Louisville, KY - On May 20, shareholders of Yum Brands, Inc., the parent company of Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, Long John Silver's, and A&W, will hear the results of their vote on a significant resolution while meeting at Yum corporate headquarters in Louisville, KY. The resolution targets the wages and working conditions of workers in its supply chain, calling for Yum to examine its programs, policies, and practices throughout its system of operations.

With the increasing consolidation of both farms and major buyers of fresh produce, the agriculture industry is in dire need of moves towards sustainability and living wages. Since 1997 in Florida alone, the Department of Justice has prosecuted five cases of forced labor in the agricultural sector. These cases of modern-day slavery are not the result of a few bad actors, but instead indicative of industry-wide ills. Oxfam America reports that the real wages of farmworkers have dropped 65% since 1978. According to the Department of Labor, farmworkers make an average of $7,500 per year - far below the poverty line. Most work 10-15 hour days for 6-7 days a week, without the right to organize, overtime pay, or benefits of any kind.

At an event in Immokalee, Florida cosponsored by Oxfam America and the RFK Center for Human Rights on March 15, 2004, Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights was outspoken: "My message to Yum Brands is: you can't pass the buck. You are profiting by exploitation and you have the power to change what is happening in the fields...Assume your fair share of responsibility."

With over 33,000 restaurants worldwide, Yum Brands, Inc. is the largest fast-food conglomerate in the world. Internationally, it opens about three new restaurants each day, ranking it among the fastest growing retailers. Such corporate giants in the apparel industry, such as Nike, have accepted responsibility for working conditions and wages throughout their supply chains. This resolution asks Yum to follow suit, recognizing that investors evaluate companies on their financial, environmental, and social performance. In the age of corporate responsibility and high profile corporate campaigns, investors realize that by fostering a healthy work environment and living wages through a company's supply chain, not only is productivity increased, but a positive brand image - one crucial to long-term share value - is also fostered.

The resolution before Yum Brands, Inc.'s shareholders comes as human rights groups, community and student activists, and religious leaders have waged a targeted and persistent campaign against one of Yum's fast food chains - Taco Bell. The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), the farmworker rights group spearheading this campaign, has incited a spreading movement of 18-24 year olds - Yum's key demographic consumers - at universities nationwide. Twenty universities have removed Taco Bell franchises from their institutions or ended contracts with the company in response to student requests. In April, several hundred students in three states and five schools went on hunger strikes to protest the deplorable conditions of farmworkers and encourage their universities to "Boot the Bell" from their campuses.

Over one thousand activists and religious leaders will join farmworkers and students on a day of fasting and protest outside of Yum corporate headquarters and across the country on May 20. John Sweeney, President of the AFL-CIO, U.S. Representative Linda Sanchez, and actor Edward James Olmos have all pledged their support for the CIW's campaign.

Last year, on its first introduction, a resolution identical to the one presented this year received an unprecedented 43% of shareholders' support.

For more information, visit www.oxfamamerica.org or www.ciw-online.org. Representatives from the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights, Oxfam America, and the Coalition for Immokalee Workers are available for interviews.
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Last November, three members of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers became the first U.S. based human rights defenders to win the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award. They were selected for their courageous work to end modern-day slavery and sweatshop labor and to secure the social and economic rights of farmworkers in the United States.

Oxfam America

Oxfam America

Oxfam is a global organization working to end the injustice of poverty. We help people build better futures for themselves, hold the powerful accountable, and save lives in disasters. Our mission is to tackle the root causes of poverty and create lasting solutions. Join us: oxfamamerica.org.

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