Burger King: Tomato Pickers Sue for Back Pay

Sixteen tomato pickers are suing Miami-based Burger King and Subway for back wages.Under a 2008 agreement with a group called the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, the tomato pickers were supposed to get a living wage for their work from the restaurant chains. They didn't.So they are claiming unspecified damages...

By Chuck Strouse

September 22, 2011

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Sixteen tomato pickers are suing Miami-based Burger King and Subway for back wages.

Under a 2008 agreement with a group called the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, the tomato pickers were supposed to get a living wage for their work from the restaurant chains. They didn't.

So they are claiming unspecified damages.

The suit was filed Wednesday in Miami Dade Circuit Court by a Miami hero, Greg Schell, a Harvard educated lawyer -- fluent in Creole -- who has been a thorn in the side of farm owners for decades.

Schell is seeking back wages -- an extra penny a pound the restaurants agreed to pay. He says the companies have refused to communicate honestly with him about the issue.

Oddly, the coalition doesn't support the lawsuit, according to the Washington Post.

Way to go, Greg.

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Chuck Strouse is the former editor in chief of Miami New Times. He has shared two Pulitzer Prizes and won dozens of other awards. He is an honors graduate of Brown University and has worked at newspapers including the Miami Herald and Los Angeles Times.

Contact: Chuck Strouse

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Twitter: @chuckstrouse