Artist:
Zack de la Rocha, Tom Morello

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Poster by Ahmed Resistol.
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This month, a first for Labor Notes: A video on the music page. To watch, scroll down and click the screen.

As we reported last month, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) just announced an agreement with McDonald's to improve wages and conditions for farmworkers supplying tomatoes to restaurants. McDonald's suppliers will increase the piece rate, establish worker participation, and allow third parties to monitor field conditions and investigate workers' claims.

This marks the second major victory for CIW in their campaign to improve the livelihood of farmworkers. In 2005, CIW won a similar victory against Taco Bell's parent company, Yum Brands.

CIW member Lucas Benitez said:

Today, with McDonald's, we have taken another major step toward a world where we as farmworkers can enjoy a fair wage and humane working conditions in exchange for the hard and essential work we do every day. We are not there yet, but we are getting there, and today's agreement should send a strong message to the rest of the restaurant and supermarket industry that it is now time to stand behind the food they sell from the field to the table.

The CIW will now set its sites on Burger King, who rejected a CIW partnership offer in February and instead suggested CIW members should consider getting jobs at Burger King restaurants.

Zack de la Rocha and Tom Morello at the Concert for Fair Food. Photo: Proyecto Autogestion.

The CIW campaign relied not only on their own organizing work, but also the organizing of student allies across the country through the Student Farmworker Alliance and widespread community support. At the time of the announcement, the CIW and the SFA were in the midst of the McDonald's Truth Tour 2007 and were visiting communities around the country to build support for the campaign.

CIW originally planned to host a massive convergence in Chicago on April 14. But it turned into a victory celebration. CIW members got together with 2000 of their closest friends for a "Concert for Fair Food."

Speakers and performers included the Hot 8 Brass Band, John Sweeney, Yvonne Strafford, Student/Farmworker Alliance, Jose Oliva, JamOne, Las Krudas, Carolina Gaete, Domingo Jacinto, Mathieu Beaucicot, Gerardo Reyes, and Lucas Benitez.

Supporters of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers celebrate in Chicago after McDonald’s victory. Photo: Proyecto Autogestion.

Headlining the evening were Tom Morello and Zack de la Rocha, formerly of Rage Against The Machine. The band broke up in 2000 and this was their first time together since then. The reunion was highly touted in the music media. Morello began with a set from his solo act as The Nightwatchman. De La Rocha joined him onstage for the "And Now What? duet. De la Rocha wrote it especially for the occasion. They ended with a set of Rage standards.

Morello said later:

It was very exciting for everybody in the room, myself included. I mean, the place was just packed to the rafters and even the stage was packed with this ring of 25 photographers two feet away from us while we were playing, so it was kind of a trippy, you know, way to do our first show. But it was a great cause and we were happy to be a part of the Immokalee farmworkers.

Morello is a member of the AFM Local 47.

Sources: Media Mouse: Grand Rapids Independent Media, Labor Notes, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Truth Tour.

The Nightwatchman || Zack de la Rocha Network.

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Music Archives

June 2007
Zack de la Rocha, Tom Morello

And Now What?

Zack de la Rocha
Poster: Ahmed Resistol

May 2007
Coco Brown

I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night

Alfred Hayes, Earl Robinson
Oil on canvas: M. Baer

April 2007
Ry Cooder

Strike!

Traditional, new verses by Ry Cooder
Drawing: Vincent Valdez

March 2007
Teresa Healy, Tom Juravich

Bread and Roses

by James Oppenheim, Tom Juravich
Painting: Ralph Fasanella

February 2007
Detroit Cultural Workers and Artists Caucus

Walking 500 Days

by Bob Vasseur
Photos: Pat Beck, Daymon Hartley

January 2007
New York City Labor Chorus

Ode To Workers

by Friedrich Schiller, L. V. Beethoven, Jeff Vogel
Photo credit: unknown

December 2006
Charlie Bernhardt

Children Of Abraham

by John McCutcheon
Photo: Jerry Anderson

November 2006
Ted Warmbrand

Who's The Criminal

by Ted Warmbrand
Photo: Mizue Aiseki

October 2006
Woody Guthrie

Buffalo Skinners

by Woody Guthrie
Painting: Neil Waldman.

September 2006
Freedom Song Network

Rockin' Solidarity

by Ralph Chaplin, David Welsh
Painting: Irving Fromer.