CBS News reports that Taco Bell has finally agreed to pay an extra one penny for each pound of tomatoes picked by the mostly Latino workers of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. This ends the CIW’s three year battle and boycott to get Taco Bell to pressure their tomato suppliers to provide better wages and living conditions for their workers. As the article explains,

The agreement with the CIW sets up a process for workers to file complaints about their pay or treatment that would be jointly investigated by the coalition and Yum (Taco Bell’s parent company). Yum also agreed to help the coalition set up a strategy to lobby the Florida Legislature for laws requiring better working conditions. . .

Taco Bell buys about 10 million pounds of Florida tomatoes a year, Blum said. The extra penny paid per pound - about $100,000 annually - will be funneled to the farm workers through a small group of suppliers, Blum said. . . Benitez, speaking through interpreter Melody Gonzalez, said farm workers earn about $7,500 a year, without health insurance or paid vacations.

The extra penny added per pound picked will boost the pay of the roughly 1,000 farm workers employed by Taco Bell suppliers, Benitez said. “It would mean almost reaching the poverty level,” Benitez said.

I always wonder why big corporations would rather battle it out with small worker organizations just to save a few dollars. In the meantime, their corporate image takes a beating as more and more people become aware of their exploitative practices and boycott their businesses. Wouldn’t it just be easier and better for business if these corporations would just provide decent wages and living conditions in the first place? It’s not like the tomato pickers are getting rich -- even with the higher wages, like the article notes, they will still live below the poverty line.

It never ceases to amaze me how greedy and money-obsessed corporations can be. At least Taco Bell is taking a step in the right direction.