REPORT & VIDEO: "Make us hungry and thirsty for justice ..."

July 30 Florida Interfaith Service and Action for Farmworker Justice

This Sunday, nearly twenty years after Bishop John Nevins of the Diocese of Venice beseeched six farmworkers to break their hunger strike – then in its thirtieth day – 150 farmworkers and people of faith from around Southwest Florida gathered to break a thirty-day rolling fast undertaken by nearly 40 Florida religious leaders throughout the month of July. 

The Interfaith Service for Farmworker Justice was a living embodiment of the shoulder-to-shoulder, decades-long commitment between people of faith here in Southwest Florida and their farmworker neighbors to transform poverty and abuse in the fields – and it served as a formidable commissioning for the work ahead to bring Wendy’s to the Fair Food Program as the next step towards an agricultural industry in which women work free from violence, and where all are treated with dignity.

The service, held at Naples UCC in partnership with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, the Alliance for Fair Food, Temple Shalom, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Greater Naples, and St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, reminded all present again and again that true faith must be put into action.  The service began with Julia de la Cruz of the CIW and Rev. Beverly Duncan of Naples UCC grounding the gathering in the reality of farmworkers in nearby Immokalee: Wendy’s, the third-largest hamburger chain in the world, has moved their purchasing from Florida farms implementing the Fair Food Program to farms in Mexico where human rights are trampled upon.  In so doing, Wendy’s is profiting from the desecration of the humanity of farmworker families, from Immokalee to Mexico, which has long plagued the industry.

With the remembrance of the reality of farmworker neighbors fixed firmly in the minds of all congregated, evangelical pastor and author Brian McLaren offered a prayer that God would “make us hungry and thirsty for justice,” speaking to the heart of fasting’s spiritual significance and lifting up the vision of all religions for a world in which justice is realized.

Invoking this deep and wide history of people of faith acting for justice, Cantor Donna Azu of Temple Shalom read from Isaiah 58:6-11: “Is this not the fast I have chosen, to undo the bonds of wickedness?”  Wesley Snedeker, student pastor at Naples UCC and seminarian at Chicago Theological Seminary, followed with a reading from Matthew 25:31-40, in which Jesus tells his disciples, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”  Rev. Roger Grugel of the UU Congregation of Greater Naples then illustrated the profound connections between the work of abolitionist Frederick Douglass – enslaved ‘til he was twenty years old, he went on to lead struggles for abolition, women’s rights, and economic justice throughout his entire life – and that of farmworkers fighting for their own dignity today. 

The hundreds-year-long struggle for justice, the call of faith to act, the realities faced by farmworkers –  all was brought home in a potent sermon by Lupe Gonzalo of the CIW, summed up here:

“Together, we are showing Wendy’s that we are not alone, that we are not going to permit Wendy’s to support violence against women … Let your hearts reach out and call upon them, human being to human being, to become part of this new world of justice we are creating together.

Now our voices sing the melody of hope, our tears have risen as strength. Violence against women must stop: Let us keep fighting for justice and let God guide our path.”

With her words lingering, over two dozen members of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and nearly one hundred members of over a dozen United Church of Christ, Lutheran, Catholic, Presbyterian, Jewish, Episcopal, and Quaker congregations from Cape Coral to Marco Island processed forward to leave on the altar flowers tied to messages they’d written to Wendy’s representing farmworkers’ dream of ‘shalom’ – wholeness, restoration, and peace for all people. 

To close the service, Wesley Snedeker echoed the broad-reaching vision of Gonzalo’s sermon with these words:

“We recognize and celebrate and bless the progress that has been made [in the agricultural industry due to the FFP], but God knows we don’t stop there. This is about a cultural change, a national change. This is about rearranging and overcoming the structures that keep so much from many so that it can be retained for a few. May we build in our nation a just system of labor that guarantees the rights and fair compensation for all involved. That mission continues here with us … To do the work of God as God intends us to do it, we have to go outside.”

And so, propelled by the energy of the service, the group went en masse to a local Wendy’s to deliver the flowers and messages created and make public the vision for the just future of which Wendy’s could – and someday, will – be a part.  As attendees prayed, sang, and marched, nearly 50 additional local supporters joined the crowd.  Thunder rumbled overhead, and the ánimo of the action became even more joyful and insistent. 

Buoyed and determined to communicate the reason for such action to Wendy’s representatives, Silvia Perez of the CIW led a delegation of Marilé Franco of Florida Gulf Coast University and Josh Baudin of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church to speak with the store manager.  Men barred them from entering and refused to accept the letter or even discuss its contents – a representation of Wendy’s executives’ refusal to even speak with farmworkers. 

Undeterred, the delegation returned to join the crowd, reminding those gathered that though store managers may have cowered today, Wendy’s would surely hear the group’s message as all the written messages would be sent to Wendy’s headquarters in Dublin, OH – and someday soon, as we continue to put faith in action, Wendy’s will join the Fair Food Program.  With commitment by the Southwest Florida faith community to sustain this struggle reaffirmed through the day of prayer and action, those gathered dispersed.

As Lupe Gonzalo of the CIW exhorts us in her sermon:

“The gospel of Matthew reminds us that it is about what we do when we see another of us imprisoned, hungry, suffering. It is about what we are doing to build a new kind of economy, a structural solution to the immoral operations of supply chains that chew up human beings. And your witness as the religious community, your willingness to unite together with us, demonstrates the kind of world God longs for.”

Strengthened by this month of fasting undertaken by the Florida Faith network of the Alliance for Fair Food, let us continue unfailing in the struggle for justice, dignity, and a new economy that is built upon our morals rather than on the backs of our brothers and sisters.  “Amen, and may it be so!”

Head to the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ website for a photo report, and stay tuned for more opportunities to take action in Florida and beyond. And if you haven't yet made your donation to the Wendy's Boycott Fund to help the Alliance for Fair Food sustain the action into the coming season, it's not too late -- you can make a contribution here.  

As Week 4 of the July interfaith fast begins, fasters reflect on “small acts” that grow the movement for Fair Food!

“Nearly every day of my life, I have eaten. But today, as I fast, I will pray …

I pray for Wendy’s employees and staff, that they will speak to their management and tell them they are ashamed to work for a company that doesn’t join a sensible program to help the people on whom their profits depend.

I pray that people like you will stop eating at Wendy’s until they change their ways.

I pray that all of us will learn to give thanks for every meal, thanking God for our food, for the good earth that produced it, and for the hardworking farmworkers who planted, tended, and harvested it.

My fast is a small act. But it strengthens my resolve to keep working and speaking out every day for the just, generous, and joyful world God desires for all of us – including my neighbors who are working hard in the fields even now. I hope you’ll join me.”

As we begin Week 4 of this month’s interfaith fast, these words of prayer and invitation from a close and longtime friend of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Christian author Brian McLaren, echo in the actions taken by tens of thousands of people of faith over the course of this 25-year movement for farmworker justice.

The fasting act of each and every participant this month may be small, as Brian writes. However, combined with a letter to Wendy’s headquarters, or a public delivery to a local restaurant, or even a sermon that spreads the Wendy’s Boycott to hundreds more, the fasting act grows in influence while remaining a small contribution. Yet, being those which are within our reach, these acts represent the ‘granito de arena’ that each of us as allies puts into the Fair Food movement whenever we take action alongside farmworkers. That is, the grain of sand each of us brings forth – with our fast, with our words, with our time, and with our hearts – to place alongside the hundreds of thousands of grains of sand of farmworkers and consumers have deposited over the years.

Today, we look admiringly upon what we’ve built together. Following farmworkers’ tremendous leadership, we have constructed a beautiful, solid, towering structure of verifiable human rights for farmworkers in the fields: the Fair Food Program.  Yet today, we also know there is a lot of work to be done – for workers in other crops, in other industries, in other countries, even.

Rabbi Barbara Penzner, a #tomatorabbi from Hillel B’nai Torah in Massachusetts who visited Immokalee last week to participate in the AFF Faith Working Group annual meeting (the group is pictured above), reflected on this vision after conversations with farmworker leaders Lupe Gonzalo and Julia de la Cruz:

The CIW women have trained scores of women from Florida to North Carolina to know their rights under the Fair Food Program. Sadly, many of the women ask, “if these are the rights I get working for this [participating] grower, why don’t I have the same rights on other farms?”

Rabbi Barbara with Lupe Gonzalo of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, after their conversation reached hundreds of listeners tuning into the CIW’s low-power community radio station Radio Conciencia

To bring this vision into our present reality, we must bring Wendy’s and its enormous purchasing power into the Fair Food Program.

Let us — farmworkers, faith allies, students, and all consumers of conscience — continue putting our small acts together, until our call is too loud, our voice too powerful for Wendy’s to continue ignoring.

And in this month of fasting:

“May each moment of hunger bind us together with all people who hunger for justice.  May the dignity of daily bread and the cool waters of equity quench our thirst... May Wendy's and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers feast together at a table of Fair Food.” (Rev. Patricia Carque, faster from the Florida Conference of the United Church of Christ)

(Brian McLaren’s full reflection can be found on his website, here.)

You can do your part by signing the petition in support of the fasting faith leaders and by making a donation to the Wendy’s Boycott Fund.

With hope,
The Immokalee Crew

“I took part in a rolling fast by clergy …I didn’t eat any tomatoes. But I had water to drink and a clean bathroom, and I didn’t spend the day looking over my shoulder in fear…”

Today, we find ourselves halfway through the month-long fast launched by clergy and faith leaders in Florida – the state with the most Wendy’s restaurants in the country – to continue escalating the call for justice from the final fast food holdout. The Florida Interfaith Fast for Farmworker Justice follows the monumental action taken first by 19 students at the Ohio State University who fasted for a week to advance their campaign to terminate Wendy’s campus lease, and then by hundreds of students at fourteen universities across the country throughout the month of April.

As faith leaders continue to add their voices to the growing choir of consumers refusing Wendy’s unconscionable failure to respect farmworker human rights, we take a moment to ponder the experience of those who have taken part so far – right after reporting on big news from the national front!

Major religious and worker leaders of Interfaith Worker Justice endorse the Florida fast

Earlier this week, the dozens of fasting Florida clergy and lay leaders received tremendous national backing from major religious leaders associated with longtime CIW supporter Interfaith Worker Justice, which endorsed the Wendy’s Boycott late last year.  At IWJ’s annual convening in Chicago, the IWJ Board of Directors, which is representative of 10 faith traditions, unanimously voted to support the Florida fast. Their searing letter, also signed by over 50 faith and workers’ center IWJ affiliate representatives, is addressed to Wendy’s President and CEO Todd Penegor and condemns the fast food giant’s failure to join the Fair Food Program:

As faith leaders representing various religious denominations and institutions, as well as representatives from worker centers and unions nationwide, we write to you today on behalf of the Interfaith Worker Justice network to express our wholehearted support for the scores of faith leaders across Florida embarking on a month-long rolling fast throughout the month of July in support of the Wendy’s Boycott called for by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers…

And today…we, too, join the growing alliance of consumers of conscience refusing to patronize Wendy’s because of its shameful refusal to take responsibility for conditions faced by farmworkers in its supply chain…

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, workers, and consumers across the country will not allow such actions to go unanswered...

(You can find the letter pasted in full below this post.)

In solidarity with Florida fast participants, 80+ IWJ members including IWJ Executive Director Laura Barrett and IWJ Board President Rev. Doug Mork hand-delivered a copy of the letter to a local Wendy’s manager in Chicago suburb Des Plaines:

In Florida, fast participants reflect

In addition to refraining from eating for a day, allies participating in the Florida Interfaith Fast for Farmworker Justice have been called to take accompanying action to fortify the movement to boycott Wendy’s. As the fast continues in the next couple weeks, we’ll be highlighting the statements of those who have chosen written reflection as their medium to amplify the fast.

This morning, the words of Rev. Leigh McCaffrey of the Florida Conference of the UCC serve as food for mind and spirit for those whose fast is still to come:

A Regretful Way

I really like Wendy’s baked potatoes and chili, especially on a chilly day. But I haven’t had them in years. I am really grateful for the way the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption has done terrific work through their Wendy’s Wonderful Kids Recruiters. They help children like my grandchildren, who came to us through foster care and adoption. Wendy’s seems to really care about kids.

Except the kids of farmworkers.

…Wendy’s has repeatedly refused to join other food companies in agreements that would guarantee worker conditions and safeguards. Are these farmworker kids somehow less important than little white girls with red braids?

So, regretfully, I am boycotting Wendy’s. Last week, I took part in a rolling fast by clergy to try to pressure this company to do the right thing and join other responsible food vendors in protecting those who work in harsh conditions for low wages. I didn’t eat any tomatoes. But I had water to drink and a clean bathroom, and I didn’t spend the day looking over my shoulder in fear. At the end of the day, I got to giggle with my grandbabies on the phone. I want that for everyone’s mother and grandmother. I want that for everyone’s children.

I hope you will join me in this boycott, and in raising awareness of the needs of those whose labor feeds us every day.

(Read Rev. McCaffrey’s full reflection here.)

Let us join the boycott, and work together towards a future in which the dignity of all farmworkers is respected.

You can sign the petition in support of the fasting Florida leaders and learn more about what you can do to grow the call for human rights from Wendy’s – including, making a donation today to the Wendy’s Boycott Fund. If you’d like to take part in the fast yourself, email patricia@allianceforfairfood.org.  

Stay tuned for more reflections and updates in the weeks to come!

---

9 July, 2017

To Mr. Todd Penegor:

As faith leaders representing various religious denominations and institutions, as well as representatives from worker centers and unions nationwide, we write to you today on behalf of the Interfaith Worker Justice network to express our wholehearted support for the scores of faith leaders across Florida embarking on a month-long rolling fast throughout the month of July in support of the Wendy’s Boycott called for by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers.

These leaders are fasting to condemn Wendy's failure to join the Fair Food Program and thereby join a proven solution to farmworker exploitation and abuse. They are fasting as a representation of the growing commitment of their communities in the ongoing national boycott of Wendy’s.

And today – as nearly 100 of us delivered this letter to a Chicago-area Wendy’s restaurant on the last day of IWJ’s annual convening – we, too, join the growing alliance of consumers of conscience refusing to patronize Wendy’s because of its shameful refusal to take responsibility for conditions faced by farmworkers in its supply chain.

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). Your company's 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, workers, and consumers 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.”

Mr. Penegor, we urge you to bring Wendy's into the ranks of buyers choosing the high road when it comes to human rights. We implore you to bring Wendy’s incredible purchasing power into the Fair Food Program and to thereby become a partner alongside farmworkers, growers, and your fast food buyer peers in furthering the human rights and fundamental dignity of our brothers and sisters toiling in the fields.

Respectfully,

Interfaith Worker Justice

Members of the Board of Directors of IWJ

The Rev. Doug Mork, Board President and Lead Pastor, Cross of Glory Lutheran Church in Brooklyn Center, MN

Bishop Howard Hubbard, Vice President of the Board and Bishop Emeritus, Diocese of Albany, NY

The Rev. Michael Livingston, Finance Committee Chairperson and Executive Minister, Riverside Church in New York, NY

Mr. Jules Bernstein, Fundraising Committee Chairperson and Attorney, Bernstein & Lipsett, P.C.

Mr. Naeem Baig, Communications Committee Chairperson and Vice President for Public Affairs, Islamic Circle of North America

The Rev. Troy Jackson, Ph. D., Organizing Committee Chairperson and Executive Director, AMOS Project

The Rev. Dr. Ken Brooker Langston, Public Policy Committee Chairperson and Executive Director, Disciples Center for Public Witness

Mr. Patrick Carolan, Executive Director, Franciscan Action Network Mr. Phil Cubeta, Sallie B. and William B. Wallace Chair in Philanthropy, American College

The Rev. Dr. Lillian Daniel, Senior Pastor, First Congregational Church of Dubuque, IA

The Rev. Sue Engh, Director, Congregation-based Community Organizing for the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America

Ms. Ligia Guallpa, Executive Director, Workers Justice Project

Imam Taha Hassane, Imam, Islamic Center of San Diego

Ms. Karen Hessel, retired Program Director, Justice for Women, National Council of Churches

Mr. Louis Kimmel, Co-Founder and Executive Director, New Labor

Rabbi Jonathan Klein, Executive Director, Clergy & Laity United for Economic Justice – Los Angeles

Ms. Gema Lowe, Community Organizer, Micah Center

Dr. Joseph McCartin, Professor of History, Georgetown University and Executive Director, Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor

Mr. David H. Moskowitz, Attorney, Morgan & Morgan

Mr. Hunter Ogletree, Community Organizer, Western North Carolina Workers’ Center

Mr. Fred Redmond, International Vice President of Human Affairs, United Steelworkers and Member, AFL-CIO Executive Council

Rabbi Elizabeth Richman, Program Director and Rabbi in Residence, Jews United for Justice

Mr. Juan Ruiz, Community Organizer, Voces de la Frontera

Mr. Corey Saylor, Legislative Director, Council on American-Islamic Relations

The Rev. Dr. Paul Sherry, former President, United Church of Christ

Ms. Jeanette Smith, Executive Director, South Florida Interfaith Worker Justice

Ms. Amy Smoucha, Managing Director, Jobs with Justice

Ms. Marilyn Sneiderman, Director, Rutgers University Center for Innovation in Worker Organization

Dr. Jerry Taylor, Associate Professor of Bible, Abilene Christian University

Mr. Mustafa White, Treasurer, Helping Hand for Relief and Development

Mr. David Wildman, Executive Secretary for Human Rights & Racial Justice, General Board of Global Ministries, United Methodist Church

Ms. Robin Williams, International Vice President and Director, Civil Rights and Community Action Department at United Food and Commercial Workers International Union

Mr. Will Layng, Executive Director, Portland Jobs with Justice

Members of IWJ Affiliated Groups

Ana I. Rodriguez, Workers' Center of West Michigan (Grand Rapids, MI)

Allison Colberg, Micah Center (Grand Rapids, MI)

Erin Hennessey, Southern Maine Workers’ Center (Portland, ME)

Cynthia Martinez, Northwest Arkansas Workers Justice Center (Springdale, AR)

Nikeeta Slade, Workers' Center of Central New York(Syracuse, NY)

Bob Jane, Faith Alliance for a Moral Economy (Oakland, CA)

Rafael Vieyra, Immigrant Solidarity DuPage (DuPage, IL)

Gabriel Hernández Chico, Immigrant Solidarity DuPage (DuPage, IL)

Cristobal Cavazos, Immigrant Solidarity DuPage (DuPage, IL)

Martha Ojeda, Interfaith Worker Justice (Houston, TX)

Anna Rubin, Interfaith Worker Justice (Chicago, IL)

Jeremy Orr, Interfaith Worker Justice (Chicago, IL)

Jorge F. Lopez, Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center (Cincinnati, OH)

Manuel Perez, Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center (Cincinnati, Ohio)

Musah Abubzkar, Cincinnati Interfaith Worker Center (Cincinnati, OH)

Magda Orlander, Cincinnati Interfaith Worker Center (Cincinnati, OH)

Luis Torres, Rochester Workers’ Center (Rochester, NY)

Maria Clara Duarte, Domestic Workers and Day Labor Center of Chicago (Chicago, IL)

Maria Esther Bolaños, Domestic Workers and Day Labor Center of Chicago (Chicago, IL)

Marcela Hurtado Marquez, Center for Worker Justice of Eastern Iowa (Iowa City, IA)

Maria C., Center for Worker Justice of Eastern Iowa (Iowa City, IA)

Lolita Lledo, Pilipino Workers Center (Los Angeles, CA)

Anne Smith, Workers Interfaith Network (Memphis, TN)

Carlos Ochoa, Workers Interfaith Network (Memphis, TN)

Savannah Caccamo, South Florida Interfaith Worker Justice (Miami, FL)

Marianela Acuña, Fe y Justicia Worker Center (Houston, TX)

Guadalupe Magdaleno, Sunflower Community Action (Wichita, KS)

Carlos H. Gutierrez, Tompkins County Workers’ Center (Ithaca, NY)

Maureen Malkzewski, Thrive! Living Wage Coalition (Durango, CO)

Nora Reyes, Brazos Interfaith Immigration Network (Bryan, TX)

Alicia Olvera, Brazos Interfaith Immigration Network (Bryan, TX)

Jose Eduardo Sanchez, Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance (Los Angeles, CA)

Rebecca Taylor, Interfaith Worker Justice San Diego (San Diego, CA)

Steve Rivera, Interfaith Worker Justice San Diego (San Diego, CA)

Alex Galimberti, Oxfam (Boston, MA)

Becky Schigiel, Interfaith Coalition for Worker Justice (Madison, WI)

Valeria Chamba, New Labor (Newark, NJ)

Cidel Tandazo, New Labor (Newark, NJ)

The Rev. Holly Beaumont, Interfaith Worker Justice New Mexico (Santa Fe, NM)

León Carlos Miranda, Workers’ Rights Center of Madison (Madison, WI)

Anahi Tapia, United Food and Commercial Workers - Making Change at Walmart (Chicago, IL)

“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!