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An activist group scheduled a protest Tuesday at Quiznos headquarters in Denver to urge the chain to come to an agreement with the Florida-based Coalition of Immokalee Workers to ensure better working conditions and better pay for tomato pickers.
The Bike Parade and Kite Flying Rally -- organized by the CIW, Denver Fair Food and other activist groups -- comes days after the restaurant chain released a Supplier Code of Conduct that attempts to come to an agreement with the CIW on the issue.
The Quiznos Supplier Code of Conduct asks tomato suppliers to create specific plans to address wages and working conditions for the farm workers who pick tomatoes.
Specifically, Quiznos will pay an additional penny per pound of Florida round tomatoes it buys, starting with the 2010 growing season, and it is asking suppliers to ensure that additional penny be paid to the farm workers. Workers are currently paid between 40 and 50 cents per 32-pound bucket of tomatoes, according to Denver Fair Food.
"We care very much about the end result of this which is the humane treatment of the workers," Quiznos spokeswoman Ellen Kramer told Slashfood.
In addition to the penny-per-pound pay increase, Quiznos wants to verify that money is getting to the right place -- from suppliers to growers to the pickers its intended to help, Kramer told Slashfood.
"[CIW] also wanted to ensure that our code was being complied with, so they're trying to set up a verification system on their end and want us to support their verification system. It doesn't appear to be like there are differences between what they want to accomplish and what we want to accomplish," Kramer said.
Quiznos is asking produce suppliers to work with the CIW on increasing farm worker participation in monitoring supplier compliance, investigating complaints and resolving disputes.
Kramer said the company did not have an official agreement with the Coalition because the group's lawyers had not yet approved one, but that they organizations were talking.
The Supplier Code of Conduct also addresses fair treatment of Quiznos employees, the company's use of cage-free egg suppliers, environmentally responsible packaging, animal rights and the use of child labor.
"It sounds like we're just asking for people to obey the law, but in fact what [the CIW] brought to our attention is that sometimes at the end of the supply chain, people aren't paying close enough attention to these employment practices that we fully support," Kramer told Slashfood.
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5-26-2010 @8:56PM xintoo said... Quiznos subs stink anyhow...so who cares what they think. Tomato's picked by any wage earning individual won't help their sandwiches...excuse me, subs, if that's what you want to call them, crusty, nasty food piles would probably be a better fit for them.
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5-26-2010 @8:58PM James said... People say Americans are too lazy to do these jobs so the farmers have to get Mexican workers to do the work. The simple truth of it though is Americans don't have access to these jobs. I was laidoff twice in 2009 and I looked for work all over and I would have gladly taken a job picking. Mexicans have cornered the market on this type of work and now they have lawyers and are demanding more and more. We have let this happen and now when many Americans need jobs we can't get them because at some point we let others have them.
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5-26-2010 @9:06PM Joe said... I agree with Richard.....This will just make me more unlikely to go to Quiznos now that they are rolling over to a few mealy-mouthed do-gooders who think that illegals are being taken advantage of. Too bad that these big companies spend WAY TOO much effort on the small crap and not enough time catering to the people who pay the bills. Those tomato pickers and protesters don't use Quiznos products and still won't even after Quiznos bows over to kiss their arses. Now, they can forget about me buying their products...and I liked Quiznos sandwiches, too. Not anymore. Let the do-gooders support the tomato pickers.
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5-26-2010 @9:10PM shirlo said... ANYONE CAUGHT HIRING ILLEGALS SHOULD BE HEAVILY FINED OR IMPRISONED. PRODUCE FIELDS SHOULD BE CERTIFIED RANDOMLY BY UNANNOUNCED SWEEPS OF ALL THEIR EMPLOYEES LIKE DOT JOBS ARE RANDOMLY DRUG TESTED. ANYONE LIKE QUIZNOS THAT BUYS FROM AN UNCERTIFIED PRODUCER SHOULD BE ALSO FINED OR IMPRISONED. WE NEED TO GET RID OF ILLEGAL ALIENS QUICKLY. THEY ARE BREEDING LIKE RATS AND PUTTING AMERICANS OUT OF WORK AND SPREADING CRIME.
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5-26-2010 @9:12PM Corvair68 said... After their commercial several years ago with what looked like talking fried rats I swore I would never eat there, and I haven't.
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5-26-2010 @9:29PM Frank said... Farm workers wage equals out to be around $10 to$15 an hour .They pay the agent $5 of that so that they can get a job here .Then they pay the people back in Mexico $2 of that for bringing them across the border.Then the farmer gets acut for housing and what is left they split between food and sending home . They are no different than the mob .In fact most of these labor groups are run by gangs. I have seen them move from the fields to construction . So when your setting in your little office supporting this form of organized crime just remember H1B workers will be soon running you down the road like they did at Neilson Company in Clearwater ,Fl where American workers had to train workers from India that replaced them . I am so sick of people like you who dont have a clue of what is really going on . I for one along with about 20 people I worked with lost jobs in New Orleans because Bush allowed ILLEGALS to be brought in to do jobs American workers wanted .
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5-26-2010 @9:41PM lee said... it's America folks, don't like the wages find a new job. These are the jobs high school kids used to do, before the illegals came and took them from the kids for less pay!
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5-27-2010 @6:58AM David S. said... Yeah, Lee, high school kids USED to do the jobs that illegals are doing. But you know quite well high school kids don't want to do those jobs anymore. High school kids think they are too good to pick tomatoes or work at Wendy's anymore. Why? Because we have raised a generation of spoiled brats who think they should make $15 an hour when they are 16 years old! They are far too busy on their video games and Iphones Mommy and Daddy supply for them. They can't be bothered with menial jobs.
5-26-2010 @9:49PM quixmar said... Perhaps Quiznoes should tell these protesters to a) not order samiches from their stores, or b) order samiches without tomatoes. Remember that you kooks don't have to patronize any business, samiches or not.
(Samich is the politically correct term for sandwich in some urban areas of America.)
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5-26-2010 @10:07PM james russell said... in the fifties the United States had the "Bracero Program". this allowed migrant workers from mexico to come across the border to do work in the field when American Boys were fighting in KOREA. The acutal program started earlier but did not have a name. Many of the workers who did not cause any problems were later allowed to request citizenship. Their families are all second and third generation by now. none of them came back to work in the fields. The "field workers" now are illegal, or green card or working for the traffickers that bring in human slaves to work the fields or prostitute them to the workers or in large cities while threatening them or their families back home. Quiznos will not make it any better form them. "they'll make sure that the workers get the additional money. RIGHT!!! the slave traders will get the additional money. TIME FOR IMMIGRATION REFORM. NO EXCUSES OBAMA OR PELOSIE.,
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5-26-2010 @10:39PM Mike in Va said... Quiznos has seen the last of any money I spend. I used to stop by this particular Quiznos because the sandwiches were outstanding. Somewhere in the last six months or so I guess the ownership or management changed. The staff is 90% Korean now and there is only about 10% of the meat/cheese on the sandwiches that used to be there. The prices are way too high to start with and I did not mind paying it in the past for a quality sandwich. However, my last experience there was the end. It is bad enough in to keep or raise these high prices, but to dramatically cut back on how much meat/cheese is in the sandwiches is pitiful.
Shame on you Quiznos for allowing these shameful practices to go on. This will destroy your reputation with many customers. It already has with me.
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5-26-2010 @10:45PM dale said... it doesnt matter if its quizno,s or not , they,ll go after another then another and so on. and with the price of tomatoes these days , why arent they getting paid more ? i know the farmer isnt getting all that much for his crop , the pickers arent getting much , so who is ? if obama wanted to " look " into something , this is it ! tomatoes is one of the easiest crops to grow and so far we havent had any hurricanes or heavy rains ect to ruin the crops , soooo why are we paying 4 $ and more a pound ?? and to those who say companies ect should be fined or there should be a fine if they are useing illegal help , there are fines and such but this gov. has turned its eyes away and not careing . you cant say anything bad or say your going to stop the cubans from coming into south fla now because there are too many cubans here that of course as youve seen in past if they dont like something they take to the streets and block everything off and cause ciaos. and of course people wanting to be re elected sure dont want to tip the fruit basket over lol. same goes out west , too many legal mexicans and of course the gov wanting to help our poor friends in mexico to get richer aint going to do a thing about rounding them up and sending them back . sooo we are stuck with them. its not that we dont want them in , just do it like our great grand parents had to do it " by the law ! " you think mexico would just stand by if thousands or millions of americans just went across the boarder and started demanding the mexican gov to give us money , shelter ect ? and cubans need to be sent back and door closed for 5 years or more because they shouldnt be able to come in and become citizens right off the bat when they touch shore . why? because of the jobs and money and not fearing for thier lives like in the early 60,s . we can all think crazy jimmy carter for allowing 100,s of thousands in all at once diseased and who knows what just so he could look good and get re elected. close all doors for at least 5 years and clean up the mess we have now before re opening the door . shoot to kill if they cant understand " stay home " till we call you
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5-27-2010 @9:17AM Joey said... T Hunter it's obvious that you are a liberal, possibly even a democrat. You started your post with name calling instead of being rational. If you dont think American workers would do the work the illegals are doing for a low wage then you dont know American workers. We work as hard as anyone in the world. If you're so anxious for illegals to do American's work why not give up your job? Let them live in your home without your permission and eat your groceries. Let them go to the doctor and bill you directly instead of billing all of us through the tax system. You have no room to call anyone names. You're no smarter than anyone else.
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5-26-2010 @11:01PM Dean said... Quiznos is a place you sure as hell want to avoid, a real greasy spoon.
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5-26-2010 @11:28PM ENRIQUE IGLESIAS said... T. Hunter: Obviously, you are just amused to provoke an argument; but a a former President of (albeit) a small company with sales of $5 Million per year, not only did I pay for all my employees Health, Dental and full Medical Care, gave them an above decent wage with bonus if we made our number, but cleaned my own bathroom and office; so, stick you corporate rant and diatribe where the sun don't shine...
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5-27-2010 @12:04AM Catmoves said... I note complaints that these American jobs are being restricted to illegal Mexicans. But, folks, BO claims Americans won't do menial jobs. Or is that Americans with Harvard educations won't do menial jobs?
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5-26-2010 @11:36PM gil said... what most people will not pay attention to is that: the democrats want the illegals to enter the country so that later on they can make them registered voters.on the other hand the republicans are in bed with big business and corporations they will always vote against the democrats that want the businesses that hire the illegals punished. so therefore nothing has been done for the last 30 years by either party.
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5-28-2010 @3:25PM Midnight Sun said... Ok, all you immigrant haters. How many of you want to work out in the dirt fields in the 90 degree broiling sun from sun up to sundown picking vegetables for 40 to 50 cents a BUCKET? . DO you know how long it takes to pick a bushel of ANYTHING and make sure it doesn't get damaged and make sure you get it back to the truck undamaged or you lose your 40 cents?
I am a white woman who lives what would be considered an upper middle class life. I also happen to live in Bradenton, FL which has a fair amount of Mexican people living among our population. Most of the ones I know have jobs you wouldn't be caught doing. One extremely intelligent man and his wife are raising 4 beautiful children. He works for the Waste Management Dept and she makes $11 an hour working for a factory that makes some kind of aluminum siding. Their four children are bilingual and they pay their own rent, receive no subsidy or food stamps and have their work permits. All of their proper taxes, SSN, and everything else is taken out of their checks. How do I know this? Because I am a literacy tutor and I, without pay, am helping them to better understand how to read and write in English.
The workers down there are trying to get ONE CENT MORE a bucket. It sounds like bellyaching to people who have never been to the hell on earth that is Immokalee. About 10 years ago, my brother had one of my father's vehicles and it broke down in Immokalee. My brother left it there and left the job for me and my Uncle the job of driving from Ocala all the way down there. Once we made the L turn off of 75, nothing became more nothing and about 50 miles W of when we had turned in, we came upon the unsettling sight of a yellow tarp. Under the tarp were the undeniable sights of a pair of mens boots, a pair of womens shoes, and the shoes of a young boy. All lined up in a row. Under the tarp. Next to a beat up pick up truck. We were so far away from no where that cell phones didn't even work. We didn't know what to do, so we drove on to Immokalee feeling more uneasy than ever.
The ride took forever and once we got there, it wasn't much to talk about. Not we have a huge mess over a penny, ONE SINGLE CENT a bucket which in a days work for one single person, if they were lucky, MIGHT earn them one lousy Dollar. Would you like to live in Immokalee? Would you like to break your back all day long in broiling heat, and I am telling you, we saw no type of trees or anything that could provide shade for many many miles, and sleep only the good Lord knows where or how for an extra few cents a day.
Stop and think about the job. Think about the vegetables you casually stroll by and take your pick of. Some poor soul busted their ass to get that lettuce there, picked those apples, those oranges, etc.
They didn't magically appear and I'll tell you this, you wouldn't want to have to do their job or lower your self to what they have to do every single day so that it's fresh and clean for your dinner table.
Think about it.
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5-27-2010 @12:50AM JR said... I find it interesting that Quizons cares more about the legal and illegal immigrants working the fields, than it does it's Franchisees. Quiznos is absolutely horrible to the franchisee owners. Once you buy a franchise, about the only way you can get out of it is to die. They don't want you to sell it because it makes them look bad. Oh, their subs used to be very good. Now they are horrible.
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5-27-2010 @4:04AM Slick said... Just how many 32 lb buckets do you think someone can pick in an hour? If each tomato weighs 1 pound, you can easily make 40 to 50 cents every 2 minutes. Add it up. Migrant workers make 20-25 bucks an hour in northeast Pa. They get it in cash, don't pay for medical and the farmers don't have to pay workman's comp, unemployment, etc... They make twice as much as most people in my area, but farmers can't hire legal workers because of the additional costs.
Slick
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