Tomato deal endangered by Burger King, growers

IMMOKALEE, Fla. -- Landmark deals to boost wages for Florida tomato pickers are in danger of collapsing under pressure from Burger King and a growers group, the latter threatening $100,000 fines against any members who participate.

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers fought for years to persuade fast-food giants McDonald's Corp. and Taco Bell owner Yum Brands Inc. to pay a penny more per pound of Florida tomatoes -- with their suppliers passing the money on to farm workers. The agreements were mostly symbolic, affecting only a tiny fraction of Florida tomato pickers, but they paved the way for raising wages and strengthening farm worker rights across the industry.

So the coalition next set its sights on Burger King, but the Miami-based company has joined the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange in opposing such a deal.

The growers exchange maintains the agreements may violate antitrust laws, though it has declined to offer specifics. It threatened members that accept the deal with $100,000 fines, three independent sources close to the exchange told The Associated Press.

What the growers say carries weight. Florida supplies 80 percent of the nation's domestic fresh tomatoes between Thanksgiving and February.

Exchange spokesman Reggie Brown refused to discuss the fines but called the coalition agreements "un-American" because they allow a third party to set wages. He said the industry will instead continue to develop its own programs to monitor worker treatment and food safety.

If the McDonald's and Yum Brands deals are adopted industrywide, worker wages would essentially double. Yum Brands says it's still committed to the coalition, yet after two successful seasons, its suppliers opted out this year. McDonald's has yet to find any supplier who will participate but will continue to buy Florida tomatoes either way.

Burger King Vice President Steve Grover says the deal sounds fishy. Company officials have repeatedly insinuated the coalition is taking the extra money, even after Yum Brands and The Carter Center, an Atlanta human rights group that helped facilitate the deal, dismissed the allegations.