Students Protest Quiznos' Unfair Food with Britney Spears Flash Mob

Move over, Glee cast — you're being overshadowed by farm workers' rights advocates. The Student/Farmworker Alliance recently choreographed their own Britney Spears song and dance number to rival the ones on Glee. But instead of being executed by a team of television stars, this one was done guerrilla style by a sidewalk flash mob outside Quiznos headquarters in Denver, Colorado. You can dance to Britney in spirit by signing the petition to tell Quiznos to be bold and stand for slave-free food.

Toasty sub shop Quiznos is the latest fast food chain to become the targets of the Coalition of Immokalee Worker's Campaign for Fair Food. The campaign asks companies from fast food restaurant chains to grocery stores to take three critical steps in preventing human trafficking and labor exploitation in agriculture. Companies who sign onto the campaign agree to pay a penny more per pound of tomatoes purchased and ensure that money goes directly to the men and women who pick the tomatoes.  They also must create a code of conduct prohibiting slavery and labor exploitation, which also applies to their suppliers. And finally, they agree to involve the workers in the process of preventing abuse and making tomatoes fairer. These steps may seem minor, but they go a long way in preventing human trafficking in agriculture in the U.S. Yet while Taco Bell, Subway, McDonald's, and other fast food chains have stepped up to prevent trafficking, Quiznos keeps stalling.

For Denver Fair Food and the Student/Farmworker Alliance, Quiznos' refusal to ensure basic rights for farm worker just wasn't acceptable. So they re-wrote the lyrics to Spears' classic "Hit Me Baby One More Time" with a new message about the importance of basic human rights. Then, they packed up a boom box and their dancing shoes and unleashed the power of Britney Spears in front of the Quiznos headquarters. Here's the incredible video of their sidewalk flash mob dance protest, with more after the jump.

In case you missed some of the re-written lyrics aimed at Quiznos' continued stall tactics in talks to sign onto the Campaign for Fair Food, here's the chorus:

Quiznos is stallin', it's killing me / And I must confess, I still believe (still believe) / Working conditions must be in line with human rights / This agreement you must sign!

If that's not poetry, nothing is.

The hit television show Glee, with tongues firmly in cheeks, recently focused on the "power of Britney" to reform the lives of high school students. Will the poppy melodies and choreography of a Britney Spears flash mob be enough to convince Quiznos to quit stalling and stand up for fair food? Or will they continue to turn their backs on farm workers who are enslaved, exploited, and abused to bring them cheaper tomatoes?

You can tell Quiznos to follow their own motto and be bold by standing against the exploitation and trafficking of farm workers. And if you want to support the awesome flash mobbers, sign on while rocking out to their video or singing along with your favorite Britney Spears song. Because while even Britney can't single-handedly end trafficking in agriculture, all of us working together can.

Photo credit: Quit Stalling, Quiznos