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Summary

From 2001 to 2005, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) led a boycott of Taco Bell to demand better wages and working conditions for tomato pickers in Florida. The campaign grew from local protests into a national movement involving students, churches, and celebrities. In March 2005, Taco Bell agreed to pay an extra penny per pound for tomatoes and to only buy from growers who pass that increase to workers, leading the CIW to end the boycott.

Background

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) was a community-based organization of mostly Latino, Haitian, and Mayan immigrant farmworkers in Immokalee, Florida. Tomato pickers faced stagnant piece rates (40 cents per 32-pound bucket since 1980), no overtime, no health insurance, and median annual incomes of 7,500. The CIW targeted Taco Bell, a division of Yum Brands with over $5.2 billion in sales in 1999, because of the poor wages paid to workers who picked tomatoes for its products.

What happened

On April 1, 2001, the CIW launched the first-ever farmworker boycott of a fast-food corporation, targeting Taco Bell, beginning the ‘Hot, Long Summer’ of protests in Florida [source: nv-database]. The campaign quickly spread nationally, using tactics such as picketing, posting signs and posters outside Taco Bells, and writing letters and postcards to Taco Bell headquarters [source: nv-database]. In November-December 2001, the CIW and Student/Farmworker Alliance held ‘Three Days of Action’ with protests at multiple Taco Bells in Gainesville, Florida, culminating in a carnival-like protest [source: nv-database]. In 2002, the CIW met with actor Danny Glover in Miami and gained support from the band System of a Down at OzzFest; the boycott was later endorsed by singer Ricky Martin [source: nv-database]. During the 2002 World Series, protesters placed a banner next to a Taco Bell advertisement that read ‘Taco Bell Exploits Farmworkers – www.ciw-online.org,’ which was seen by nearly 11 million viewers [source: nv-database]. By Christmas 2002, over 2,000 signed cards were collected from labor camps, churches, and streets in Immokalee, telling Taco Bell CEO Emil Brolick that ‘Our poverty is the basis of your company’s wealth’ [source: nv-database]. Students at twenty-five colleges and high schools nationwide removed or blocked Taco Bell restaurants, and at least nine national student organizations endorsed the boycott [source: nv-database]. Yum Brands attempted to negotiate, offering to increase wages only if the CIW stopped the boycott and if the rest of the industry did the same; the CIW continued protesting, and former President Jimmy Carter publicly supported the boycott [source: nv-database]. In March 2005, Taco Bell agreed to pay an extra penny per pound for tomatoes from Florida growers and to only buy from growers who pass that increase entirely to workers, meeting all of the CIW’s demands [source: nv-database]. The CIW then called off the boycott [source: nv-database].

Key people & organizations

  • Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW)
  • Student/Farmworker Alliance
  • Taco Bell
  • Yum Brands
  • Danny Glover
  • System of a Down
  • Ricky Martin
  • Cardinal Roger Mahoney
  • Bishop Jamie Soto
  • Jimmy Carter
  • National Council of Churches
  • Kensington Welfare Rights Union
  • Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights

Tactics used

The combination of a consumer boycott, public picketing, and letter-writing campaigns created economic pressure on Taco Bell, while coalition-building with students, churches, and celebrities amplified the message and expanded the campaign’s reach nationally. [source: nv-database]

Outcome

Verdict: won.

All goals were achieved: Taco Bell agreed to a three-part dialogue, increased the price paid per pound of tomatoes by one cent (passed to workers), and drafted a Code of Conduct for suppliers. The campaign won 6 out of 6 points for success in achieving specific demands, 1 out of 1 for survival, and 3 out of 3 for growth, for a total of 10 out of 10 points. [source: nv-database]

Lessons

  • A targeted consumer boycott can force a major corporation to take responsibility for labor conditions in its supply chain.
  • Building alliances with students, religious groups, and celebrities can transform a local campaign into a national movement.
  • Persistent nonviolent action combined with clear, achievable demands can lead to a comprehensive agreement.

Sources

Disclaimer: Included as a teaching example of campaign craft, not as endorsement.

Sources & verification

  • nv-database — grounding: primary — license: link-only
  • Rewritten: 2026-06-25 via worker_casestudies_v2.py

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