled the country in buses, speaking at schools and churches about the plight of field workers. Taco Bell and the coalition now plan to work together to improve working conditions for field workers. Taco Bell agreed to fund a penny per pound surcharge demanded by the suppliers of Florida tomatoes and undertake joint efforts with the coalition to improve working conditions. The coalition has agreed to end its three-year boycott and protests at Taco Bell restaurants, saying that the agreement "sets a new standard of social responsibility for the fast-food industry." [more] and [more]

Demonstration shows solidarity with workers [more]