Uneasy Crown at Burger King

“The crown, the crown, the crown is going down!” chanted a lively group of students and community members at last Saturday’s rally for farmworker justice in Chinatown. “Down, down with exploitation! Up, up with fair food nation!” the group chanted. Farmworkers recently began a campaign to demand that Burger King improve wages and working conditions after winning similar campaigns against Taco Bell and, in April, McDonald’s. “To earn the minimum wage (farmworkers) have to pick almost 2.5 tons of tomatoes,” said Sara Wallace-Keeshen, a Georgetown University student. “Rather than work with farmworkers,” Burger King has chosen to “disregard the reality of human rights abuses” occurring in Florida’s fields, said a Local Campaign for Fair Food flyer handed out at the rally. Students also delivered a letter to store management in solidarity with workers’ demands. For more info on the Local Campaign for Fair Food, contact Matthew Brokman, dcslapintern@yahoo.com.
-Story/photo by Andy Richards