Even Britney Spears Can’t Convince Quiznos to Quit Accepting Farm Worker Exploitation

Recently, a flash mob protested outside of Quiznos headquarters in Denver, Colorado. The group — consisting of Denver Fair Food, Student Farmworker Alliance, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, and their supporters — performed choreography to a re-make of the Britney Spears classic “Hit Me Baby One More Time” featuring new lyrics like “working conditions must be in line with human rights.”

Why? Because here's what you get along with that cheap toasty sub you purchase at Quiznos: tomato pickers earning sub-poverty wages who have no right to organize, no right to overtime pay, and haven’t received a raise in nearly 30 years (the current rate of pay is 40 to 50 cents per 32 pound bucket). You even get seven cases of tomato farm workers held as modern day slaves in the fields of Florida as a bonus. Suddenly, that meatball parm doesn’t taste so good, huh?

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers has been relentless in their pursuit of fair treatment for tomato pickers. Workers drew up Fair Food Principles, an agreement for businesses to pay a penny more per pound of tomatoes purchased that gets passed on directly to workers, and to agree to a code of conduct that prohibits slavery conditions and abuses in tomato fields. The list of fast food giants who have signed on is long — McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut — really, it’s ridiculous for any multi-million dollar corporation to refuse to stand up against slavery conditions for a penny increase in price. But there’s one company glaringly missing from the list: Quiznos.

Despite constant promises like, "We're looking forward to having an agreement and I'm glad we've already made a significant amount of headway with it" (uttered by a Quiznos representative who was recorded by an activist) and even announcements on their website, the company has consistently stalled on making any changes. Representatives from Denver Fair Food and CIW tell me they haven’t heard anything from the company since the spirited protest.

“The Coalition of Immokalee Workers is leading a transformation of Florida agriculture from an old system which brutally exploited farm workers to a new paradigm which values and upholds the human rights of workers,” Robert McGoey of Denver Fair Food says. “As a major buyer of tomatoes, Quiznos' purchasing power can either advance this transformation or can hold it back — thus delaying the hopes and dreams of thousands of farm workers.”

McGoey assures me they aren’t giving up — gearing up for even more creative and powerful actions, and continuing to put the pressure on Quiznos. Lend your voice by signing this petition demanding Quiznos stop accepting exploitation of its tomato suppliers.

Photo courtesy of Denver Fair Food