Protesters march around Taco Bell

By Rosanne Dunkelberger

DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

More than 100 protesters, chanting "Yo no quiero Taco Bell," marched around the restaurant chain's North Monroe Street location Sunday. Some of them beat the candy out of a pinata shaped like the talking Chihuahua made famous in commercials.

They were asking Tallahasseeans to drop their Chalupas until representatives of the company agree to meet and discuss the working and living conditions of the farm workers who pick the tomatoes that top many of the restaurant's fast-food Mexican specialties.

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) brought 62 people to protest, most of them immigrant farm workers who pick tomatoes for the Immokalee-based Six Ls Packing Company. During the hour-and-a-half-long demonstration, workers passed out flyers that said they are paid 40 cents for every 32-pound bucket of tomatoes they pick.

"We want them to treat us well . . . like working people," said Gregoria Santa Maria, who said through an interpreter that she has picked crops for nearly 10 years. "It's because of us the crops are harvested."

Taco Bell and the packing companies are making money at the expense of the farm workers, according to Laura Germino, one of the protest's organizers. "The workers are saying, 'We're tired of subsidizing their profit,' ” she said.

Similar demonstrations have been held in Gainesville, Sarasota, Tampa and St. Petersburg and another is planned next weekend in Miami, organizers said. The coalition chose university cities because 18- to 24-year-olds "are the target market of Taco Bell and they also question what constitutes responsible corporate behavior," said organizer Greg Asbed.

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The Taco Bell store at 1218 N. Monroe St. was "definitely open" during the protest, said supervisor Thelma Chestang. But customers found it nearly impossible to get in during the first half-hour because demonstrators blocked the drive-through window as they walked in the driveway.

Police and sheriff's deputies peacefully herded the group off restaurant property after being called by store managers, and the protest continued on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant.

Liam McCaffrey, college aged and a Taco Bell employee, was unimpressed by the hoopla as he stood aside and watched the crowd of protestors with friends. "This is a publicity stunt . . . it's a field day," he said. "Instead of complaining . . . they need to adapt and overcome."