Resounding support grows from faith communities for national boycott!

Since the launch of the Wendy’s boycott in March, thousands of consumers around the country have pledged to join and have taken creative action to call on the hamburger giant to join the Fair Food Program. Central to this resolute call have been people of faith, whose strong, moral voices in society have always been a cornerstone of the Campaign for Fair Food. The last few months have seen endorsements and calls to action from diverse faith communities around the country representing millions.

T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, was the first organization to endorse the Wendy’s boycott, and has been a leader in the campaign since its launch in 2013. After they endorsed, T’ruah put the call out to its entire network to support the boycott in a letter of endorsement (in full here), which over 300 rabbis, cantors, rabbinical/cantorial students, and Jewish communal leaders around the country signed. After collecting these signatures, early last month T’ruah leaders took the additional step of personally delivering the letter to the Park Ave. offices of Nelson Peltz — the same offices to which hundreds of Fair Food supporters marched after the launch of the boycott on the Workers’ Voice Tour. 

In May, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), continued its steadfast support in becoming the first major Christian denomination to endorse the Wendy’s boycott. Representing nearly two million across the country, the PC(U.S.A.) has stood with farmworkers since the nascent stages of the Campaign for Fair Food. In a statement, the Rev. Gradye Parsons, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the PC(U.S.A.) said, “Rather than support Florida growers who uphold human rights under the Fair Food Program, Wendy’s switched its tomato purchases to Mexico, where the denial of human rights in the produce industry was well-documented in last year’s Los Angeles Times exposé… This is unacceptable, especially from a company that has prided itself on using U.S.-made products. Therefore, the PC(USA) joins the Coalition of Immokalee Workers in calling on Wendy’s to sign a Fair Food agreement.” You can read the full story from the Presbyterian News Service here. 

Joining the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and T’ruah is the United Church of Christ (UCC), who also took the formal step to endorse the Wendy’s boycott just weeks ago. The UCC, representing over one million followers in the United States, celebrated the advances of the Fair Food Program and condemned Wendy’s for its refusal to be part of these changes. The Rev. John C. Dorhauer, General Minister and President, and Rev. Traci Blackmon, Executive Minister, Justice & Witness Ministries, stated, “Wendy’s has turned its back on successful efforts in Florida to protect workers’ basic human rights and has moved its supply chain to Mexico where human rights abuses are rampant…For 10 years the request has been simple and fair: a zero-tolerance policy for slavery and sexual harassment, an additional penny per pound of tomatoes picked, and a formal grievance policy to address worker concerns. Ten years is long enough to simply ask a major corporation to do the right thing.”

On top of these historic endorsements, over twenty powerful religious leaders published an open letter to Wendy’s leadership in advance of the recent Wendy’s shareholder meeting, stating their unequivocal support for the Fair Food Program and calling on Wendy’s to join the Program. They hail from positions within the PC(U.S.A.), United Church of Christ, the Catholic Church, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, the Unitarian Universalist Association, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and other diverse institutions that represent millions of followers. You can read the full letter here. 

Wendy’s leadership should know that these individuals and institutions will not rest with just a signature or endorsement, but they will be spreading their support of the boycott to the millions of followers in their communities. As a resounding consensus in faith communities grows in support of farmworkers’ human rights and the Wendy’s boycott, Wendy’s should know that people of faith and conscience around the country will accept nothing less than their full participation in the Fair Food Program — and, in partnership with farmworkers, are committed to making that a reality. 

Midwest brings national boycott to Wendy's annual shareholder meeting!

Last Thursday, the Fair Food Nation delivered the message of the Wendy’s Boycott loud and clear to Wendy’s corporate headquarters in the quiet, suburban town of Dublin, Ohio. Farmworker leaders led a delegation inside the meeting and a lively action outside, joined by scores of people of faith, students and community leaders from around the Midwest. 

Since the Wendy’s Boycott was announced in March, tens of thousands have taken up the charge in the form of institutional endorsements and actions in local communities around the country. This commitment and enthusiasm took center stage both inside and outside the meeting, making it clear to Wendy’s executives and shareholders that the boycott will only grow in numbers and strength the longer they hold out.

In the days leading up to the much-anticipated meeting, hundreds of people of faith answered an invitation to participate in the National Day of Prayer, praying and then calling the offices of Wendy’s Board Chairman and major shareholder Nelson Peltz. Fair Food supporters across the country called Peltz to deliver the message that as people of faith, they find it unconscionable that Wendy’s refuses to join the Fair Food Program – and as a result, they are boycotting Wendy’s and inviting their congregations and communities to do so as well.

 We received reports from around the country that phones were ringing off the hook over at Wendy’s headquarters, and by midday receptionists were no longer taking messages – just names and states of callers. 

A national call-in day followed last Wednesday, and hundreds more picked up their phones to call Todd Penegor, the new CEO of Wendy’s, to tell him he has an important choice to make: Will he finally commit Wendy’s to the Fair Food Program or will he allow Wendy’s inaction to continue fueling a national boycott that is tarnishing the company’s flashy image?

Many callers reported that they were unable to get through due to the sheer volume of calls, making it evident that support for the boycott is thriving. The deluge of calls from people of faith around the country was accompanied by the publication of a letter from 40+ Columbus-area clergy demanding that Wendy’s participate in the Program and pledging to boycott until they do.

With this thundering momentum, on Wednesday night, dedicated groups of allies from cities around the Midwest – Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Ann Arbor, Nashville and Louisville – began their travels to Wendy's headquarters for the shareholder meeting.  

And so, bright and early on Thursday morning, as a few dozen shareholders entered the headquarter building to hear about and vote on corporate initiatives, members of the CIW were joined by over 80 students, people of faith, and community allies from the Columbus area and across the Midwest to communicate the message of the Wendy’s boycott right outside Wendy’s doorstep.  

The lively crew was made up of community organizations, students and religious leaders, interconnected by their deep commitment to stand together with farmworkers and boycott Wendy’s: Ohio Fair Food, Nashville Fair Food, the Presbyterian Mission Agency, the Presbyterian Hunger Program, Dignidad Obrera, the Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center, SFA at the Ohio State University, SFA at the University of Michigan, SFA at Duquense University, First Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbus, Justice and Witness Ministries of the United Church of Christ and Columbus Mennonite Church, among many others! 

As more shareholders entered and the meeting time approached, the group – getting larger by the minute – gathered momentarily to give a warm send-off to the extraordinary delegation of four who were ready to enter and speak directly with Wendy’s executives and shareholders: CIW’s Silvia Perez, Natali Rodriguez of the Alliance for Fair Food, Amanda Ferguson of The Ohio State University Student/Farmworker Alliance, and Rabbi Rachel Kahn-Troster of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights.

Here is one highlight from Tony de la Rosa, Interim Executive Director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, who shared these words:

"… Presbyterians throughout the country have been incredibly impressed with the strength, the fortitude, the savviness of this movement in [farmworkers’] marathon struggle to take control of their destiny and the demand for respect and fairness that all people should be afforded, but especially for farmworkers who pick our food, who nourish us with their labor...
...We stand with the farmworkers and we call on you, Wendy’s, to heed our call for justice in your supply chain.  The Wendy’s boycott is necessary because Wendy’s has refused for many years to join the Fair Food Program and we believe as people of faith that it is a wrong refusal. Slavery in the fields, sexual harassment, other abuses and poverty wages, are simply unacceptable...
....The success of the Fair Food Program is bringing these things to an end, and their success is a cause for our celebration.  So now, it’s time for Wendy’s to get on the train for Fair Food and join the Fair Food Program!”

When the circle finally closed, the group began a colorful march to the nearby Wendy’s flagship restaurant. Once there, CIW’s Lupe Gonzalo, a Tennessee State student, and a family from Columbus attempted to speak with the manager of the store to explain the presence of the protest and ask that the manager pass along the message to corporate across the street – but, as expected, the group was turned away at the door.

Returning to the sidewalk, Lupe addressed the waiting crowd with a few final words:

“I tried to tell the manager that I was accompanied today by students and children who are the future of Wendy’s business — who are seeing how Wendy’s is rejecting us.  The truth is, Wendy’s is shutting the door on themselves and on the future, because consumers are taking note of how they are responding to the national boycott, and losing respect for Wendy’s.”

And just as Lupe concluded the report back, the delegation inside the shareholder meeting was preparing for an intense exchange with Wendy’s leadership. Throughout the meeting, it became clear that though Wendy’s is shamelessly aware of its position as the only major fast food corporation outside of the Program, they constantly referenced their Supplier Code of Conduct and the values of Wendy’s Founder Dave Thomas as hollow shields.  

Following Wendy’s presentation, focused on the international growth of the company, Silvia Perez, representing the CIW, took the stand to address both executives and shareholders alike. She said: 

“…Wendy’s actually moved its tomato purchases away from Florida, where workers’ human rights are protected, to source instead from Mexico, where human rights violations are systemic and go unchecked. Wendy’s told the growers it was leaving Florida specifically to avoid the Fair Food Program. And where does it get its tomatoes now? A Harper’s Magazine piece recently revealed that Wendy’s buys its tomatoes from Bioparques, a major grower in Mexico that was the subject of a massive slavery prosecution in 2013. 
Therefore, this past March the CIW and thousands of consumers declared a national boycott of Wendy’s…
…All of Wendy’s top competitors – McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Burger King, and Subway – have joined and are enforcing the Fair Food Program’s golden standard of human rights in their supply chains. 
Given all of this, Wendy’s leadership is faced with a choice. Mr. Penegor and Board Directors, will you choose to join the Fair Food Program and correct a legacy of injustice – or will you choose to see a boycott grow day by day outside of your stores?”

Wendy’s representatives confirmed that the company no longer purchases from Florida, and also asserted that it does not purchase exclusively from Mexico either, but also from California and eastern states. Their response nothing more than a cheap public relations trick to evade the real question before them: Why has Wendy's abandoned growers that are enforcing human rights to purchase from farms where no such protections exist? 

Up next, Amanda Ferguson, representing Wendy’s prized “youth market” and a student at The Ohio State University, brought to Wendy’s attention student efforts to end OSU’s contract with Wendy’s: 

“…In the fall, the renewal of the Wendy’s contract with the OSU Wexner Medical Center is conditioned upon the “satisfactory resolution of the concerns of the Student Farm Workers Alliance.”
Our concerns are nowhere near met. Thus, unless your company joins the Fair Food Program you can expect that we will fight, tooth and nail, to remove Wendy’s from OSU. 
Support for Fair Food is stronger than ever; the millennial generation your company depends on will relentlessly fight and organize to boycott your restaurants regardless of how long it takes.
Mr. Penegor and Wendy’s leadership, will you uphold the Dave Thomas legacy of doing the right thing – or will you continue to ignore the demands of your target market until you see losses in business contracts?”

Wendy’s responded that they feel they have adequately addressed students’ concerns with their Supplier Code of Conduct– but Amanda was quick to respond that students' concerns will only be satisfied by Wendy’s joining the Fair Food Program.

Rabbi Rachel Kahn-Troster of T’ruah took the mic next: 

“…T’ruah’s endorsement of the boycott is part of a massive and growing support within America’s faith community for the human rights of farmworkers. We are joined in our endorsement by the Presbyterian Church, the United Church of Christ, and the Unitarian Universalist Association, together with dozens of congregations representing tens of thousands of people of faith. 
Yesterday, over 20 national faith leaders from diverse traditions representing millions across the country published a letter pledging to support the boycott, and right here in Columbus, more than 40 local faith leaders have written to you to endorse the boycott as well. And our numbers will only grow as the boycott expands.
None of us wants a boycott.  We want Wendy’s to do the right thing, as its major competitors have done.  
It is time for Wendy’s to commit to justice and human rights—to choose meaningful and verifiable rights protections for the workers who pick your tomatoes, rather than continue to uphold a meaningless code of conduct that allows slavery to flourish in your supply chain.
On behalf of the CIW’s faith allies, I ask you: When will you partner with the CIW and become part of this transformative model for human rights protections? When will Wendy’s join the Fair Food Program?”

With that, the shareholder meeting was adjourned, and the Fair Food delegates made their way to Columbus Mennonite Church, where they were welcomed with a warm and beautiful outpouring of cheers and applause from those present outside the shareholder meeting earlier in the day. The play-by-play of the exchange between the delegation and the executives electrified the room, igniting further commitment from allies to continue moving forward the campaign.

Wendy’s is mired in a fast-growing national boycott, and would be wise to look at the Fair Food Nation’s impressive track record of victory. We will win this struggle with Wendy's, too, by partnering with farmworkers to demand dignity and respect in the U.S. agricultural industry. 

Stay tuned for more action to come this summer! 

Two-year federal investigation results in $1.4 million fine for top Publix tomato supplier for unacceptable human rights violations

This week, news broke out of the U.S. Department of Labor uncovering extensive human rights violations at Red Diamond Farms, a grower outside of the Fair Food Program and a major Publix tomato supplier, resulting in the farm paying $1.4 million in penalty fines and $150,000 in stolen wages to workers.

Below are the DOL's findings from the two-year federal investigation: 

Investigators from the department’s Wage and Hour Division Tampa District Office found that Red Diamond Farms and Torres violated provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act and H-2A temporary agricultural program. Specifically, investigators found the employer:

+ Provided preferential treatment to H-2A guest workers over corresponding domestic workers when it paid the guest workers higher rates and offered them more hours than the domestic workers, and failed to offer free housing or pay transportation costs to the domestic workers;

+ Failed to disclose the conditions of employment to the domestic workers when they were not provided a contract, as the law requires;

+ Concealed the presence of the domestic workers by segregating the payrolls, and denying their presence during the investigation;

+ Failed to keep accurate and complete payroll records.

In the course of the two-year investigation, agency investigators also determined that 380 employees were due back wages stemming from underpayments and the company’s failure to meet the full terms and conditions of the H-2A contract.

Over the course of the past six years, while Publix has turned its back on the thousands of farmworkers, religious leaders, students and consumers of conscious urgently calling on the South's largest grocery chain to make a verifiable commitment to the farmworkers who make its profits possible, at least three separate federal investigations for human rights violations have taken place in its Florida tomato supply chain. All the while, Publix, unbothered and unaccountable to any of these abuses, cashes in the profits of "doing business as usual" with growers like Red Diamond and stocking their shelves with exploitation-tainted produce. And given that Publix has refused time and time again to join the Fair Food Program, this time around is no different. 

In the DOL's press release, an administrator states, “Red Diamond Farms and its owner willfully disobeyed federal labor laws and exploited vulnerable, low-wage workers. These actions are unacceptable.” And just as Red Diamond has willfully exploited and humiliated farmworkers in the fields, Publix willfully has chosen to turn a blind eye to the conditions in its supply chain and deny the imperative for participation in the Fair Food Program.

No amount of PR ploys or delicately written statements can justify Publix's complicity in the deplorable abuses flourishing within its supply chain, especially when now, for five seasons strong, tens of thousands of farmworkers under the Fair Food Program are exercising their right to report abuses without fear of retaliation and work free from sexual harassment, violence and forced labor, and 14 multi-billion dollar corporations are utilizing their market power to enforce these rights. 

So long as Publix remains on the hook for buying produce from growers that exploit workers and refusing to do its part to eliminate and prevent human rights abuses in the fields, consumers of conscious will remain firm in incessantly calling on the grocery giant to join its major grocery counterparts in ensuring the farmworkers harvesting the produce — including Red Diamond's exclusive Tasti-Lee tomatoes — they sell in their stores are treated with dignity and respect. 

It will be interesting to hear what Publix has to say in its desperate defense this time around. Will Publix continue with its embarrassing tradition of brushing off atrocities in its supply chain and writing them off as "not our business" or will the grocery giant find its sense of shame and join the Fair Food Program once and for all? 

READ THE FULL REPORT DETAILING THE "1.4 MILLION REASONS WHY PUBLIX SHOULD JOIN THE FAIR FOOD PROGRAM" OVER AT THE CIW SITE!

 

CALL TO ACTION: Farmworkers, allies to boycott Wendy's at shareholder meeting, national call-in day May 25!

With support for the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ boycott of Wendy’s growing by the day and Wendy’s annual shareholder meeting right around the corner on May 26, farmworkers of the CIW and allies are preparing to be present both inside and outside the meeting at Wendy’s Dublin, OH headquarters to take the message of the boycott directly to Wendy’s executives and shareholders. And for those who can’t be present (and for those who can!), the CIW invites all to call in Wendy’s headquarters on May 25 to demand that incoming CEO Todd Penegor bring the corporation to commit to the Program ahead of the meeting.

Call-in Number: (614)-764-3327  *This number will take you to Bob Bertini, Wendy's head of communications who must pass these messages to CEO Todd Penegor*

Sample call-in script: 

Hi, my name is ____, and I would like to leave a message for Todd Penegor. 

As Wendy’s prepares for its annual meeting of shareholders and Todd Penegor transitions into his role as CEO, Wendy’s shareholders and executives should know that I am boycotting Wendy’s until the fast food chain agrees to join the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ Fair Food Program. It is unacceptable that Wendy’s has not only refused to be part of a proven solution to farmworker abuse and poverty, but has also moved its purchasing away from the Fair Food Program and to a farm where slavery was found in 2013 — so as Emil Brolick retires, I’m joining thousands of farmworkers and consumers in refusing to eat at Wendy’s until they respect farmworkers’ rights.

Thank you for relaying this message.

Over the course of this year alone (not to mention the three-year public campaign and 10-year call), countless farmworkers and consumers of conscience have shown up outside of hundreds of Wendy’s locations to picket, march, hold vigils, and deliver letters to managers; we have called and marched outside the offices of Wendy’s Board Chair and major shareholder Nelson Peltz; and during the CIW’s massive tour of the east coast this March, we committed by the thousands to join the farmworker-called boycott of Wendy’s until they join the Fair Food Program. Since March, organizations and individuals representing millions have pledged to join the boycott. And Wendy’s finds themselves ensnared in their lies: If Wendy’s cares about their supply chain — as they claim in their recent “All-American” ads and Supplier Code of Conduct  — then why are they purchasing from a grower where slavery was discovered in 2013?  

On May 26, farmworkers and consumers get the chance to share our message with Wendy’s executives and shareholders face to face. Together, we will meet Wendy’s unconscionable rejection of the Fair Food Program — eschewing real, verifiable human rights for farmworkers — with the strength of workers uniting with students, people of faith, community members, grassroots groups and so many more, all boycotting Wendy’s until they respect farmworkers’ rights. For those in Ohio — or those able to make the trip from elsewhere — will you join us outside Wendy's headquarters on May 26? And for those unable to be present, will you commit to call-in on May 25?

If you’re traveling to the action, email us at organize@allianceforfairfood.org for information about carpools and housing on the night of May 25.  

Make sure to fill out the form below to let us know about your call to Wendy's HQ's!

REPORTBACK: Month of Outrage sparks action in cities across the country!

After a month of non-stop action, April’s ‘Month of Outrage’ is a wrap! In the past few weeks, thousands of consumers learned of the newly launched Wendy’s Boycott as several hundreds of allies took to the streets and Wendy’s locations across the country to make their voices heard as part of the CIW’s wide-sweeping call for farmworker justice.

From coast to coast and from north to south, consumers built on the momentum of the previous month’s Workers’ Voice Tour to march, picket, and chant in nearly 20 cities nationwide throughout April.

It all kicked off in the heart of the Fair Food Nation in Southwest Florida, when Immokalee farmworkers and their families joined allies in Naples for a high-spirited picket and manager letter delivery. Fair Food Group strongholds then took up the baton – Tampa Bay Fair Food and DC Fair Food organized letter deliveries to local Wendy’s managers, and Ohio Fair Food allies in Columbus joined forces with groups across the city to do the same. In Westchester and Rockland counties in New York, students joined people of faith to deliver boycott pledges gathered throughout the month, all taped together to show the depth of local support for the Wendy’s Boycott. Over on the other coast, community allies in Seattle heeded the call and engaged supporters in their cities to call on Wendy’s to join the Fair Food Program.

Students got creative, organizing not just pickets and letter deliveries but also teach-ins and impromptu presentations to educate fellow students about ongoing campaigns to Boot the Braids off campuses and student meal plans, like at the University of Michigan and Vanderbilt University. At universities in Miami, Denver, Pittsburgh, and Columbus, too, students took it upon themselves to educate fellow students, gather boycott pledges, and take them to local Wendy’s management.

Major metropolises Chicago and Los Angeles also felt the heat with dozens-strong actions, engaging not just local allies but also national networks of workers and organizations leading their own struggles for justice, including Freedom Network USA and the Food Chain Workers Alliance. Immigrant and low-wage workers in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and New York City also marched in solidarity with farmworkers at actions organized in conjunction with consumer allies in both places.

Closer to Immokalee, cities in Southwest Florida kept going strong as the month progressed. After a large picket outside a highly-trafficked Ft. Myers Wendy’s, farmworkers concluded the Month of Outrage with an energizing hundred-person protest in sunny Sarasota.
Check out this photo report of the lively mosaic of pickets, marches, letter deliveries, and creative action organized by the ever-spirited AFF network throughout the Month of Outrage!

And as if mobilizing their communities weren’t enough, allies also took up their pens to author an array of articles and op/eds indicting Wendy’s for its conscious and unacceptable decision to shift purchases away from Florida’s tomato industry – “one of the great human rights success stories of our day” – towards a Mexican tomato producer that in 2013 was the subject of a nightmarish slavery prosecution.

Faith leaders and students alike described how “Wendy’s has lost my respect as well as my patronage,” for its callous refusal to join the CIW in partnership for farmworkers' human rights. T’ruah’s tomato rabbis penned insightful pieces (here and here), reflecting on how Jewish struggles for freedom, commemorated during Passover, profoundly connect their community to farmworkers’ fight for dignity and justice in the fields.

We could say that the Month of Outrage ended with a bang – with five powerful actions amplifying the Wendy’s Boycott on the same weekend – but the pressure on Wendy’s to come to the table with farmworkers is climbing day by day without any signs of slowing down.

As consumer allies of the CIW, we’re committed to continuing to mobilize our communities and expand the scope of support for the Wendy’s Boycott ahead of the next big opportunity to open Wendy’s executives’ ears to our call for farmworker justice: the Wendy’s annual shareholder meeting in Dublin, OH on May 26.

Keep an eye out for more updates on how you can take part in building the drumbeat for May 26!

May 23 declared Wendy’s Boycott national Day of Prayer!

The farmworker-led Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) has launched a national boycott of Wendy’s in response to the fast food company’s decision to reject the Fair Food Program, a worker-designed, proven human rights program that is preventing violence, wage theft, sexual assault, and slavery in the Florida tomato industry and beyond.  As news breaks that Wendy’s has moved its tomato purchases from Florida to a supplier in Mexico where slavery was uncovered in 2013, farmworkers and consumers around the country are responding to express their deep dismay.  

In preparation for Wendy’s Annual Shareholder Meeting, join thousands of people of faith around the country for a Wendy’s Boycott National Day of Prayer on Monday, May 23.  Acting on our faith that calls us to justice, together we pray that Wendy’s executives will do what is right by farmworkers in their supply chain.  

People of faith have played an essential role in the call to Wendy’s since the CIW first invited Wendy’s to a conversation 10 years ago, writing letters and joining farmworkers in countless vigils, marches, protests, and phone calls to Wendy’s Headquarters asking Wendy’s to respect the dignity of farmworkers.  As the CIW launches only the second boycott in their history, it is more crucial than ever that people of faith and conscience make our voices heard.

After praying, call the offices of Wendy’s Board Chair and major shareholder Nelson Peltz to urge Wendy’s executives to bring the corporation to an agreement with the CIW.  The below script can serve as a guide.  If you'd like to involve your congregation or house of worship, you can download and print a half-page insert to include in bulletins the weekend preceding May 23. 

After calling, remember to write organize@allianceforfairfood.org with a brief report of how your call went! And to amplify your action over social media, don't forget to tweet .@Wendys using the hashtag #BoycottWendys. 

Call-in Number: 212-451-3000
Suggested script: 

Hi, my name is _________, and I would like to leave a message for Nelson Peltz.

As a person of faith allying with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, it unconscionable that Wendy’s refuses to ensure the human rights of farmworkers in their supply chain.  Mr. Peltz, today thousands around the country are praying that Wendy’s join the Fair Food Program.  It is time for you to use your position in Wendy’s to bring the corporation to an agreement with the CIW.

Thank you for relaying this message.

 

Wendy’s disdain for consumer consciousness, harkens back to the birth of the Campaign for Fair Food

Perhaps in driving by a billboard or turning on your TV recently you’ve seen Wendy’s brand new advertising campaign, “Where’s the beef?”  Focused on the sourcing of their beef, Wendy’s seeks to appear wholesome sending a message to consumers that they really care about where their food comes from — all the while refusing to respect the human rights of farmworkers in their supply chain.

If Wendy’s thinks that they can sell such an image to consumers without committing to strengthening and expanding the rights of the CIW’s Fair Food Program, they are not only avoiding the reality that thousands of consumers have already pledged to Boycott Wendy's — but they’re also ignoring history. Since the beginning of the CIW's Campaign for Fair Food — back in the days before Taco Bell had joined the Fair Food Program — consumers have followed farmworkers’ leadership in revealing the truth behind corporations’ manicured profiles. Through education and action, the CIW and allies have pulled back the curtain and, in doing so, brought 14 corporations to partnership in transforming conditions in the tomato fields of Florida, in six northern states, and now in strawberry and pepper fields as well.

As the national ally movement to the CIW responds to the news that Wendy’s purchases from a grower who was the subject of a major slavery prosecution in 2013, Wendy’s advertising about their “All-American” beef falls terribly flat. For a fascinating, in-depth look at how Wendy’s marketing scheme — and misestimation of consumer agency — relates to the CIW’s history with Taco Bell and other corporations, head over to the CIW site. And if you’re still looking for a way to take action this April check out the Month of Action web page!

Farmworkers kick off #BoycottWendys Month of Action: “We invite all who believe in justice to join!”

Colorful signs aloft and spirits high, dozens of farmworkers from Immokalee, their families, and their local supporters began the national #BoycottWendys Month of Action this past Sunday with a lively picket at a Naples Wendy’s, just minutes away from the heart of the Campaign for Fair Food.  The Coalition of Immokalee Workers is calling for people of conscience around the country to take action with the Wendy’s Boycott during this Month of Action to send a clear message to the chain — that until Wendy’s joins the Fair Food Program, we will refuse to purchase from Wendy’s and invite our communities to do the same.  

This boycott action — soon to be followed by dozens more around the country as the Alliance for Fair Food network mobilizes — comes as news breaks that Wendy’s has not only shifted purchasing from Florida to Mexico, completely divesting from growers that are implementing human rights for farmworkers through the Fair Food Program — but it has also been revealed that Wendy’s now purchases from a grower who in 2013 was found to be holding hundreds of workers against their will in egregious conditions.  As Silvia Perez of the CIW put it: “For this reason, we invite all consumers, all people who believe in justice, who support us, to join this month of action against Wendy’s.”  

Farmworkers and local consumers were joined by the Naples Fox 4 Station, whose coverage highlights the Fair Food Program’s unique success in addressing decades-old farm labor abuses.  It makes one wonder — with the Program’s success from the East Coast tomato industry to now Florida strawberries, heralded by academics, human rights organizations, faith bodies, the general press — and first and foremost, by workers’ themselves — how long will Wendy’s withstand the mounting demand that they respect farmworkers?

An animated picket outside of a Wendy’s franchise is but one option for action among many during the month of April.  We invite you to head over to last week's post to read the full Call to Action, complete with ideas for public witness that range from writing an op/ed to running a boycott pledge drive, from hosting a vigil at a local Wendy’s to organizing a call-in to Nelson Peltz’s offices. Just make sure you document your action and send the photos and summary to us at organize@allianceforfairfood.org! And head over to the AFF site for a full action report back, complete with press coverage.

First-ever Fair Food Program strawberries hit the shelves bearing the FFP label!

Just this week, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Whole Foods Market, and Sunripe Certified Brands announced their landmark expansion of the Fair Food Program into the strawberry industry and onto the shelves of select Whole Foods produce aisles.  This season marks the first expansion of the Fair Food Program into a new crop — now, in addition to tens of thousands of farmworkers in the tomato industry on the East Coast, workers in the strawberry fields of Sunripe Certified Brands (which you may recognize by its former name, Pacific Tomato Growers, a grower with a long history of support for the Fair Food Program) are working under the just and dignified conditions that the Fair Food Program ensures. And now, the strawberries they pick, affixed with the Fair Food label, are filling grocery carts in Whole Foods around the country.

This is truly a moment for celebration as strawberry workers in Florida taste the justice for which they have long struggled, and thousands more consumers gain the opportunity to learn about the Fair Food Program on their trip through the produce aisle. Recognizing the significance of this expansion for farmworkers’ lives, this moment of celebration also calls us to continue to take action. Throughout this month of action and far beyond, we will continue our demand that hold-out corporations join the Fair Food Program to facilitate the expansion of the Program further still so that all farmworkers may work under just and dignified conditions. 

Here below is the joint press release announcing the news:

Whole Foods Market expands partnership with Coalition of Immokalee Workers

First retailer to introduce Fair Food Program strawberries

AUSTIN, Texas (March 22, 2016) – Whole Foods Market will be the first food retailer to offer strawberries certified by the Fair Food Program, a partnership that brings together workers, consumers, growers and retailers in support of humane labor standards and fairer wages in U.S. agriculture.

Whole Foods Market began supporting the Fair Food Program in 2008, four years before any other supermarket joined the effort. By offering Fair Food strawberries, Whole Foods Market has agreed to pay an additional amount for each case of strawberries it purchases, with the additional money being passed on to farmworkers to supplement their income. The program also requires suppliers to sign a code of conduct, outlining specific social responsibility criteria; the code is then verified by a third-party.

“We advocate for and support sustainable, transparent, long-term labor and farmworker welfare solutions, both inside and outside the U.S.,” said Matt Rogers, senior global produce coordinator for Whole Foods Market. “The Fair Food Program is the leading worker welfare success story in the U.S. We are proud of our history with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and are excited to support their certification as they expand beyond tomatoes.”

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), a worker-based human rights organization, initially launched the Fair Food Program with the goal of creating systemic changes for Florida tomato pickers who routinely faced harsh working conditions. Following the success of its tomato program, the CIW has expanded its efforts to include strawberries.

The first certified strawberries will come from Florida-based grower Sunripe Certified Brands, a key supplier to Whole Foods Market and a leading advocate of the Fair Food Program.

“As the first tomato grower to implement the Fair Food Program at all of our tomato operations, Sunripe Certified Brands is proud to be the first grower to extend the guarantee of a safe and fair workplace to the strawberry fields of Florida,” said Jon Esformes, CEO of Sunripe Certified Brands. “We’re honored and humbled to play a part in creating change for the most vulnerable of American workers, and strongly urge other growers to join this important movement.” 

Whole Foods Market and Sunripe Certified Brands also announced they would be the first to use the new Fair Food Program label on both strawberry and tomato packages. The label was developed by the Fair Food Program to help shoppers identify produce that complies with the industry worker welfare program.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Whole Foods Market on the expansion of the Fair Food Program, and are particularly excited to debut the program label on certified products in its stores,” said Nely Rodriguez, education team member for the CIW. “The label symbolizes Florida farmworkers’ tireless efforts to forge a more modern, more humane agricultural industry. We’re proud to share the image and our story with Whole Foods Market shoppers.”

The certified and labeled products from Sunripe Certified Brands are in limited supply and will be sold in Whole Foods Market stores primarily in the southeast as supply allows.

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ACTION ALERT: April declared Month of Action in national Wendy’s Boycott!

Just a few weeks following the whirlwind 10-day Workers’ Voice Tour, the Wendy’s boycott – the second-ever boycott declared in the 15-year history of the CIW’s Campaign for Fair Food – is in full swing! To keep building pressure on the final fast food holdout, the CIW is inviting allies across the country to participate in the newly-declared Wendy’s Boycott Month of Action this April.

Already, farmworkers and thousands of consumer allies nationwide have united their voices to tell Wendy’s and its recalcitrant leadership that the Fair Food Nation is freezing its wallets until the final fast food holdout joins the Fair Food Program. It’s a significant step in the three-year campaign, and a necessary one given Wendy’s refusal to take responsibility for the working conditions in its supply chain. Workers and allies have declared the national boycott for three principal reasons:

As the CIW detailed on its website, it’s this last reason that sets Wendy’s apart from the fourteen other major food retailers that have joined the Fair Food Program, and made the declaration of a boycott all but inevitable. How else to respond to a company that runs away from the most widely-respected and highly lauded social responsibility program in agriculture today, into the arms of an industry in Mexico where child labor, sexual abuse, and forced labor are prevalent and widely documented?

And just following the tour’s conclusion, the release of an explosive new article in Harper’s Magazine, “Trump’s Tomatoes,” continues to add even more fuel to the fire of the newly-declared boycott. It critically reveals that the Kaliroy Corporation — the very same Mexican tomato producer that was the subject of a scathing exposé by the LA Times detailing the enslavement of hundreds of Mexican workers in nightmarish working conditions — is in fact “one of Wendy’s suppliers.”

Wendy’s has consciously and unacceptably shifted purchases away from “one of the great human rights success stories of our day" directly into a documented human rights nightmare. To understand the significance of this unconscionable decision, take a look at the second installment of the explosive four-part investigative series in the LA Times entitled “A Product of Mexico: Hardship on Mexican Farms, a Bounty on US Tables.”

This April, join us in expressing our collective disappointment and anger at Wendy’s continued disregard for human rights for the workers that pick the produce that make their profits possible.  To channel this sentiment into building on the wave of energy generated by the boycott and major spring action, the CIW has declared April the Wendy’s Boycott Month of Action: the “Month of Outrage.”

Join us to let Wendy’s know that the longer the fast food giant waits, the stronger this national boycott will grow. Here are just some of the many ways you can take part in the upcoming month of action:

  • March or picket at your local Wendy’s
  • Deliver a letter signed by your community to the local Wendy’s manager
  • Write an op-ed in your local paper
  • Organize a group call-in to the office of Wendy’s Board Chair Nelson Peltz’s office
  • Run a boycott pledge drive (and document it with photos!)
  • Host a vigil at a local Wendy’s

Download our boycott creative action guide for more ideas and pointers to put together your very own action! And if you’re in Southwest Florida, you can join farmworkers from Immokalee in launching the Month of Outrage this Sunday at 1 pm in Naples at the Wendy’s at 4114 Tamiami Trail N.

Ready to turn up the heat on Wendy’s in your community?  Write us at organize (at) allianceforfairfood.org to share your boycott action plans and report-backs – and stay tuned to read about all the exciting actions the Fair Food Nation comes up with this month!

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