Florida Farmworkers and Denver Allies March on Chipotle Headquarters

March Demands that Chipotle "Stop Hiding" and Partner with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to Eliminate Sweatshops in the Fields

Denver, Colorado – Nearly 100 people protested in front of Chipotle Mexican Grill’s corporate headquarters during a march and rally on Wednesday, April 2nd. The action was held by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) and Denver-area allies in order to demand that the quickly-growing burrito chain end its resistance to taking concrete steps to improve wages and working conditions faced by farmworkers who pick its tomatoes.

Florida farmworkers receive 40 to 50 for each 32-lb bucket of tomatoes they pick – a piece rate that has not significantly changed since 1978. At the current rate, a worker must harvest and haul two tons of tomatoes to earn about $50 in a day. The average annual income for farmworkers is $10,000. They receive no benefits such as sick time, health care or paid vacations and are excluded from the federal laws protecting a worker’s right to organize and right to overtime pay. In the most extreme situations, farmworkers are forced to work against their will in modern day slavery rings.

The CIW is an award-winning farmworker organization lauded for its role in the investigation and successful prosecution of six modern-day slavery operations in Florida agriculture over the past decade. The CIW is appealing to food industry leaders - including Denver-based Chipotle Mexican Grill - to leverage their market influence to demand full respect for the human rights of the workers who pick their tomatoes. As a result of hard-fought campaigns, the CIW already established agreements with Yum! Brands (parent-company of Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and others) and McDonald’s - the two largest fast-food companies in the world. Chipotle, a leading fast-casual restaurant chain that is set to top $1 billion in annual sales this year, has ignored the CIW however.

Chipotle’s refusal to address conditions in Florida’s tomato fields is a stark contrast to the company’s highly publicized “Food With Integrity” mission that touts the use of socially responsible purchasing practices to promote animal welfare and environmental sustainability.

“Chipotle’s vision of ‘Food With Integrity’ must include respect for the farmworkers who harvest that food, otherwise it’s just another marketing gimmick. Chipotle should close the gap between its rhetoric and the reality of farmworker poverty,” stated Robert McGoey from the Denver Fair Food Committee.

Chipotle has repeatedly refused to meet with the CIW and has tried instead to deflect mounting pressure by claiming to have suspended its Florida tomato purchases. Chipotle’s efforts to avoid improving wages and conditions for farmworkers have left supporters of farmworker rights frustrated with the company’s irresponsible behavior. Given that Florida is the source of more than 90 percent of the fresh winter tomatoes produced in the US, Chipotle's detour around human rights (and possible sourcing of tomatoes from Mexico) carries significant environmental and social repercussions.

Seth Donovan from the Denver-based organization Prax(us) stated, “Running away from the scene of a crime doesn’t make you any less guilty.” She continued, “If Chipotle really wanted to show integrity, it would stop hiding and work with the CIW to ensure the tomatoes in its tacos and burritos were not picked by exploited farmworkers.”

Romeo Ramirez, a Florida farmworker and member of the CIW provided opening remarks and the Denver Fair Food Committee gave a brief street theatre performance satirizing Chipotle founder and CEO Steve Ells before the crowd marched to Chipotle’s headquarters. The marchers picketed and chanted outside the headquarters with signs reading “exploitation” in the shape of Chipotle’s ubiquitous tin-foil wrapped burrito while a delegation of Denver community members went inside along with Ramirez from the CIW. The delegation delivered well over 1,000 postcards signed by Denver residents and consumers encouraging the company to heed the CIW’s demands. A representative from Chipotle accepted the postcards but was unwilling to make any commitments. Participants vowed that this campaign will continue until their demands are met.