For three hours yesterday, the walls of Houston Hall heard only one powerful cry: "Let freedom ring... boycott Taco Bell."
A group of labor rights activists joined forces to present their positions to an engaged crowd of about 150 people in the colloquium "Fast Food, Low Wage Work, and You!" hosted by the Fox Leadership Program. Their intent was to discuss with the Penn community the issue of low wages and the treatment of workers in the fast food industry.
Among the panelists was the acclaimed author of the bestseller Fast Food Nation Eric Schlosser. Next to him stood Rutgers Law School Professor James Pope and representatives of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, the Delmarva Poultry Justice Alliance and the United Food and Commercial Workers.
"It raises important issues in our society," event organizer Mary Summers said. Her intent was to have people consider the effects that different kinds of leadership can have in addressing and framing an issue.
Opening the colloquium, Schlosser talked about the meatpacking industry, stressing what he considered to be the unethical choices that companies make on a daily basis. "To be a meatpacking worker today is to have one of the lowest paying jobs in America," he said.
He also said that companies would immediately change their labor policies if they were pressured by the fast food industry.
The following speaker was a representative of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. He reported that to oppose fruit and vegetable producers' unfair labor policy, the workers' union of Florida decided to launch a nationwide boycott of Taco Bell, the companies' largest client, in an effort to force the fast food chain to demand better conditions for the workers, which he claimed were unacceptable.
The next speaker, a representative of the Delmarva Poultry Justice Alliance, denounced the absence of benefits that the speaker said laborers must endure to maintain their position.
Al Vincent Jr. ,the National Poultry Coordinator for the United Food and Commerce Workers, followed. He stressed the lengths to which he said companies go to avoid the formation of unions.
He also stated that in order to make a significant change, the public has to be made aware of the situation and of its role in it.
Finally, Pope took the stand, saying that, being the ones directly involved, only workers could make a difference. He also advocated the rise of a labor rights movement to claim constitutional rights.
The colloquium did not appeal only to members of the Penn community. "I wanted to educate myself in the issues raised," said Philadelphia resident Abby Youngblood.
