“The relationship between the CIW and its supporters is one of the most successful allyships I have witnessed…”

Alliance for Fair Food intern Violeta Hernandez Padilla during the CIW's 2017 Return to Human Rights Tour. 

Thanks to the generosity of 120 loyal allies and believers in farmworker justice young and old, from Florida to Washington, we have raised $8,445 in grassroots donations since we began our Wendy’s Boycott Fund campaign in early May. 

This means we’re a third of the way to our hefty $25,000 summer grassroots fundraising goal! 

And with your help, we’ll get all the way there. If you haven’t already, please consider a donation to the Wendy’s Boycott Fund – and ask your friends, your family members, and others who agree that farmworkers deserve to live and work with dignity and respect to join you in contributing to the Fund.

Today, we bring you a heartfelt reflection from Violeta Hernandez Padilla, a student ally from Atlanta, GA who interned with the Alliance for Fair Food this past spring. Grassroots funds make possible the AFF’s internship program, through which we bring young leaders to Immokalee for four months at a time to learn firsthand, and contribute to, one of the most successful human rights struggles of our day:

“My time as an AFF intern was an illuminating experience, and what I learned most about was allyship. When coming to Immokalee, I still wondered what exactly my main role as an ally would entail. During my time with the CIW as an AFF intern, I learned that as an ally, a reliable commitment is necessary. One must listen to the needs of the marginalized group one is trying to uplift and be ready to be called upon to contribute to the movement. The relationship between the CIW and its supporters is one of the most successful allyships I have witnessed, having transformed the agricultural industry in Florida by allowing farmworkers to have a say in the conditions in which they work and the wages they receive. 

Our solidarity with farmworkers has pressured 14 major corporations to join the Fair Food Program, which uproots the causes of exploitation and abuse in the tomato fields of Florida and is steadily expanding into six other states. Regardless, the rights and protections established by the FFP are not guaranteed on every farm. In order for more farmworkers to receive the respect and dignity they deserve, corporations, such as Wendy's, must make the commitment to join the Fair Food Program. We made this argument face to face with Wendy's executives when the CIW, religious leaders, students, academics, and allies attended Wendy's annual shareholder meeting last month. My role was to ensure that our allies were able to gain admission to the shareholder meeting by coordinating proxy tickets, and as a result we had an outstanding presence of 27 people inside the meeting! 

To continue sustaining the work I did coordinating the entry of allies to the shareholder meeting and the work I will continue to do as an ally of the Atlanta area AFF network, make a contribution to the Wendy's Boycott Fund today!”

CALL TO ACTION: Interfaith fast declared across Florida for month of July!

Faith leaders sound a call to prayer, fasting, and action to urge Wendy’s to protect farmworkers’ human rights in its corporate supply chain

This July, clergy, faith leaders, and communities from around Florida will embark upon on a month-long rolling fast to heighten the call to Wendy’s to respect farmworker human rights by joining the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ Fair Food Program.

In late March, 19 Ohio State University students and alumni began a landmark week-long fast aimed at exposing the injustices that were enabled through OSU’s continued business with Wendy’s, which culminated in a moving 500-strong march of farmworkers and allies from across the country through Wendy’s hometown of Columbus, OH. That fast became the catalyst for a monumental rolling student fast that spread like wildfire to over a dozen universities, involving hundreds of students throughout the month of April. Faith leaders and faith communities from across the country stood with these courageous students in their sacrifice by joining in a National Day of Prayer and Fasting on the fifth day of the OSU students’ fast; and penning powerful statements of support, such as those by the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Disciples of Christ, National Farm Worker Ministry, the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, and T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights. And in May, students and professors, faith leaders, food justice and human rights advocates, and community members joined together to take the moral call directly to Wendy’s leadership at the company’s annual meeting of shareholders in Dublin, OH.
 
And yet, Wendy’s continues to disparage the calls for accountability and farm labor justice from farmworkers and consumers alike. This July, people of faith in Florida are taking up  the students’ fast to draw attention to the impact of Wendy’s inaction. In the long tradition of fasting for social justice, dozens of clergy and their communities will begin a month-long interfaith rolling fast to prayerfully enjoin Wendy’s to stand with farmworkers in creating dignity in the fields.

Wendy’s stands alone among its competitors in its refusal to participate in the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ Presidential Medal-winning Fair Food Program (FFP). Their rejection of the Program goes  beyond the fast food chain’s refusal to join. Following the implementation of the FFP in Florida tomato fields, Wendy’s unconscionably shifted its purchases away from participating farms in Florida to Mexico, where the produce industry is notoriously rife with farmworker abuse and exploitation. Instead of adopting the FFP’s uniquely effective worker-driven, market-enforced model for social responsibility, Wendy’s has championed a hollow Code of Conduct that cuts workers out of the equation and relies on woefully inadequate monitoring or enforcement mechanisms.
 
Wendy’s actions unequivocally fail the basic moral code that demands every single one of us work tirelessly for justice for all people on this Earth -- and that unquestioningly prioritizes human life over corporate profits. Communities of faith across Florida and across the country will not allow such actions to go unanswered. Among the 27 Fair Food supporters who addressed Wendy’s executives and Board of Directors during Wendy’s annual shareholder meeting was Rick Ufford-Chase, former moderator of the PC(USA):

“Your refusal to join the Fair Food Program places you on the wrong side of history.  So long as you choose to remain there, the faith community intends to work tirelessly with our ecumenical and interfaith partners to assure that this boycott will be effective. This movement has staying power within our churches.”

Over the course of the month of July, faith leaders and communities throughout Florida will demonstrate that, indeed, this movement for Fair Food is staying and growing within our communities.

You can find all the information you need to participate in the fast in the Fasting Resource Guide, downloadable here. 

If you identify as a person of faith or conscience in Florida, email us at Shelby@allianceforfairfood.org to commit to fast for one or more days in July, write an op/ed or letter to Wendy’s leadership, invite a farmworker to speak in your congregation, or donate what you would have spent on food while fasting to the cause of farmworker justice. If you don’t live in Florida but would like to support, please still get in touch! 

Note: Fasting can take on many forms, and we urge those who choose to fast to do so in a way that supports their overall health and well-being. 

T’ruah rabbis to Wendy’s Board Chairman Nelson Peltz: “Each day that you turn your back on farmworkers, more and more rabbis will call on you to forswear exploitation …”

At last month's annual shareholder meeting, when a representative from T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights invited Wendy's executives to meet and discuss the realities of the Coalition of Immokalee Worker’s Fair Food Program, Board Chairman Nelson Peltz snidely answered this: “I have plenty of rabbis in my life.” 

For years, T’ruah has been organizing rabbis and their congregations to take action in support of farmworker justice, and so it is no surprise that the organization took this dismissive answer for marching orders. The stalwart group of tomato rabbis quickly organized a delegation to Mr. Peltz’s offices in New York City to make clear that their call to Mr. Peltz to act on “our shared Jewish commitments to liberation from slavery, fair wages, and dignified working conditions” will only increase until Wendy’s joins the Fair Food Program.

In a protest complete with the sounding of the shofar, the delivery of a powerful statement, and the hashtag #NotEnoughRabbis, those gathered called on Mr. Peltz to live the values of his faith and bring Wendy’s to the negotiating table with the CIW.  

Be sure to read the full report on the CIW’s website!

T’ruah’s powerful work is just one part of the incredibly diverse movement embodied in the Alliance for Fair Food — and together, we are going to win the Wendy’s Boycott and bring human rights protections to more and more farmworkers.  Will you donate to the Wendy’s Boycott Fund today to help carry this work forward in the months ahead?

Watch CNN’s new Fair Food video series and donate to the Wendy’s Boycott Fund today!

Two days ago, as the office of Ohio State University President Drake received call after call from countless allies across the country outraged by the university’s decision to renew its contract with Wendy’s for three more years, the movement for Fair Food took the national spotlight! The CNN Freedom Project released a stunning video series, entitled "How America's 'ground-zero' for modern slavery was cleaned up by workers' group," highlighting the three broad and overlapping spheres of the CIW’s tremendous work: the Fair Food Program, the Campaign for Fair Food and the Anti-Slavery Campaign. 

The piece features farmworker testimony on the transformed, and truly dignified, conditions workers experience on Fair Food Program farms; details the market-backed consequences that allow for effective enforcement of farmworker-designed human rights standards; and packs a punch in exposing Wendy’s stubborn and shameful refusal to join all of its major competitors in “the most comprehensive social responsibility program in U.S. agriculture.” 

The videos speak for themselves: 

After enjoying the videos, make a donation to the Wendy’s Boycott Fund to help us bring the fast food holdout into the Fair Food Program! 

In the month of May, nearly 100 Fair Food supporters have pitched in to bring us over 20% of the way to reaching our $25,000 goal (including a successful two-day $1,000 matching challenge!). As hundreds of people of faith, students, and community allies across the country power the Wendy's Boycott, we're continuing to reach toward our fundraising mark and counting on you to help us ensure we have the resources to sustain and increase constant action in the upcoming months. 

TAKE ACTION: OSU renewed its contract with Wendy’s, call President Drake’s offices today!

Last Thursday, students at the Ohio State University – site of the incredible and widely-supported seven-day fast for farmworker justice by 19 students back in March – learned that, instead of terminating the university’s contract with Wendy’s, OSU will renew it for three years.  

Rather than stand with farmworkers and the students that for three years have been calling on the university to stop doing business with Wendy’s until the final fast-food holdout joins the Fair Food Program – not to mention the countless consumers and the faith leaders and faith community that have backed them – OSU has in this decision cast its lot with Wendy’s. That is, the university has turned its back on fulfilling any sort of commitment to fundamental human rights.

To read a detailed analysis of OSU’s decision and what it means for the Wendy’s Boycott, head over to the CIW’s website. 

OSU students, disappointed, frustrated, and ever-more motivated to hold their university accountable to their disregard for farmworkers’ human rights, are calling on the Fair Food Nation to call President Drake’s offices today to condemn OSU’s decision to renew the Wendy’s contract.

Call President Drake today!

Phone number: 614-292-2424

Sample script:
President Drake, I'm calling because your administration has chosen to turn its back on its students, faculty, Columbus community, and farmworkers by renewing its contract with Wendy's. With this decision, your administration demonstrates its blatant disregard for farmworkers' basic human rights, instead actively working with Wendy's to develop a meaningless Code of Conduct.  

Completely lacking in worker participation and enforcement mechanisms, Wendy's code has been publicly and repeatedly discredited as a nothing more than a sham by farmworkers, students, and more recently, international labor law expert James Brudney — and yet, OSU has chosen to support that CSR model, one that is failing thousands upon thousands of farmworkers in Wendy’s supply chain even as we speak. I am joining community members across the country in supporting students' escalating efforts to remove Wendy's from campus until you decide to stand on the right side of history regarding farmworkers' human rights.”

Let us know how it goes by emailing organize@allianceforfairfood.org. And encourage your friends, family and community to also pick up the phone today!

REPORT: In Ohio, the Fair Food Nation makes the case for real human rights at Wendy's 2017 shareholder meeting!

On Tuesday at Wendy's annual shareholder meeting in Dublin, OH , Wendy's decision-makers once again confronted the choice that has been before them since farmworkers first called on the fast food giant to work with the CIW in upholding human rights in the fields. Without a doubt, this is a choice that has become more stark and more urgent in the past year, with a tens of thousands-strong national boycott underway in response to Wendy's shameful shift of tomato purchases away from Fair Food Program participating farms in Florida, to Mexican farms rife with abuse and exploitation.

It was an extraordinary day sure to go down in the annals of Campaign for Fair Food history, not only because of the vibrant protest which welcomed meeting participants as they entered company headquarters. It was also so, because in an unprecedented move, a staggering 27 Fair Food supporters representing shareholders allied with the CIW entered the meeting to testify directly and in-person to Wendy's Board of Directors and executives why the fast food holdout must urgently join the Fair Food Program. What's more, eleven of them successfully managed to speak in support of real human rights protections for farmworkers in Wendy’s supply chain during the General Questions portion of the meeting, before company executives concluded the meeting and the delegation exited in proud display of boycott logos.

Today, we bring you the full narrative and photo report of Tuesday's meeting: first, of the new and exciting encounters that took place inside, and then of the events that unfolded outside on that memorable day in Dublin. Next week, we'll pass along the CIW's upcoming in-depth analysis of Wendy's faulty and misleading arguments for not participating in the Fair Food Program, communicated by executives during the meeting and, right then and there, calmly and expertly debunked by farmworkers and allies for the company's leadership to hear.

Inside the Wendy's shareholder meeting:

As shareholders and Wendy’s executives filed into the headquarters’ Thomas Conference Center for the annual shareholder meeting on Tuesday morning, a group of 27 Fair Food supporters streamed in alongside them: nationally-respected religious leaders hailing from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the United Church of Christ, the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, several Catholic orders of women religious, the National Farm Worker Ministry, the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility, and T’ruah: the Rabbinic Call for Human Rights; students from three Boot the Braids schools, Ohio State University, University of Michigan, and UNC Chapel Hill; several community, faith and student leaders from Columbus, Cleveland, Miami, Nashville, and other cities; and of course, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers.  In an unprecedented level of turnout, this formidable group of farmworkers and allies – interspersed throughout the room with other shareholders – constituted over half of the shareholders present, their numbers a tangible reflection of the impatience of consumers with Wendy’s unconscionable decision to turn its back on the Fair Food Program.

And when all was said and done, eleven of these representatives directed incisive questions to Wendy’s leadership during the final General Questions portion of the meeting, turning the topic of the Fair Food Program – and Wendy’s status as the final fast-food holdout from the award-winning program – into the dominant theme of the annual meeting.  

The shareholder meeting began with a “business overview” presentation from Todd Penegor, President and CEO, which painted a rosy picture of Wendy’s capturing more and more “share of stomach,” resulting in an increased stock price, cash flow, and ultimately dividends for shareholders over the past few years.  Mr. Penegor went on to present the “Wendy’s Way,” through which Wendy’s creates not only profits, but also “creates joy and opportunity through food, family, and community.”  He was followed by Chief Communications Officer Liliana Esposito, who offered shareholders the anticipated “Corporate Social Responsibility” update.

Ms. Esposito’s presentation began with a quick, system-wide review of progress under Wendy’s expanded Supplier Code of Conduct.  And remarkably, if not surprisingly, she was able to report that Wendy’s had “once again achieved 100% affirmation” from all suppliers that are covered by the code that they are “aware of and adhering to the obligations that we have put forward for them.”  [Ed note: The CIW will take a closer look at this astounding assertion and what it tells us about Wendy’s vision of social responsibility in next week's analysis.]

In light of this spectacular success, she then directed a complaint at the Fair Food allies in the room, several of whom she mentioned recognizing, saying “I’ll tell you that it’s not pleasant for us to see our brand criticized on a regular basis.”   

Ms. Esposito’s principal complaint with the Campaign for Fair Food, however, was that, at its heart, the campaign is a “commercial dispute” and that Wendy’s objects in principle to two things: first, engaging in a “labor relationship with the employees of our suppliers,” and second, to “paying fees to” the CIW.  She added before concluding her remarks, “we don’t believe that joining the Fair Food Program is the only way to act responsibly.”

After thanking Mr. Penegor and Ms. Esposito “for those very clear messages,” Board Chairman Nelson Peltz asked that the lights be turned on for the General Questions portion of the meeting.  And thus the stage was set for a truly remarkable show, as 11 of the 27 farmworkers and allies in the room approached the microphone one after another to deliver a series of razor-sharp statements that would, thread by thread, unravel the cheerful tapestry of well-intentioned, successful social responsibility efforts that Wendy’s executives had labored so painstakingly to weave.

The first to the floor was the former PC(USA) moderator Rick Ufford-Chase:

“Good morning, Mr. Chairman and the Board of Directors… I was the Moderator, our church’s highest elected office, when Taco Bell became the first major corporate buyer to work with farmworkers and growers to transform human rights abuses in U.S. agriculture through the Fair Food Program. I’m here today to urge Wendy’s to do the same…

… This is the only effective way to ensure that the scourge of slavery and abuse in the food system is eliminated. Instead of joining this proven program, Wendy’s has moved its purchasing of tomatoes to Mexico… I did human rights work on the U.S. / Mexico border for 20 years, and here’s what I know:  Escaping to Mexico to source your tomatoes does not relieve your moral quandary; it deepens it.  The Los Angeles Times documented one farm where 200 workers, including children, were in forced labor.  This is a farm where Wendy’s sources its tomatoes… Your refusal to join the Fair Food Program places you on the wrong side of history.  So long as you choose to remain there, the faith community intends to work tirelessly with our ecumenical and interfaith partners to assure that this boycott will be effective.  This movement has staying power within our churches.  

And for the record, until two years ago Wendy’s had been my own restaurant of choice for more than forty years, and I’ve got two children of my own who I adopted from the foster care system.  I share a lot of your core values.  I’d like very much to come back.”

Unsurprisingly, Mr. Penegor answered the question by referencing Wendy’s supplier Code of Conduct as the solution to any alleged past abuses in the fast-food restaurant’s supply chain.  He moved on to the next questioner after reassuring the shareholders that he was “comfortable and confident” that Wendy’s is supporting decent working conditions.  Mr. Ufford-Chase was followed by Lucas Benitez, one of the co-founders of the CIW:

“I have been a farmworker since I was 17 years old.  I have seen, up close, the two worlds – the one which we are coming from, and the one we’re in today thanks to the power of the corporations that are working together with us.  Among them are Wendy’s principal competitors, including McDonald’s, Burger King, and Taco Bell.  Thanks to this market power, we are now eliminating abuses that have been endemic in the U.S. agriculture industry.  Forced labor, modern-day slavery, the sexual harassment that has been the bread of every day for the millions of farmworker women who labor in the fields.  

The only thing we’re doing now is extending the invitation to Wendy’s to be part of this new day – to truly be a company that upholds American values.  Nevertheless, to this day, Wendy’s has refused to be part of these efforts and, ignoring the demands of its consumers, has shifted its purchases to Mexico, where the exploitation is extreme and unspeakable.  For those reasons, I direct my question to Mr. Penegor: with the incredible opportunity to join the Fair Food Program and demonstrate to your consumers true dedication to social responsibility, why do you continue to turn your backs to farmworkers, to your longtime suppliers in the transformed Florida tomato industry, and to all the consumers demanding fairly harvested produce?”

Board Chairman Nelson Peltz, instead of responding to a question directly from the farmworker community of Immokalee, or even bothering to reference the Code of Conduct, simply replied with “Thank you.”  After a stiff moment of silence, AFF's Patricia Cipollitti came in after Lucas, and directly refuted the false claim from Liliana Esposito that the CIW receives “fees” from participating buyers.  Patricia pointed out that – as stated countless times publicly by Judge Laura Safer Espinoza of the Fair Food Standards Council, among others – the “penny per pound” Fair Food premium never even passes through the CIW, but rather is paid to growers through regular purchasing channels and is then distributed to workers through regular payroll channels, all in a process carefully and painstakingly monitored by the Fair Food Standards Council.

Next up was Ohio State Professor, Dr. Pranav Jani: 

“I’ve been very surprised and astounded that Wendy’s hasn’t gone along with the Fair Food Program like many of its competitors have… 

…I want to point out two ways in which [the Wendy’s code] is inferior and I hope you then will answer my question. The first is that the Code of Conduct purports to be against the abuse of farmworkers but only the FFP involves a mandatory code.  This is like saying you’re against abuses, but not actually enforcing it.  And actions speak louder than words… 

… The second way in which it is inferior to the Fair Food Program is that the FFP involves the direct participation of workers in actually creating the code; it includes worker-to-worker education; workers can participate in health and safety committees on every farm; they have access to a 24-hour worker hotline to report abuse.  Wendy’s code is notably silent on worker participation in determining how the code of conduct is actually to work… So this is my question to the CSR Board committee: could you explain to shareholders how the mere expectations in your corporate supplier code of conduct, without any enforcement mechanism, are sufficient to adequately protect workers’ rights?”

Professor Jani’s questions, which went straight to the heart of Wendy’s hypocrisy in equating their Code of Conduct with the worker-driven Fair Food Program, elicited the most substantive response yet from both Mr. Penegor and Ms. Esposito.  Wendy’s executives reiterated that they were extremely “proud” of their Code of Conduct, arguing forcefully that their “expectations” for suppliers had been effectively communicated, that their third party auditors monitor the entirety of the Wendy’s hand-harvested vegetable supply chain for any violations (“not just tomatoes”), and that Wendy’s would cut off any suppliers found to be in violation of their Code.  Mr. Penegor added, “that’s the enforcement tool.”

Ms. Esposito asserted that Wendy’s had begun to implement the Code of Conduct in the operations of existing suppliers to ensure that the “strong contracts” already in place would serve as the enforcement mechanism, given Wendy’s failure to be satisfied with human rights, food safety, quality, or other ethical standards could lead even to contract termination.  She added, “up to three years ago, we purchased our winter tomatoes from Florida, and we purchased from suppliers that were members of the Fair Food Program. And this campaign against us was raging at that time, too.” She concluded, then, that working with suppliers abiding by FFP standards was not what was wrong; “What was wrong, was not paying into this.”

Yet, in spite of delivering what Wendy’s surely hoped would be a final word on the matter, that was not the end of the conversation.  Professor Jani, who continued to press executives on how they could possibly ensure their code without worker participation, was followed by OSU student faster Henry Peller; Sister Mary Ellen Gondeck, SSJ, from the Congregation of St. Joseph and the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility; Edie Rassell, the Minister for Economic Justice of the United Church of Christ; Rabbi Daniel Kirzane of T’ruah (who was told by Wendy’s Board Chairman Nelson Peltz that his “life was full of rabbis” already and so he would not meet with T’ruah!); Wendy Ake, Columbus ally and director at the UC Berkeley Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society, who warned Wendy’s of the shortsightedness of failing to meet what is now an industry standard in social responsibility, given consumer trends; Rev. Lynda Smith of the First Unitarian Universalist congregation of Columbus, who addressed CEO Todd Penegor in saying that she would “pray that your blindness be removed from you”; and finally, University of Michigan student Kim Daley, who made a final push with executives to explain the lack of transparency built into Wendy’s Code of Conduct, only to be met with the executives’ continued refusal to identify the who, what, where, when, and how of the “third-party audits.”

Increasingly agitated, and clearly concerned about losing control of the annual meeting’s agenda, Nelson Peltz adjourned the meeting.

And outside, the protest continues:

Even as the drama was unfolding inside the Thomas Conference Center, over 60 allies gathered outside of the flagship Wendy’s across the street from the headquarters at 8 am, a sunny summer morning greeting those who began to arrive from as far as Michigan, Tennessee, Kentucky, Pennsylvania.  

Ahead of the meeting, the crowd of protesters, arms filled with artwork, was warmed up with a welcome from Lucas Benitez as he prepared to enter the meeting.  He was joined by Rick Ufford-Chase, former moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and Henry Anton Peller of the Ohio State Student/Farmworker Alliance and Real Food OSU, one of the 19 OSU students and alumni who precipitated two months of rolling student fasts around the country with a 7-day fast at OSU in March.  

Here are just a few highlights from their powerful words before they turned to head into the meeting:

Rick Ufford-Chase:  “…I’m here today because thirteen years ago, when I was serving as the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA), I made my first trip to Immokalee.  I met Lucas and others, met with workers there and heard their stories, and we joined the Taco Bell Boycott…  I was in a church in New Orleans when I was buttonholed after I preached on this issue by four men in business suits who explained to me that it was impossible for Taco Bell to ever do what we were asking for, and we were unbelievably naïve to think that Taco Bell could do it, and we were going to learn our lesson.  

Two weeks later came the announcement from Taco Bell that they were willing to become full partners in this project, and they’ve been those exceptional partners ever since.  That’s the message we want Wendy’s to hear today.  They may think that it’s not a direct line between the farms in Mexico, or the farms in Central Florida, to their board room — I’m here to assure them that the moral connection is clear and direct, and it cannot be escaped, and they can save themselves a lot of agony by giving in right now and becoming partners in this movement.  Amen!”

Henry Anton Peller: “Are we ready to quit? [NO!]  Are we tired yet? [NO!]  Are we fired up? [YES!] Are we ready to win? [YES!]  

Good morning, my name is Henry, and that is the message I have to bring to Wendy’s today; that is, to remind them of the power we are building across the country and that is waiting for them at every turn, with every piece of PR they put out, we will demand they join the Fair Food Program … As Mr. Brolick will remember, in the midst of a four year national boycott, 25 institutions terminated their contracts with Taco Bell in support of the Fair Food Program. History will repeat itself!  Today we are joined by students at the University of Michigan, the University of North Carolina — Chapel Hill, and Vanderbilt University.  We are united in our determination to cut contracts with Wendy’s.  One of these universities will soon be the first to stand with the Fair Food Program and blaze the trail for dozens to follow.

The crowd then erupted into a lively picket, accompanied by a drum team from Michigan and chants of “We are unstoppable!  Another world is possible!” “We ain’t buying what they’re selling, the people are rebelling, boycott Wendy’s! Boycott now!”  After just a short while of picketing, the CIW and allies were surprised to be invited to speak with Heidi Schauer (below, right), Wendy’s Director of Corporate Communications, to discuss with Wendy’s why the group was gathered outside the company’s national offices.

(To refresh your memory: Heidi Schauer’s first appearance on the boycott stage took place during the Ohio State University student fast, in which she was the first to be quoted claiming that the Campaign for Fair Food was a scheme designed to collect “fees” to be paid to the CIW.)

Lupe Gonzalo of the CIW took Wendy’s up on the opportunity.  After extending an invitation to Wendy’s to join farmworkers, growers, and 14 of their buyer peers in the Fair Food Program, Lupe contrasted the Fair Food Program with Wendy’s supplier Code of Conduct, pointing out that Wendy’s current approach to social responsibility lacks any effective enforcement mechanisms or worker participation.  Perhaps regretting her offer to meet, Ms. Schauer quickly cut off other customers who had also gathered to express their concerns, and explained that CIW and AFF representatives who had entered the meeting would hear directly from Liliana Esposito, Wendy’s Chief Communications Officer, as to the fast-food company’s response to the ongoing demand for Wendy’s to join the FFP.  Then she left.

Meanwhile, the picket continued for another hour of animated protest. Following the picket, the protesters gathered to share their various connections to the CIW and their community’s commitment to the Wendy’s Boycott.  The group — including representatives from worker-led struggles around the region against exploitation, displacement, and police brutality — shared their commitment to bringing the Wendy’s Boycott to their communities and supporting one another in their respective struggles for justice. 

Lupe Gonzalo of the CIW concluded the protest, before all participants headed to St. John's Episcopal Church in Columbus to hear a report from the Fair Food delegation that entered the meeting:

Lupe Gonzalo:  “We are more unified and stronger than ever, because we know that unity is what makes us strong in these times.  Wendy’s may think that humiliating us and ignoring us will make us go away, but they’re wrong — our community knows how to fight, and we are going to keep struggling harder than ever until Wendy’s treats farmworkers like human beings with dignity!”

Stay tuned for more about the meeting, and next steps to take action in the campaign as we build upon this step taken in the Wendy's boycott! 

For now, take a look through more beautiful, inspiring photos from the protest:

DONATE TODAY! A year into the Wendy’s Boycott, we’re growing and we need your support!

Just over a year ago, hundreds of farmworkers and consumers of conscience boldly launched the second-ever boycott in the 16-year history of the Campaign for Fair Food. Necessitated by the company's 4-year refusal to join the award-winning Fair Food Program — and Wendy's horrific shift of tomato purchases away from farms in Florida to Mexico, where workers face systemic wage theft, sexual violence and modern slavery — the CIW's declaration of the Wendy's Boycott marked the beginning of a new phase in the unflagging struggle for farmworker justice. 

Since the historic announcement, the Wendy's Boycott has swept the country, making its way into hundreds of congregations, campuses and communities and gaining institutional support from major faith denominations and bodies, including the National Council of Churches. With six back-to-back national tours in the fall; an unforgettable 14-day, 12-city Return to Human Rights Tour in March; a month-long national rolling student fast across a dozen college campuses in April; and plans underway for a larger-than-ever presence at next week's Wendy's shareholder meeting, the boycott has grown exponentially. 

But we urgently need your help to keep up the pressure! Make a contribution today to the Wendy's Boycott Fund.

And if you donate by tomorrow, every dollar you give will be matched up to $1,000 thanks to the generous commitment of Rob McGoey, longtime stalwart of the Campaign for Fair Food in Denver!

We're raising $25,000 to sustain and grow this momentum, and build towards Wendy's inevitable agreement to join the Fair Food Program. In the words of CIW's Gerardo Reyes Chavez:

“If we could win when we were practically alone, when few people knew of the dream of the Immokalee workers, it's impossible to imagine that we won't win when we have so many people standing with us in this struggle.”

Help us bring Wendy’s to the table of justice — donate today! 

Florida United Methodist Church Bishop Kenneth Carter and Cabinet visit Immokalee!

On Monday, Bishop Kenneth H. Carter, Jr. and the cabinet of the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church kicked off a two-day tour of the Conference’s missional areas across the state of Florida. This estimable team of Methodist Church leaders chose to launch their tour in no other place than right here, in the CIW’s hometown of Immokalee, birthplace of the Fair Food movement! 

With a delegation including all nine district superintendents charged with leading nearly 700 congregations throughout the state, the visitors represented the tens of thousands of Florida Methodists who, throughout the long history of the Campaign for Fair Food, have put their unwavering faith into action in the pursuit of farm labor justice, partnering with farmworkers in the fight to end generations of poverty and abuse in Florida’s fields.

Indeed, the Methodist Church’s long and profound history of support can be traced back to the campaign’s early days.  From a General Conference resolution endorsing the seminal Taco Bell boycott in 2004, to the thousands of United Methodist clergy and laity who have prayed, fasted, written letters, sat vigil, and marched with farmworkers over the years, to the remarkable landslide vote at 2015 Annual Conference in favor of a formal resolution calling on Publix and Wendy’s to join the Fair Food Program, Florida’s Methodists have steadfastly stood with farmworkers.

And today, as they have in the past, United Methodists continue to put their faith into action in the pursuit of farm labor justice.  From local congregations to Church-wide organizations like United Methodist Women, the call from Florida’s United Methodists to corporations like Publix and Wendy’s to come, at long last, to the table with farmworkers grows louder by the day.

Bishop Carter and the Florida Conference Cabinet journeyed to Immokalee to bear witness, firsthand, to the unprecedented transformation that has taken place in Florida’s tomato industry.  They came to visit with the protagonists — farmworkers and growers alike — of the remarkable story of conflict, reconciliation and redemption that has played out over the past two decades in this once-forgotten farming community.

The group heard directly from farmworker leaders about the incredible changes experienced by the Immokalee community thanks to the Fair Food Program and, subsequently visiting a participating farm to hear from growers about the positive impact the Program has had on their operations, celebrated the win-win-win partnership that’s created the “new day” for farmworkers in tomatoes across the East Coast.

Visit the CIW website for a full report of Bishop Carter and the Cabinet’s tour of the CIW community center and of a participating farm!

Before reporting on the start of the summer protest season, we’ll leave you with some moving words of reflection and prayer shared among farmworkers and United Methodist leaders. Gathered in a circle at the end of the visit, CIW’s Cruz Salucio communicated his own words of appreciation for the Bishop and the cabinet’s gracious interest in Immokalee and the Fair Food Program, situating the visit and farmworkers’ struggle in the faith that many workers hold:

For us workers, we never imagined arriving to this point and at this moment, to be on a grower’s property, and to work in partnership with them…I believe that God is with us today, just as God has accompanied us throughout our struggle including in difficult and frustrating moments we have faced throughout the years, when we were not able to embark on the path we sought. Today we believe God is still at the forefront of the CIW’s struggle.

From my perspective, God is happy with us carrying forth this struggle together. And I believe we can do more, that we can work together to arrive to the moment in which corporations that still don’t want to participate finally join us so that one day, we can see an even bigger change.

Farmworkers were deeply touched as Bishop Carter concluded the moment of reflection with his own moving words of gratitude, and a blessing for the community of Immokalee:

We thank you, God, for our sisters and brothers here in Immokalee. We pray that we would remember their stories. That we would know that we are a part of a network of mutuality in this life—and where we rejoice, we rejoice together; where we weep, we weep together. Thank you for their hospitality and openness to receive us. And we pray that we would reflect on what we’ve learned, and that we would act.

And taking action in the name of justice is indeed what a group of farmworkers and their allies did last weekend! From the CIW’s site:

Just a few, short miles from the very same fields where the United Methodist delegation met with growers, a brand new Publix opened on Immokalee Road in late March.  And in recognition of that opening, curious customers were greeted this past Saturday not only by the store’s eager new manager, but also by more than 50 farmworkers, their families, and allies from across Southwest Florida, gathered for a sunny picket in front of the shiny new supermarket.  Among those who made it out to support workers from Immokalee were the Rev. Esther Rodriguez of Tice United Methodist Church, members of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ft. Myers, members of the Quaker Meeting of Ft. Myers, students from FGCU, SURJ of Southwest Florida, members of the Southwest Florida Resistance Coalition, and students from OSU, who were in town for meetings with CIW members and a closer look at the Fair Food Program in action!

The protest was covered by local news networks, including the local Fox 4 station and the Naples Daily News, who followed up that same day with an insightful account of the day’s action.

And so, the struggle for real, lasting justice from Fair Food holdouts Wendy’s and Publix continues. Indefatigably, the community of Immokalee and their steadfast allies across the Alliance for Fair Food network march on towards social change – no matter how long or arduous the road one must take to get there.

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NEW VIDEO: “This fight has never been more real, more powerful or more urgent!”

Last Thursday, just as we rolled out an exciting new campaign to raise $25,000 to fuel the Wendy’s Boycott, a delegation of Ohio State University students rolled into Immokalee! After a jam-packed semester of intensive student organizing to remove Wendy’s from campus, members of Ohio State Student/Farmworker Alliance and Real Food OSU wrapped up the semester by visiting the birthplace of the Fair Food movement to deeply connect and build relationships with the farmworker community. 

Trip highlights included an in-depth strategy meeting with CIW members to escalate the students' campus-based Boot the Braids campaign before the extension of the Wendy’s lease expires on June 30 — and, to ground their efforts, an inside look at a worker-to-worker education session on a participating Fair Food Program farm. 

Ready for victory, the Buckeyes hit the road for Columbus on Saturday morning, but not before taking a moment to urge the Fair Food Nation to donate to the Wendy’s Boycott Fund! We’re just 11 days away from Wendy’s annual shareholder meeting, and hundreds upon hundreds will be taking action in the lead up to remind Wendy’s top executives that as long as real, verifiable human rights protections are not part of their recipe, we will no longer support their business! 

How much can you contribute to ensure a mounting wave of action in the upcoming months? 

As OSU student Emily urges in the video, we’re asking you to contribute what you can to help us raise the funds we need to keep strengthening our grassroots movement — and achieve a boycott victory soon! 

Donate to the Wendy’s Boycott Fund today!

In the struggle, 
The Immokalee Crew 

ACTION ALERT! Take action in May ahead of Wendy's annual shareholder meeting!

Join farmworkers, Columbus-area allies and supporters from across the country for a major protest outside of Wendy's shareholder meeting on Tuesday, May 23! 

Wendy’s believes it can fool shareholders and consumers with its façade of corporate social responsibility.  Join us in revealing the truth about Wendy’s supply chain and remind the company's leadership that we are committed to #BoycottWendys until Wendy’s joins the Fair Food Program!

After months of sharply escalating action in the Wendy’s Boycott, demanding that the corporation respect farmworkers’ human rights, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and their allies will show up in powerful witness outside of Wendy’s annual shareholder meeting Tuesday, May 23 from 8-11 a.m.

For over four years, Wendy’s has refused to meet face to face with farmworkers to dialogue and negotiate their participation in the Fair Food Program. Enough is enough! We will bring the call for farmworker justice to Wendy's doorstep, directly to the company's top executives and shareholders.   

Here are four ways you can take action in the month of May!

1) Begin making plans to join farmworkers, Ohio Fair Food and allies from across the country on Tuesday, May 23 for a major protest outside of Wendy's annual shareholder meeting, followed by a community lunch with CIW. Housing will be provided for those coming from out of town. Get in touch with us at organize@allianceforfairfood.org for support in planning the trip! 

2) Send a boycott postcard to Wendy's CEO Todd Penegor and Board Chairman Nelson Peltz, then organize your community, congregation, or student group to do the same! Download the postcard here to print, sign, and send to One Dave Thomas Blvd., Dublin, OH 43017. 

3) Donate to the Wendy’s Boycott Fund to bring us closer to our goal of $25,000 in the month of May, to fuel sustained and growing action in the struggle for Fair Food – and bring us closer to an agreement with the final fast food holdout! You can donate online at bit.ly/boycott-fund or by writing a check to Alliance for Fair Food and sending to PO Box 509, Immokalee, FL 34143.

4) On Monday, May 22, participate in a national call-in day to Wendy's Headquarters! Below is information about the call-in day and a sample script for your call. Once you’ve called, email us at organize@allianceforfairfood.org to share a reportback!

Call-in Number: (888)-624-8140

Script: Hello, my name is __________ and I would like to leave a message for Todd Penegor.

As a dedicated ally of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, I want Wendy’s to know that I will continue to support the national Wendy’s Boycott until the corporation respects the human rights of farmworkers in its supply chain and joins the Fair Food Program. For four years, we have demanded that Wendy’s be a partner in the Program, but Wendy’s has failed to do so, instead offering a Code of Conduct devoid of enforcement mechanisms or worker participation and moving purchasing to fields where human rights abuses go unchecked.

Mr. Penegor should know we plan to make our voices heard during an action outside of Wendy’s headquarters tomorrow, calling on him and all shareholders to respect farmworkers’ dignity by joining the Fair Food Program. Unless you commit to joining the Fair Food Program during your annual shareholder meeting, scores of farmworkers and allies will be peacefully demonstrating outside — and the already tens of thousands-strong boycott of Wendy’s will continue to grow day by day!

Thank you for delivering this message.

This spring, thousands mobilized as part of the Return to Human Rights Tour in a unified cry on behalf of all struggles for human rights, highlighting Wendy’s decision to purchase tomatoes where working conditions are deplorable rather than use its market power to lift up human rights. 

Nineteen students at The Ohio State University fasted for seven days to pressure administration to end the university’s contract with Wendy’s, sparking over a month of rolling campus fasts across the country. Hundreds of students, as well as religious leaders and community partners, went without food in order to accentuate Wendy’s moral duty to respect workers’ rights rather than hide behind an empty code of conduct.  And now, we are returning to Wendy’s annual shareholder meeting more powerful than ever before. 

Let's send the message to Wendy’s leadership that they can no longer ignore the tens of thousands of consumers boycotting their restaurants as farmworkers lead their own struggle for justice in the fields.