Bell Booted Twice More

Taco Bell Boycott: Good News from UCLA and Boise State !

The information for this alert comes from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. For more information, visit www.ciw-online.org
posted October 28, 2004.

There is good news for the Boot the Bell Campaign from two university campuses this week. First, the Associated Students of UCLA voted to end Taco Bell's contract last Friday (10/22/04), following a strong showing of student support for the respect of human rights on UCLA campus! Then, a few days later, the Boise State University Faculty Senate voted to end all Taco Bell sponsorships on campus.

UCLA students collected over 400 signatures in just two days, organized imaginative educational actions on campus to raise awareness about the conditions in Florida's fields (including a tomato bucket race!), and turned out an energetic contingent for the decisive Friday meeting.

The UCLA "Daily Bruin" has been following the story of student opposition to Taco Bell on campus since it began, and today's edition has an excellent lead story on the process that was almost a year in the making. Go to the CIW website at www.ciw-online.org for links to that story and other recent reports on the UCLA campaign.

Workers picking tomatoes in Immokalee -- at virtually the same per bucket piece rate since 1978, with no right to overtime, no right to organize, and no benefits of any kind -- congratulate the students and administration at UCLA for their commitment to human rights and to Fair Trade principles. That commitment has made UCLA a leader in the fight against sweatshops overseas and, now, against sweatshops in this country's fields.

But there was still more great news from the Boot the Bell campaign! During Tuesday's ( 10/26/04 ) Faculty Senate meeting at Boise State University -- home of the "Taco Bell Pavilion" -- the Senate voted "Yes" on a resolution to eliminate all Taco Bell sponsorships on campus.

The passed resolution states: "As the representative body of the faculty at Boise State University , the Faculty Senate resolves that the name of the Pavilion be reinstated. It is our contention that Taco Bell has conducted itself in an uncaring, callous, and inhumane fashion. We therefore resolve that the contract between Boise State University and Taco Bell be terminated and that the corporate logos of Taco Bell be removed from any and all campus buildings and facilities."

According to the CBS affiliate Channel 2 Idaho News, "BSU Sociology Professor Richard Baker was one of the 17 Senate members to vote yes. 'To sign up with Taco Bell who is exploiting workers in Florida, the conditions, the pay is terrible and yet we have a corporation that is earning billions of dollars and they can spend $4 million at Boise State,' said Baker, 'it was a moral and ethical decision for me.'"

Coming on the heels of the decision by the Associated Students of UCLA and the University of Notre Dame's decision in August to end its sponsorship relationship with Taco Bell, the BSU decision is an important new development in the growing "Boot the Bell " campaign. Though the decision to change the name of "Taco Bell Pavilion" is ultimately in the hands of University President Dr. Bob Kustra, the Faculty Senate's resolution is a powerful expression of support for fundamental human rights standards from the BSU community.

Momentum continues to grow for the nationwide Boot the Bell campaign. If you are interested in learning how you can bring the campaign to your campus, be sure to go to the Student/Farmworker website at www.sfalliance.org .