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Pardes Levavot, “Orchard of Hearts,” was formed in the spirit of creating conscious holy community. Our name expresses the spiritual blossoming of each individual heart within an inspiring and nurturing orchard.
For information on our congregation please call (303) 563-2110 and leave a message or send email to info@pardeslevavot.org. To join our congregation, please print a copy of our membership form, fill it out, and send it to our Synagogue.
Pardes Levavot gratefully acknowledges Allied
Jewish Federation of Colorado for their support of
our Circle of Family Education program. Thank you!
Tell McDonald's to ensure fair wages and working conditions for farm workers!"You shall not abuse a needy and destitute laborer.. but you must pay him his wages on the same day, for he is needy and urgently depends on it." (Deuteronomy 24:14-15)Tomato pickers for Florida-based tomato companies earn 40-50 cents for every 32-lb bucket of tomatoes they pick, a rate that has not risen significantly since 1978. A worker must pick 2 TONS of tomatoes to earn $50 in one day. Farm workers often work 10-12 hour days with no overtime pay, no right to organize, no sick days or other benefits. In the most extreme conditions, farm workers are held in modern-day slavery rings and forced to work against their will. The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), a Florida farm worker organization, has uncovered and assisted the Department of Justice in successfully prosecuting 5 modern-day slavery rings since 1997, freeing over 1,000 workers. There is hope for change. In March of 2005, the CIW and Taco Bell reached an historic agreement to directly increase farm worker wages and enforce a code of conduct for human rights in Taco Bell's tomato supply chain. Since then, the CIW has asked McDonald's to take similar steps in its own tomato supply chain. Instead of doing so, McDonald's has responded with public relations schemes that do not make meaningful change in the fields. As people of faith, scripture teaches us of the dignity of all work and those who labor. Countless people of faith and religious leaders have urged McDonald's to work with the CIW to ensure fair wages and human rights for those who harvest its tomatoes. Take action- YOU can encourage McDonald's to do the right thing!
To learn more about the CIW and religious community's efforts to encourage McDonald's to work with the CIW to improve wages and working conditions in the fields, visit the Alliance for Fair Food: www.allianceforfairfood.org; or www.ciw-online.org. Sample E-mail to McDonald'sTo: bob.langert@us.mcd.com I am writing out of concern for the farm workers who pick the tomatoes
for McDonald's sandwiches and premium salads. As a Jew, I believe that
all human beings are created in the image and likeness of God, and I
encourage McDonald's to recognize that the human beings who harvest its
tomatoes deserve fair wages, real rights, and a voice in the protection
of those rights.
I am disappointed by McDonald's failure to work with the Coalition of
Immokalee Workers (CIW) to address the sub-poverty wages and exploitative
working conditions which farm workers endure. Tomato pickers earn 40-50
cents per 32-lb bucket of tomatoes and work long hours without overtime
pay or any benefits. Public relations efforts, such as McDonald's faulty
"study" of farm worker wages, have not changed that. McDonald's must
work with the CIW to improve wages at least one penny per pound of
tomatoes and enforce a meaningful code of conduct for workers in its
tomato supply chain.
As a powerful corporation, McDonald's has an opportunity to create
great change in the US agricultural industry and seek the common
the good for the most vulnerable among us. However, McDonald's must
understand that this change can only come in true partnership with
farm workers. Therefore, I urge McDonald's to partner with the CIW and
look forward to the day when we can celebrate that there is dignity and
justice for those who harvest McDonald's tomatoes.
Sincerely,
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