Burger King doubles tomato pickers pay

Fast-food chain agrees to deal paying 1.5 cents more per pound of tomatoes it buys from Florida growers with the money going to farm workers.

MIAMI (AP) -- A farm worker advocacy group and Burger King are said to have agreed on a deal to help improve wages and conditions for Florida tomato pickers.

An aide to U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders who held a hearing on the case announced the deal Friday. The aide, Michael Briggs, said the two sides planned to announce the deal later today.

Briggs says the Miami-based fast-food chain will pay 1.5 cents more per pound of tomatoes it buys from Florida growers, with the money passed to the workers.

He says the farm worker's group known as the Coalition of Immokalee Workers says that would roughly double what workers earn while picking.

McDonald's (MCD, Fortune 500) and Taco Bell owner Yum Brands (YUM, Fortune 500) have similar deals. But they have faced resistance from growers.