PHOTO REPORT: "Their reality is tied to our reality and they can’t continue to ignore us"

As hundreds of individuals representing dozens of worker and grassroots organizations, houses of worship, universities, and unions marched alongside near 150 farmworkers last Saturday in Palm Beach, Lucas Benitez of the CIW remarked, “The people in this town saw for the first time the faces of people who pick their food … Their reality is tied to our reality and they can’t continue to ignore us.” 

Indeed, Wendy’s Board Chair Nelson Peltz surely cannot continue to ignore farmworkers and their consumer allies — especially as his face was incredibly visible not only leading (in puppet-form) Saturday’s historic march through Palm Beach, but also in literally hundreds of articles exposing his role in Wendy’s' staunch refusal to protect farmworkers’ human rights by joining the CIW’s Fair Food Program.  

In a supply chain that obscures both those at the top and those doing the grueling work that makes the profits of those at the top possible, Saturday’s vibrant walk through the streets of Palm Beach brought farmworkers’ realities — and the way they are tied to those of Peltz and his peers — into the public eye.  Today we bring you photos of last weekend’s march through the streets of Palm Beach — the faces of the farmworkers leading this struggle, and the faces of consumers who are joining to boycott Wendy’s until they become part of the proven solution to abuse in their supply chain.

As this movement allies with farmworkers, these photos are a call to continue bearing witness as farmworkers share their realities, and to invite our friends, family, and communities to do the same — by boycotting Wendy’s until they join the Fair Food Program!  

Head over to the CIW site for a full photo report! 

Farmworkers, consumers make waves as Workers' Voice Tour marches through Wendy's Board Chair vacation hometown of Palm Beach!

After ten days, five cities, thousands of miles, and countless consumer allies taking action to join the general boycott of Wendy’s, the Workers’ Voice Tour culminated in a massive march through the heart of the vacation town of Wendy’s Board Chair Nelson Peltz this past Saturday. More than 500 farmworkers and allies from Florida and far beyond, marched alongside Ethel Kennedy — and even a giant puppet of Nelson Peltz — through the exclusive island community of Palm Beach, to bring the message of justice home to Peltz and other Wendy’s decision-makers.

This action comes as Peltz and Wendy’s continue their frosty silence in response to farmworkers’ and consumers’ demand that Wendy’s join the CIW’s Fair Food Program, which is eliminating human rights abuses in the Florida tomato industry — and as of this year, in Florida strawberries, sweet peppers, and in six additional northern states. Wendy’s is the final major fast food corporation to refuse to join the Program, and have recently advertised that they are moving purchasing from Florida tomatoes to Mexico, where routine abuse of farmworkers is well-documented.

As the historic march snaked through one of the wealthiest shopping districts in the United States, accompanied by the same jubilant music, sparkling creativity, and steadfast commitment that will be familiar to anyone who has been to a CIW action, Lucas Benitez of the CIW remarked, “The people in this town saw for the first time the faces of people who pick their food … Their reality is tied to our reality and they can’t continue to ignore us.”  

Nelson Peltz and Wendy’s will not be able to ignore the CIW and their allies, because we will continue to march, we will continue to spread the word in our communities — and we will continue to boycott Wendy’s until they become part of the proven solution to abuse in the fields.

Head to the CIW site to join the boycott and for the full report on Saturday’s action — and stay tuned for a final summary of the tour.

VIDEO: “We are not tied down by slavery… we are embraced by freedom.”

As the Workers’ Voice Tour makes its way south, disseminating farmworkers’ call for dignity and respect in the fields across the country, there has been time to take pause and deeply reflect on the movement for farmworker justice and the interrelated struggles being fought worldwide to usher in a new day for all.

Yesterday, with the warm spring sun shining down on southwest Ohio, the tour stepped back from the excitement of a campaign — a national boycott — in full swing to recognize and thank the women who fight for justice in honor of International Women’s Day. The reflection, led by the CIW’s own powerful women leaders under the shade of strong, interconnected oak trees, created beautiful, vulnerable moments that embraced and united an already tight group of participants.

The CIW media team captured some of the sentiments that were shared and collectively experienced yesterday afternoon, compiled in a short video. 

And tomorrow – keep a look out for a reportback on the action in Louisville and Nashville, as the tour continues on its journey for justice from Wendy's. 

Head over to the CIW website for more! 

Hundreds march through downtown Columbus, taking national boycott straight to Wendy’s hometown!

Following Thursday’s incredible kick-off to the Workers’ Voice Tour and the launch of the second-ever national boycott in the 15-year history of the Campaign for Fair Food, yesterday was Columbus’s turn to feel the heat of the Fair Food Nation!

The Workers’ Voice Tour bus arrived in Wendy’s hometown Saturday night to be welcomed with a night of dancing and convivio with scores of enthusiastic allies, old and new, that had travelled in caravans and buses from across Ohio and across the country—from Rhode Island to Tennessee, Washington, D.C. to Michigan. The excitement and anticipation for the Columbus stop of the tour had been building up for weeks, in the town that has seen many a CIW action throughout the three years of the Wendy’s campaign. 

More than 500 farmworkers, students, people of faith, fellow workers, and consumers converged on Sunday to march for three miles across the heart of downtown Columbus, stopping at a prominent Wendy’s location just in front of The Ohio State University—where students had, only a year ago, launched a national student boycott of the fast food chain as part of the Boot the Braids campaign to cut contracts with on-campus Wendy’s and where local Ohio Fair Food allies have been pushing the campaign forward since its start. 

With groups like the Real Food Challenge, the Central Ohio Worker Center, the Cincinnati Interfaith Worker Center, and the First Unitarian Universalist Church present, the march ended with a beautiful program of popular theater and speakers in a park nearby OSU’s campus, and an invitation to today’s delegation to the corporate offices of Wendy’s in nearby Dublin, OH.

Check out the CIW’s website for a full photo report – and stay tuned for more action updates as the Workers’ Voice Tour makes its way down to Louisville next!

PHOTO REPORT: Farmworkers, consumers declare national boycott of Wendy’s!

The Fair Food Nation made history this Thursday with a declaration that resounded, loud and clear, through the streets of Manhattan: from now until the fast food giant commits to respecting farmworker rights, thousands of farmworkers and consumers commit to boycotting Wendy’s! 

Gathered in the hundreds and hundreds, New York allies from across the city and across the state rallied alongside the Immokalee farmworkers chanting, over and over again: “Boycott Wendy’s!” 

Among the hundreds of consumer allies present were students from the area’s many universities and schools –Manhattanville College, the CUNY system, Fordham, New York University, and Union Theological Seminary, to name a few. Dozens of high schoolers also joined from as far as Brooklyn – and Rhode Island! T’ruah rabbis and their congregations, who have for two years emailed, faxed, called, and marched to call directly on Wendy’s Chairman Nelson Peltz to take responsibility for farmworkers in the company’s supply chain, showed up strong, as did allies from the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the United Methodist Church, Unitarian Universalists and Catholics, and others from all manners of faith. Fellow workers showed up, too, in a beautiful show of solidarity between Florida farmworkers and those in the city fighting their own struggles for an end to poverty wages and exploitation. New York farmworkers, domestic workers, nail salon workers, retail workers, day laborers, fast food workers, and many more lent their powerful voices to the chorus for justice in the fields. 

The cold didn’t stop the build-up of energy over the course of the evening since, after all, we were there “to remind Nelson Peltz that there is something more important than money:  Dignity!” as proclaimed by the CIW’s very own Gerardo Reyes Chavez. For as long as Nelson Peltz and the rest of Wendy’s leadership fails to recognize the dignity of the workers that pick the produce from which they profit, and continues to offer empty, ineffective excuses instead of committing to a widely-acclaimed, proven solution to farmworker abuse in U.S. agriculture, consumers will follow the CIW’s lead by freezing their wallets. Boycott Wendy’s!

Make sure to check out the full photo and video report, here!

BREAKING: CIW declares national boycott of Wendy's!

Elena Stein
Coalition of Immokalee Workers
elena@allianceforfairfood.org | 239-986-0688

Farmworkers, Consumers Declare National Boycott of Wendy’s

COALITION OF IMMOKALEE WORKERS’ CAMPAIGN FOR FAIR FOOD CALLS ON WORLD’S THIRD LARGEST HAMBURGER CHAIN TO JOIN AWARD-WINNING FAIR FOOD PROGRAM

New York, NY:  On Thursday, March 3, hundreds of farmworkers, religious leaders, students, and consumers will gather near Columbus Circle to launch a national boycott of Wendy’s, the world’s third largest hamburger chain.  Following the boycott announcement, the protesters will march from Columbus Circle to the Park Avenue offices of Wendy’s Board Chair Nelson Peltz, Founding Partner and CEO of the activist hedge fund Trian Partners and a major shareholder in Wendy’s. 

The boycott, only the second in the history of the Campaign for Fair Food, has been necessitated by Wendy’s steadfast refusal to join the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ (CIW) Fair Food Program (FFP).  The FFP is a groundbreaking social responsibility program that has won recognition from the White House to the United Nations for its unique success in addressing decades-old farm labor abuses.  All of Wendy’s major competitors in the fast-food industry – McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway, Taco Bell and Chipotle – have already joined the Fair Food Program. 

The CIW is calling for consumers to boycott Wendy’s because:  

1. Wendy’s has shifted its purchases from Florida to Mexico:  Wendy’s has not only refused to join the FFP, but has stopped buying tomatoes from Florida altogether following the implementation of the Fair Food Program there.  Rather than support US growers setting new standards for human rights in the agricultural industry, Wendy's took its tomato purchases to Mexico, where the widespread denial of human rights in the produce industry was the subject of an in-depth expose by the Los Angeles Times just one year ago. 
2. Wendy’s has chosen public relations over human rights protections:  Instead of joining the Fair Food Program and its widely-acclaimed, uniquely successful worker-driven model of social responsibility, Wendy’s released a new supplier code of conduct this past January that contains no effective mechanisms for worker participation or enforcement.  Wendy’s new code represents the very worst of the traditional corporate approach to social responsibility driven by public relations concerns rather than the verifiable protection of human rights.
3. Wendy’s is profiting from farmworker poverty:  Wendy’s stands alone as the last of the five major US fast food corporations to refuse to join the FFP: McDonald’s, Yum! Brands, Subway, and Burger King are all part of the Program.  By refusing to participate, Wendy's is deriving a very real cost advantage over its competitors, while continuing to provide a market for less reputable growers.

The launch of the boycott marks the beginning of the CIW’s five-city Workers’ Voice Tour, which builds on a three-year consumer campaign and a year-long national student boycott of Wendy’s. 

In a statement, CIW’s Cruz Salucio said, “Ten years ago, we sent a letter to Wendy’s asking them to follow Taco Bell’s example and work with us to protect farmworkers’ fundamental human rights in their supply chain.  They refused then, and they continue to turn their backs on farmworkers to this day, even as we built a groundbreaking new approach to social responsibility in partnership with Florida tomato growers and fourteen other major food retailers.  Instead, Wendy’s stands alone in deciding to pull its purchases from the Florida tomato industry altogether and abandon its longtime suppliers for participating in what has been called ‘one of the great human rights success stories of our day’ in the Washington Post.”  

“Of course, in light of the Fair Food Program’s unparalleled success in eliminating longstanding human rights violations in the fields, it is preferable at this point for companies looking for solutions to abuses in their supply chains to come to the program of their own volition.  By now, protests and boycotts should be no longer necessary,” added Lupe Gonzalo of the CIW.

She continued, “But when companies like Wendy’s remain so stubbornly stuck in the past, committed to a path of empty public relations promises over real human rights protections, we are left with no choice.  The Campaign for Fair Food is prepared to mobilize consumer action in support of real worker-driven social responsibility, and we will prevail, because more and more, transparency and food justice are becoming the hallmarks of the 21st century food market."

What: March to the office of Wendy’s Chairman Nelson Peltz to declare a national consumer boycott of Wendy’s and call on the fast food giant to join the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ award-winning Fair Food Program

Where: March begins at W 58th St. between 8th and 9th Ave, near Columbus Circle, and ends at Trian Partners (280 Park Ave) in Midtown Manhattan

When: Thursday, March 3 at 4 PM

About the Fair Food Program:  The Fair Food Program, created by the Presidential Medal-winning Coalition of Immokalee Workers, is a groundbreaking partnership among farmworkers, Florida tomato growers, and fourteen major food retailers, including McDonald’s, Burger King, and Walmart, heralded as “the best workplace-monitoring program” in the US on the front page of the New York Times.  Participating retailers agree to purchase exclusively from suppliers who meet a worker-driven Code of Conduct, which includes a zero-tolerance policy for slavery and sexual harassment.  Retailers also pay a “penny-per-pound” premium, which is passed down through the supply chain and paid out directly to workers by their employers. Since the Program’s inception in 2011, buyers have paid over $20 million into the FFP.   In 2015, the Program expanded for the first time beyond Florida to tomato fields in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and New Jersey, and in the 2015-2016 season, the Fair Food Program expanded to two new Florida crops, strawberries and bell peppers. 

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We're hiring a staff member to live and work at the epicenter of the Fair Food Nation!

Please spread the word! The Alliance for Fair Food is seeking an Immokalee-based staff member to help coordinate the national Campaign for Fair Food. Consider applying or encouraging someone you know to apply! Join the Immokalee team in working on one of the most dynamic and successful struggles of our day.

Areas of work include:

• Campaign strategy 
• National mobilizations
• Education, outreach and leadership development
• Organizing with a broad network of organizations and individuals, including but not limited to people of faith or food justice movements
• Organizational operations (fundraising, communications, etc.)
• Support for CIW and the farmworker community

Read the full description and request an application. Deadline for the staff application is April 6, 2016. 

If you have any interest or know someone who you think may be a good fit, please forward this to them and reach out to us! You can write us at organize@allianceforfairfood.org or call Claire at 239-313-1081. 

Given our commitment to developing a diverse leadership, we strongly encourage people of color, women, working-class, LGBTQ, gender non-conforming, and differently-abled people to apply.

Thanks for helping us spread the word!

From Immokalee to Columbus, mobilization for Workers’ Voice Tour in full swing as thousands get ready to take action!

Every year, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ spring mobilization draws thousands of people from across the country to celebrate the new day of human rights in the fields and to call on corporate holdouts to join the Fair Food Program.  This year, the five-city Workers’ Voice Tour will bring the message of Fair Food to Wendy’s with marches and concerts, theater pieces and colorful art.  For the past several weeks, CIW members and the Alliance for Fair Food have been hard at work in cities from Miami to NYC, setting up camp at all the major stops of the Workers’ Voice Tour and building alongside countless Fair Food supporters, both old and new. 

Directly from the front lines, we’ve compiled a series of short reports to give you a taste of the on-the-ground work being done ahead of next month’s big tour – all of which would be impossible without the fierce support of the Fair Food Nation. 

Right in our own backyard, dozens of CIW members in Immokalee are packing their bags and getting ready to hop on the bus for the Workers' Voice Tour. Just last week, the CIW’s Central Committee — a body of the organization’s most active members who assemble each season to drive the Campaign for Fair Food — gathered on Valentine’s Day for an in-depth planning meeting for the upcoming Tour. And working closely with the Central Committee, the Immokalee art team is camped out at the CIW Community Center and together with members have been mass-producing beautiful tour artwork. 

Three hours north of Immokalee in Orlando, Florida — a longtime home base for Fair Food — the advance team has undertaken a sweeping tour of all three major colleges and universities in the Orlando area — Rollins College, Stetson University and the University of Central Florida.  One evening alone at Stetson College, 40+ university students settled in to watch the James Beard Award-winning documentary “Food Chains.”

During a post-film discussion with CIW’s Lupe Gonzalo and Daniel Cooper Bermudez, Stetson students shared their shock at Wendy’s unconscionable decision to turn its back not only on farmworkers in the company’s supply chain, but also on the very growers who have been key partners in the transformation of the Florida tomato industry under the Fair Food Program.  Outraged at Wendy’s total withdrawal from the Florida tomato industry, student after student signed up to head to the major action in Palm Beach on March 12.

In the great state of New York, CIW’s Julia de la Cruz and AFF’s Patricia Cipollitti trekked up to the beautiful Stony Point Center in Rockland County, NY, to visit long-time CIW allies of the Hudson River Presbytery.  After learning about maple syrup production and the art of tapping maple trees with the food justice group at Stony Point , the Immokalee team warmed up with a lively presentation and discussion about the remarkable changes brought about under the Fair Food Program, and the rapid expansion of those changes to other crops and states.  Energized by the visit, the group was excited to spread the word about the upcoming Workers’ Voice Tour and hop on the Westchester and Rockland bus heading down to the NYC action on March 3.

Longtime allies in Miami, both old and new, are bringing the heat to Palm Beach on Saturday! This lively community has played an incredibly crucial role in the Campaign for Fair Food (think back to the Burger King days!), and will continue to do so at the finale of the Workers’ Voice Tour. Alongside the advance organizing team, scores of congregations and community groups have already committed to being present in both heart and body, and letting Wendy’s know that three years is three too many. A meeting with the Friends of Miami left allies feeling ready to mobilize and spread the word about the fight for dignity and respect being undertaken by the CIW. 

And of course, we can’t forget about one of the strongest forces in this movement: students. After a day of fruitful presentations at St. Thomas University, and in particular with campus ministries, a group of eager students and faculty have committed themselves to joining the CIW in Palm Beach. 

Over in Wendy’s hometown of Columbus, Ohio, the advance team was greeted with open arms — and high spirits — by the indefatigable Ohio Fair Food.  In addition to many late-night meetings around the big action set for March 6 in Columbus, the group has been hard at work creating art, hitting streets with flyers and posters, and getting the word out in the Columbus community. 

In an incredible showing of support, and in vibrant CIW fashion, Columbus Jobs with Justice sent a clear message to Nelson Peltz and Wendy’s — the community of OH will continue to mobilize and call out the fast food giant until they do what’s just, and join the Fair Food Program. 

Columbus wasn’t the only Ohio town to feel the advance team’s warmth.  The CIW’s Santiago Perez, joined by AFF staff, met with the InterReligious Task Force on Central America during its Annual Social Justice Teach-in in Cleveland, Ohio.  Santiago gave a presentation to dozens of Case Western students and community members, many of whom enthusiastically committed to hopping into the IRTF caravan from Cleveland to Columbus.

That’s a wrap… for now!  Stay tuned for more updates in the week ahead for a full list of the national caravans that will be converging on Columbus and Palm Beach in just a few short weeks!

Fair Food Nation Breaks Up With Wendy’s!

As the Workers’ Voice Tour fast approaches, the Fair Food Nation has been taking every opportunity to remind Wendy’s that there’s still time to join the Fair Food Program before dozens of farmworkers and thousands of allies arrive on the corporation's many doorsteps, from NYC to Columbus, OH to Palm Beach, FL.

Three years since initial Valentine’s Day actions around the country urged the burger giant to join the Fair Food Program, this year, scores of supporters of farmworker justice took to video on Valentine’s Day with a simple message: Wendy’s, we’re breaking up!

We put out word of a Valentine’s Day Video Challenge, and we were astounded not only by the sheer number of submissions that poured in, but by their wit and creativity. From adorable children to gorgeous singing to impassioned soliloquies, the videos’ zeal and zingers are absolutely not to be missed! 

We’ve rounded up some of the most memorable videos, so do yourself a favor and check them out! You can head to the Student/Farmworker Alliance Facebook page for all the fabulous entries. And don’t forget to register for the Workers' Voice Tour, or email organize@allianceforfairfood.org to start or join a caravan!

Recently released and available for download, the 2015 Fair Food Program Annual Report!

The 2015 Fair Food Program (FFP) Annual Report has been published and is available for download! Issued by the Fair Food Standards Council, the yearly assessment of the state of the Program is the best source for metadata analysis and conclusions on the implementation of the Fair Food Program in effect in Florida’s tomato fields. It thoroughly evaluates each Program requirement, from direct hiring to proper timekeeping, with quantitative and qualitative assessments of accomplishments and the challenges that lie ahead, and thoroughly explains the process for the FFP’s enforcement mechanism, its nascent expansion into new crops and states, and expectations for future growth.

For those interested in understanding how the Fair Food Program functions in practice, this is the single best annual resource. Here’s a brief window into its reporting:

Since 2011, the Fair Food Program has brought about many far-reaching reforms across the Florida tomato industry. In the span of just four years:

• CIW has educated nearly 35,000 workers at 400 face-to-face sessions, and reached 150,000 workers with written and video materials, on their rights within the Program;
• Workers have brought forth over 1,100 complaints under the Code of Conduct, resulting in the resolution of abuses ranging from sexual harassment and verbal abuse to systemic wage violations, demonstrating workers’ trust that reported problems will be investigated and corrected;
• FFSC has issued nearly 120 comprehensive reports and corrective action plans – based on 12,000 worker interviews during audits ranging from two days to two weeks and all operational, management and financial systems reviews – in order to assess and improve Participating Growers’ implementation of the Code of Conduct; and
• Participating Buyers have paid nearly $20 million in Fair Food Premiums to improve workers' wages.

Charts like this illuminate the efficacy of the complaint resolution system, which, as shown here, resolved 100% of filed complaints in 2015, most in less than two weeks.

The report includes illustrations of impact of every element of the Code of Conduct, which often explain even more than the numbers. 

Isabel, a 30 year old farmworker in Florida, told an investigative reporter: “Before, we would hear about a contractor or supervisor who would take women to a private place, to the edge of the field, and we understood that sexual assault was what was happening,” she said. “Now, we aren’t hearing these stories in the same way we used to.”

You can download or share the Annual Report here.

This report demonstrates that the agreements that have been won through years of community organizing in Immokalee, and then years of farmworkers and consumers campaigning side by side in the Campaign for Fair Food, are transforming the tomato industry in Florida and beyond for tens of thousands of workers. Take a look, and join us for the next big step in the Campaign to expand and strengthen these human rights advances: the 2016 Workers' Voice Tour!