A three and a half year struggle between the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and Taco Bell has finally ended with the corporation vowing to work for the betterment of workers rights throughout the industry. The company promises to pay a penny-per-pound of tomatoes surcharge and to help raise farm labor standards by lobbying other major fast food players alongside the coalition. In return, the coalition has said they will end their boycott.

[Perkins1]: It represents immediate change, but it also represents hope for the future.

Taco Bell has not been invited back to the student union of Cal State San Bernardino. The fast food giant will not be returning next fall, after students launched a campaign saying that Florida tomato pickers are underpaid and mistreated. A national boycott led by the Student Farmworker Alliance and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers has resulted in 21 colleges removing Taco Bell from their campus. According to the coalition, the pickers are paid roughly $55 for every two tons of tomatoes they pick. Also most pickers receive no health insurance, sick leave, vacation. Taco Bell officials insist that they buy less Florida tomatoes than any other fast-food company. The company has also sent a check to the coalition for $110,000 and has offered to assist them in lobbying for changes to Florida labor laws.