#SchoolingWendys Week of Action: Photo Report

Following the lead of students #SchoolingWendys this past week, hundreds of members of the Fair Food Nation took action at Wendy’s restaurants to teach the fast food giant a lesson about their failure to become part of the proven solution to farmworker exploitation. 

The actions — in cities and towns from San Diego to Providence, St. Pete to Chicago, and of course, here in Immokalee, included “Food Chains” screenings, letter delivery delegations and pickets. And from Duquesne to Southeastern University, from The Ohio State University to the University of Texas at Austin, hundreds of students joined the mounting national student boycott of Wendy’s, reiterating that they will not be purchasing their food until they join their competitors in the Fair Food Program.

Without further ado, we have reports from those on-the-ground in several participating cities and communities:

STUDENTS ACROSS THE NATION

In what was for some the first time taking action in solidarity with farmworkers and for some the dozenth, students across the nation took action to reinforce the call for Wendy’s to join the Fair Food Program. Students at campuses with Wendy’s restaurants like UT Austin, University of Michigan, and The Ohio State University launched or continued the flourishing campaign to "Boot the Braids,” and hundreds of other students joined the robust and growing national student boycott of Wendy’s on campuses around the country, from Duquesne to Georgetown to Trevecca to Southeastern to so many in between.  Actions included but were not limited to “Food Chains” screenings, letter delivery delegations, and “#BringYourOwnTomato” - consisting of students taking their own tomatoes to Wendy’s demanding that their sandwiches be made with Fair Food tomatoes. 

PROVIDENCE

Taking big action in a small state, over 20 members of Fuerza Laboral, Direct Action for Rights and Equality, and students from the Brown Student Labor Alliance, and MEChA de Brown (Movimiento Estudiantil Chican@ de Aztlan) gathered at a Providence Wendy’s restaurant to carry forward Rhode Islander’s longstanding call to Wendy’s to join the Fair Food Program!  Not to be deterred by a delayed bus route, they began chanting at the busy bus stop, cheered on by car horns and passersby. Once the group reached the Wendy’s, the students and community organizers began to picket and chant, “Your burgers may be square but your food ain’t fair!”  All those in attendance then entered the Wendy’s to deliver a letter to the store manager expressing their demand for Wendy’s to respect farmworker rights, asking that they pass it on so that it might reach Wendy’s CEO.  They were rebuffed, but left with an ever-strong commitment to continue their call to Wendy's.  

San Diego

Straight from San Diego is a direct account from a small but committed delegation to the manager! "On Sunday, October 4, five people participated in a letter delivery and picket in front of one of the Wendy’s restaurants located in the city of San Diego. We picketed in front of Wendy’s from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm.  At 1:15 we went inside Wendy’s and handed in a manager letter. We proceeded to tell her that we were allies of the CIW and customers of Wendy’s, and we were there to urge Wendy’s to get on board with the Fair Food Program.”

During the letter delegation, the manager was informed of Wendy’s refusal to join the Fair Food Program and how they remain the final fast food hold out. In the midst of the picket, a few conversations were had. A latino family who’d carried the tradition of going to Wendy’s every Sunday after church vowed not to eat there anymore until they joined the Fair Food Program. There were honks of support as well as comments of disapproval, but the message was delivered either way. 

T’ruah

As they celebrated the harvest holiday of Sukkot, T’ruah: the Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, took to the web to make their statement to Wendy’s. With tweets demanding that Wendy’s join the Fair Food Program, and a call for constituents to email CEO Emil Brolick, T’ruah emphasized the moral responsibility Wendy’s has to join the Program, ending their email with the following:

“So I ask Wendy's: If not now, when? Corporate values such as "do the right thing" and "treat people with respect" are meaningless when there is a proven solution to abuse in your supply chain. Joining the Fair Food Program is not just about good business for Wendy's. It is a moral imperative. I look forward to the day soon when Wendy's commits to the Fair Food Program.” 

ST. PETE

In St. Pete, we have a report from SFAer and Quaker Kate Sundberg:
"On Saturday, the Southeastern Yearly Meeting (SEYM) held Fall Interim Business Meeting where Quakers from all over Florida gathered in St. Petersburg. Quaker youth from Miami, Tallahassee, Sarasota, and St. Pete converged to make signs and get ready for an action on Wendy’s for the Schooling Wendy’s Week of Action. Quakers who were led to take action in the streets joined us and we walked to a nearby Wendy’s with beautiful signs, red wigs, and a ton of energy. At Wendy’s we picketed and chanted and a small delegation, consisting mostly of youth, went into the store to talk to the manager. The manager accepted the letter and told us she would pass it on to her boss. People surrounding the Wendy’s were also very curious so we handed out a bunch of flyers with information about the CIW and the Fair Food Campaign. After the action we reported back to the Quakers who were unable to join us, and who were also very supportive of our work and the Fair Food Campaign.”

Immokalee

And at the very heart of the Campaign for Fair Food, members of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and the AFF Immokalee crew paid a visit to a local Wendy’s this past Saturday.  Not only surrounded by those present, but also conscious that the message she shared was reverberating around the country, Nely Rodriguez of the CIW spoke with the manager of a Ft. Myers restaurant about the chain’s responsibility to do right by the farmworkers who make their profits possible. Some of the younger CIW members present — in middle school here in Immokalee — carried signs declaring the student boycott to remind Wendy’s that it’s not only university students around the country who are joining the student boycott, it’s students of all ages, including students here in the nucleus of the CIW’s fight for Fair Food.  

As the tomato season begins here in Immokalee, blue October skies are overhead, and the New Day of farmworker justice continues to shine ever brighter in Florida tomato fields — and now in tomato fields in Georgia, Virginia, New Jersey, North Carolina, and South Carolina, too.  The New Day of the CIW’s Fair Food Program means the right to a fair wage. It means zero tolerance for sexual harassment in the fields and zero tolerance for forced labor. It means access to shade, water, and bathrooms, and the right to speak up without fear of retribution.  And the New Day means that corporations and growers long complicit in the abuse of farmworkers’ rights are now part of the farmworker-designed solution.  

Wendy’s, alone among major fast food corporations, continues to remain in the night of a terrible history of abuse of farmworkers.  Wendy’s, the New Day is here and this thriving consumer movement will only grow and grow until you join.  

Until then, Halloween is right around the corner — and if memory serves, October 31 has proved in the past to be a scary day for corporations that refuse to respect farmworker rights … 

Hundreds of people of faith, students, community members amplify the call for Wendy’s to respect farmworkers’ rights, with over 15 more on-the-ground actions still to come!

In a brilliant beginning to the #SchoolingWendys National Week of Action, hundreds of people of faith, students, and community members have already taken to the streets, classrooms, pews and Twitterverse to further amplify the ever-growing call to Wendy’s: Respect farmworkers’ rights and join the Fair Food Program!

The Week of Action kicked off with power and liveliness in Orlando this Monday, as members of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, dozens of young people from the Youth and Young Adult Network of the National Farmworker Ministry, congregants of the University Unitarian Universalist Society, students from University of Central Florida, and members of the Orlando community came together for a peaceful picket with art and song.  

And on the online front, our friends at the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee have been spreading the message of Fair Food to their wide-reaching network.  In a memo sent to thousands, they wrote about the Fair Food Program: “While this worker- and market-driven strategy has been a runaway success, holdouts like Wendy's refuse to take responsibility for just working conditions in an industry long plagued by abuse. … By refusing to sign onto the Fair Food Program, Wendy's is creating a market for tomatoes not certified as "fair" and is failing to help transform an industry.”  So far, dozens of UUSC members have taken online action and pledged to join actions happening in their local communities.  

And Wednesday night at the University of Texas–Austin, dozens of students marched from one on-campus Wendy’s location to the other — two of the highest-grossing Wendy’s in Texas — to declare a student boycott of these restaurants and a campaign to “Boot the Braids” and terminate the university’s contract with the two Wendy’s locations.  The announcement comes on the heels of commitments from dozens of students at Georgetown to join the student boycott in Washington, DC.

These forms of public witness are all accompanied by an air of formidable dedication; many of those taking action have been working in solidarity with the CIW for years, many are just getting involved, and all carry a commitment to farmworker justice that, at the leadership of the CIW, has brought 14 major food corporations to the table — and that will surely bring Wendy’s to the table, too.  

It is this steady commitment that birthed this Week of Action: For years, the Fair Food Nation has been calling on Wendy’s to join with the CIW as they transform working conditions in tomato fields in Florida, and as of this summer, up the Eastern seaboard.  The past few seasons have seen the utter metamorphosis of deeply-entrenched abusive conditions to a new day of human rights for farmworkers: zero tolerance for sexual harassment; zero tolerance for modern-day slavery; access to shade, water and bathrooms; increased wages; the right to speak up without fear of retribution. 

How long can Wendy’s continue their unconscionable refusal to join the proven solution to farmworker exploitation?  

Until Wendy’s does right by farmworkers, the call for them to join the Fair Food Program will reverberate in dozens of cities across the country as this week unfolds — and it will only continue to grow.  

Check out the list of actions to find one near you or contact us at organize@allianceforfairfood.org if you’d like support in organizing one with your community, congregation or university!  

Annual youth convergence in Immokalee sparks 20+ actions for upcoming "Schooling Wendy’s" Week of Action

Two weeks ago, over 80 students and youth from all over the country made their way down to Immokalee for the Student/Farmworker Alliance's annual youth gathering, the Encuentro, where they connected with and learned from the very community leading the struggle for justice in the fields of Florida. 

From Wendy’s and Publix based strategy sessions to a vibrant action with over 100 Immokalee farmworker community members, students, and Southwest Florida allies, the entire weekend was full of a new-found energy for both Encuentro participants and the rest of the Fair Food Nation alike.

What’s more, that energy has proven fruitful in further amplifying the call for the upcoming “Schooling Wendy’s” National Week of Action.  Over 15 cities, from coast to coast, have confirmed participation, and will be putting out the call for final fast food holdout to respect farmworkers in their supply chain at a Wendy's near you! From Food Chains screenings and letter deliveries,  to teatros and marches, the entire Fair Food Nation will be “Schooling Wendy’s” this Sept. 27 - Oct. 4 on the many ways Wendy’s has failed to commit to ensuring the men and women who harvest the produce they serve in their square burgers are guaranteed dignified wages, just working conditions and a voice in their workplace. 

Check out actions happening near you or contact us to plan your own! 

So as the summer draws to a close, and the Fair Food Nation continues to turn up the heat on Wendy’s, we are all reminded that there is a "new day" for farmworkers dawning in the fields of Florida and beyond. And with that, the final fast food holdout, Wendy’s, has no choice but to do what is just and right, and join the Fair Food Program. 

Lakeland students to Publix: "We will not continue letting this happen where Publix has their headquarters!"

This past Thursday, in a classroom just miles from Fair Food holdout Publix’s corporate offices in Lakeland, FL, a crowd of over 60 Southeastern University students, professors, staff, and Lakeland community members learned for the first time ever of the CIW’s groundbreaking work for farmworker justice — and of the shameful, six-year refusal of their hometown supermarket, Publix, to be part of it.  Deeply moved by the first-ever Lakeland screening of Food Chains — the film featuring the CIW’s 2012 six-day fast in front of Publix Headquarters in Lakeland itself — a presentation by the CIW, and a peaceful march and vigil at a nearby Publix, the dozens-strong assembly left the event with a profound commitment to carrying forward both the message of the new day dawning through the Fair Food Program and the ever-strengthening call for Publix to be part of it.  

If you have watched Food Chains, you have accepted an invitation from the CIW to learn of a 20+ year struggle for an end to the rampant wage theft, health dangers, sexual harassment, poverty wages, discrimination, and in extreme cases, forced labor, that has marked agricultural labor in this country for so long.  You have also born witness to farmworkers and allies fasting for six days in 2012 at Publix headquarters — which is only one moment in a six-year long campaign to call on Publix to dialogue with the CIW.  And, most crucially, you have been personally invited to call on Publix to be part of the proven solution to farmworker exploitation which is transforming an entire industry.  For many of the attendees of this Lakeland screening, this was their first time receiving this moving invitation.  Their response was clear: an intense excitement and sense of purpose lent by the tremendous gains of the CIW, and heavy dismay that their hometown grocer has refused to take responsibility for farmworker rights in their supply chain.  

After the film’s credits ran, the audience heard the powerful testimony of the CIW’s own Silvia Perez, Julia de la Cruz, and Lupe Gonzalo to the dramatic human rights advances in the fields in the three short years since the film was made.  The engagement, openness, and earnestness of the audience was tangible as they brought forth questions about the Fair Food Program and the potential role that Publix could play in it.  One audience member shared that her family was currently working in the fields in Georgia, and she was so glad to hear of the incredible gains of the Fair Food Program in Florida tomato fields; she asked if these changes would also take root in Georgia. Julia gladly answered that yes — for the first time ever this summer, the Fair Food Program had expanded not only to Georgia tomato fields, but also to fields in Virginia, the Carolinas, and New Jersey.  

Galvanized by a fresh understanding of their connection to the CIW’s work — not only as people and consumers, but also as Lakelanders — the audience began a peaceful march towards a nearby Publix holding signs saying “SEU Students to Publix: Join the Fair Food Program!,” “SEU Stands With Farmworkers,” and “Publix, Love Thy Neighbor.”  Pausing at a statue of Jesus, a centerpiece of campus, respected SEU professor Dr. Kenneth Archer led the group in a prayer expressing how proud he and other Lakelanders are to stand with farmworkers and amplifying the call for Publix to “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.”  The students, professors, staff, and community members then marched a mile to Publix, accompanied by supportive honks and curious looks along the way. 

Upon reaching Publix, the participants lit candles and proceeded to share a series of reflections, prayers and songs to close out the evening. Silvia Perez of the CIW delivered a powerful message on the CIW’s long call to Publix to come to the table with farmworkers:

“There are now fourteen corporations that are part of the Fair Food Program, and we want Publix to be among them — to take responsibility for human rights in their supply chain.  … Over the past six years, we have taken so many forms of public witness here in Lakeland — a six day fast, a peaceful march of 200 miles, prayers inside the store.  We’ve done so much to communicate this call to Publix, and in all this time, they refused to even dialogue.  It’s beautiful that we now have fourteen corporations cooperating with the Fair Food Program — they are paying the penny more per pound, they are listening to workers, they are taking responsibility, and the sexual harassment, wage theft, and other abuses that have existed for so long are finally ending.  Often times when we go to talk with Publix managers, they say that this is a labor dispute and they won’t get involved, which we know is not the case — all we are asking them to do is to take the responsibility that they must, and work with us. … We are proud to stand next to you today, because you are the consumers and you’re bringing your voice here and together we are united.  We hope that Publix won’t take too much longer and will take our message to heart and will become part of what we are doing today.”  

Three SEU students and Lupe Gonzalo of the CIW then carried a letter signed by all of the screening attendees to Publix management, extending the invitation once again to Publix to sit at the table with farmworkers — adding to the thousands of letters that have been delivered to Publix locations over the past six years.  The delegation was escorted by several Publix representatives, flanked by police, and relegated to the side of the parking lot.  Students expressed conviction that by denying farmworkers humanity and their connection to it, Publix executives are denying their own humanity; that while they grew up shopping at Publix and have appreciated Publix, they are shocked by their refusal to join the Program.  One student shared that he came from a family of growers, and knows what it is to be in the agricultural business —  but also grew up seeing immigrant workers in the fields and saw them work “harder than you could even imagine” to feed their families — and make the food on stores like Publix’s shelves possible. He was shocked and saddened to hear that Publix, known as a people-centered company, has taken this stance.  Each student expressed that they can no longer shop at Publix in good conscience. 

Students closed the vigil on a resolute note, expressing gratitude for the opportunity to work in solidarity with farmworkers for justice in the fields, and committing to continue to bring the struggle for Fair Food to the heart of Publix’s community in Lakeland. As student (and Immokalee intern extraordinaire) Priscilla Vélez put it, “It is our duty and our responsibility to listen to farmworkers… As members of the Lakeland community, we will not continue letting this happen where Publix has their headquarters.”

CALL TO ACTION: “Schooling Wendy’s” National Week of Action Sept. 27-Oct. 4

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As summer 2015 draws to a close, the Fair Food Nation has so much to celebrate. Ten years after the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and student, faith and community allies brought Taco Bell to sign the first-ever Fair Food Agreement, Ahold USA became the 14th corporation to join the Fair Food Program — an agreement that includes an expanded consumer education component and an annual contribution to the third-party monitoring body of the Program.  

The CIW is about to enter the fourth full season of the Fair Food Program’s implementation, which in three short years has resulted in massive improvements to farmworkers’ wages and working conditions in Florida tomato fields.  And, for the first time this summer, the Program expanded to tomato fields outside of Florida — to Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and New Jersey —  where thousands of workers participated in worker-to-worker education to learn about their new rights under the Fair Food Program.

And this summer, the palpable momentum of this farmworker-led movement has involved more and more consumers, students, young people, community leaders, people of all faiths or none, food justice advocates and other workers and grassroots movements in the three-year call to Wendy’s, the final fast food holdout: Wendy’s, it’s time to join the Fair Food Program!

Farmworkers and allies have been inviting Wendy’s for years to become part of the solution to farmworker exploitation — yet Wendy’s still hasn’t joined, despite countless community marches and pickets, an ongoing Boot the Braids campaign to end university ties with Wendy’s and the growing national student boycott of Wendy's.  

As we enter the fall season, the Student/Farmworker Alliance is calling on the entire Fair Food Nation to take action from Sept. 27 - Oct. 4 at local Wendy’s establishments!

As the summer draws to a close,  join us as we keep the heat on Wendy’s, organizing pickets, theater pieces, marches and more within our communities, Fair Food Groups or congregations.  As students return to the national student boycott of Wendy’s, the entire Fair Food Nation will be “Schooling Wendy’s” on the many ways Wendy’s has failed to make the grade: dignified wages and working conditions, the prevention of violence and forced labor and respect for workers’ voices, just to name a few.  

Get in touch at organize@allianceforfairfood.org or 239-657-8311 to begin planning for the Schooling Wendy’s Week of Action in your city!  Stay tuned for a Week of Action resource packet containing everything from an action organizing how-to guide to a sample press release.  

Wendy’s, we’ll be seeing you in the streets!

CBS Sunday Morning broadcasts powerful feature on the Fair Food Program!

Last Sunday, CBS News Sunday Morning broadcasted an impressive, in-depth feature story on the CIW’s Fair Food Program, reaching over 6.5 million viewers who immediately took to social media to express their staggering support for the Program and seek answers from Publix, who throughout the course of a dedicated six-year campaign has stubbornly refused to join the Fair Food Program and make a commitment to human rights for farmworkers in its supply chain. 

The Sunday Morning special took us through the CIW’s incredible 20-year struggle for respect and dignity in the fields and the historical transformations that have taken place in Florida’s agricultural industry through the Fair Food Program as a result, comparing what CBS called the “Harvest of Shame” in the 1960s to what has been hailed on the front page of the New York Times as “the best workplace-monitoring program” in the U.S. today.

The piece also placed the heat on Publix, reiterating their unwillingness to commit to a proven solution to farmworker abuse, and as a response, viewers flooded social media to praise the Fair Food Program and express their shared disappointment for Publix’s unconscionable refusal to commit to supporting farmworkers’ human rights.  

Take a look at the exclusive story, and join us in reminding Publix that they can no longer continue rejecting participation in the Fair Food Program! 

Media abuzz with news of CIW agreement with Ahold!

Last week’s announcement that Ahold USA became the first major grocer to join the CIW’s Fair Food Program caused quite the stir in the media as the news spread to mainstream and alternative sources across the country. 

The Associated Press picked it up early, whose piece was syndicated in hundreds of papers from coast to coast, while the Naples Daily News and Fort Myers News-Press offered a local perspective. The Washington Post had their own take, asking why in comparison to the widespread growth of the organic label, a workers rights label has been slower to become a grocery store standard — noting, however, that this September, 50 million shoppers per month at the 780 Giant Foods and Stop & Shop stores in the Northeast and Mid Atlantic will find the Fair Food label in the tomato aisle. 

Food blog Civil Eats ran a piece by best-selling author Barry Estabrook (“Tomatoland”), foreshadowing the impact that the agreement with Ahold could have on other major grocers: 

… Ahold’s joining the Fair Food Program is the latest success in CIW efforts that began nearly two decades ago. The group’s victories have followed a clear pattern. The first overtures made by the CIW to the end buyers were inevitably stonewalled. Then, after a period of petitions, demonstrations, fasts, and other actions by the CIW—that often went on for years—one player in a business sector agreed to join the program, setting off a domino effect as its competitors scrambled to come on board. It took the CIW a decade to achieve its first major victory by convincing Taco Bell to join, and then only a few years for McDonald’s, Subway, and Burger King to agree. (Wendy’s is the only large fast-food chain that is still holding out.) Bon Appétit Management, which provides food service to universities, museums, and corporations, joined of its own accord, and was soon followed by its competitors Sodexo and Aramark. If the pattern continues, Ahold will be the first domino among the supermarket chains.  Read more

A piece in Common Dreams, interviewing Gerardo Reyes Chavez of the CIW, echoed this sentiment: 

“A testament to the CIW's growing momentum, the Fair Food program includes numerous proactive provisions, like protecting workers' rights to organize and educate each other, that prompted the Washington Post to call the model "one of the great human rights success stories of our day."
Gerardo Reyes Chavez, a farmworker, organizer, and member of the CIW, told Common Dreams: "We are really happy that Ahold USA came on board. It's a very important moment in the campaign for fair food because it sends a powerful message to other corporations that haven't signed."
"We have an active campaign in the supermarket industry and are focusing our call on urging Publix and Kroger Super Market to join, as well as Wendy's," Chavez continued. "We feel that if we continue with the campaign for fair food in all the country, we are going to be seeing dramatic changes in the lives of workers, not just in Florida or the East Coast, but in building a different reality for all workers.” Read more

Other great pieces came out in Take Part, Huffington Post Voces, and many more, and the social media buzz grew concurrently, with voices like Eva Longoria and Michael Pollan weighing in. 

As the news around the agreement indicates, the Fair Food Program shows no signs of slowing down, but only becomes stronger as each agreement builds upon the last. Right now, worker-to-worker education teams are meeting with hundreds of fellow workers on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, sharing with them about their hard-earned rights under the Fair Food Program. In Florida, the CIW is gearing up for another tomato season — and what promises to be an unprecedented year of action and progress for Fair Food. Stay tuned! 

BREAKING: Ahold USA joins Fair Food Program!

 
Gerardo Reyes Chavez of CIW and Felis Andrade of Giant Food place the first Fair Food program sign next to tomatoes in Giant’s O Street store in Washington, DC

Gerardo Reyes Chavez of CIW and Felis Andrade of Giant Food place the first Fair Food program sign next to tomatoes in Giant’s O Street store in Washington, DC

Huge news out of Immokalee! Today, Ahold USA (parent company of Stop & Shop, Giant, Martin's, and Peapod) became the first major grocer to join the CIW's Fair Food Program. In this landmark development, Ahold USA agreed not only to extend Fair Food provisions to their 780 supermarkets across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, but to provide additional financial support for the round-the-clock monitoring work of the Fair Food Standards Council and to promote the Program through in-store displays, educational materials, and more.

The announcement is cause for celebration for all CIW allies who worked in making today's agreement possible. But, most importantly, today marks a profound moment for the countless farmworkers who have led the struggle for justice in the fields, and all those who will now benefit from a strengthened and expanding Fair Food Program.

Congratulations, CIW!

For the full press release, head over to the CIW website.

AHOLD USA JOINS THE COALITION OF IMMOKALEE WORKERS' FAIR FOOD PROGRAM
Ahold USA Becomes the First Major Grocer in the U.S. to Participate in Acclaimed Effort to Improve the Lives of Farmworkers
Immokalee, FL, July 29, 2015 – Ahold USA today became the first of America’s major grocers to join the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ (CIW) Fair Food Program, the widely-acclaimed partnership to improve the lives of the country’s farmworkers. Ahold USA is the parent company of Stop & Shop, Giant Foods of Landover, Giant Foods of Carlisle, Martin’s and online grocer Peapod. With nearly 780 supermarkets across 14 states and the District of Columbia and 50 million customers each month, Ahold USA companies together represent one of the largest food retailing groups in the country.
The CIW was awarded a Presidential Medal earlier this year for its groundbreaking work in social responsibility, and its Fair Food Program – called “one of the great human rights success stories of our day” in the Washington Post – protects the rights of tens of thousands of workers on farms across the east coast, from Florida to New Jersey.
Today’s announcement builds on the work that the CIW as well as Ahold USA and its suppliers have done to deliver responsibly sourced tomatoes to customers and to help improve conditions for farmworkers in Florida. Ninety percent of tomatoes produced in the United States from November to May are grown in the state. Ahold USA’s support for the Fair Food Program will extend the retailer’s long track record on responsible product sourcing and strengthen the reach, impact and visibility of the CIW’s social responsibility efforts. Ahold USA’s participation in the program will increase the number of U.S. grocery stores carrying Fair Food tomatoes by approximately 75 percent.
“We are truly proud to welcome Ahold USA into the Fair Food Program and excited about the opportunity to work with an industry leader like Ahold,” said Gerardo Reyes of the CIW. “Ahold USA is the first of the country’s major grocers to join the program and, as such, not only will its partnership help propel to new heights our efforts to protect farmworkers’ rights, but we believe its market leadership will send an invaluable message to the rest of the grocery industry that social responsibility is greatly strengthened when workers, suppliers and retailers work together toward a more modern, more humane agricultural industry.”
James McCann, Chief Operating Officer of Ahold USA, said, “Ahold USA’s companies are deeply committed to responsible practices throughout their operations and to providing customers with great products at great prices from suppliers who share our dedication to strong ethical standards and fair treatment for workers. The cornerstone of this commitment is the Ahold Standards of Engagement, which commit our companies’ suppliers to these values. The Fair Food Program is a time-tested leader in improving the lives of agricultural workers, and we have observed the Program’s success over the past several years. Our companies and our customers care about the welfare of workers in our supply chain, and we believe now is the right time to begin an important new chapter in our partnership with the CIW.”
As part of this partnership, Ahold USA’s companies will:
*        Continue to purchase Florida tomatoes only from growers who participate in the CIW’s Fair Food Program, and expand the Fair Food Program’s standards to farms of participating growers in other states;

*        Work with the CIW to ensure timely, periodic inspections and audits of the participating farms that supply Ahold USA’s companies;       
*        Pay a premium on tomatoes purchased from participating growers that growers will pass on to field workers;
*        Provide additional financial support for the Fair Food Standards Council, CIW’s partner in monitoring compliance by participating growers with the Fair Food Program standards; and
*        Support the Fair Food Program with expanded marketing and advertising, including in-store displays, online visibility and education materials for associates at Ahold USA companies.
 

Disciples of Christ to Wendy’s: "Tear down the wall!"

For months, members of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) prepared to gather from across North America for their General Assembly in Columbus, OH to meet, worship, make key decisions — as well as to confront Wendy’s in its own hometown about their consistent refusal to respect farmworker rights. After years of working in partnership with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, since first endorsing the Taco Bell Boycott a decade ago, the Disciples felt it was the perfect time to take direct action with Wendy’s. They were moved not only by their cherished value of justice, but also by one crucial piece of Disciples history: Dave Thomas, the late founder of Wendy’s, was a member of the Disciples of Christ!

When the long-awaited day of the protest arrived this past Sunday, a forecast of flash floods and lightning threatened to force a change of plans. But just moments before the action was scheduled to begin, the sun broke through and Disciples poured out, over one hundred strong, into the streets of Columbus toward a newly-opened downtown Wendy’s.

The action was sponsored by a wide-variety of groups: Disciples Refugee and Immigration Ministries, Disciples Justice Action Network, North American Pacific Asian Disciples, Disciples Peace Fellowship, the InterReligious Task Force on Central America and Columbia, Ohio Fair Food, the Central Ohio Worker Center and Ohio State University Student/Farmworker Alliance (there to remind Wendy’s that the ongoing national student boycott of Wendy’s is only building momentum at its origin campus of OSU!).

In what was for a majority of marchers their first time participating in an action of this kind, the Disciples peacefully marched, chanted, and carried signs urging Wendy’s to end their silence in the face of the Coalition’s two-and-a-half year call to join the Fair Food Program: ‘Walk humbly, Love mercy, Do justice!” “God is fair. Are you, Wendy’s?”

Dave Thomas’s memory was invoked repeatedly by his Disciples brethren. In the words of Floridian Rev. Jack Barnes, “I am convinced that if he were still alive today, we would not have to be here. Let’s keep the pressure on to remind them of their heritage, as well as to continue our own heritage of justice.”

When a delegation of marchers was prevented from delivering a letter to the restaurant manager, things grew momentarily tense…

But the frustration was soon turned masterfully into a moment for reflection on faith in action, as Rev. Dr. Sharon Stanley-Rea (above in red) recalled a story from the Disciples tradition that captured the spirit of the moment. In Joshua 6, she recounted, it’s told that the Hebrew people were able to tear down a city wall by doing nothing more than following their faith and marching persistently around the massive wall for seven days.  Rev. Stanley-Rea drew the parallel to the barrier Wendy’s has erected in order to ignore the rights of farmworkers: “And I pray with you that together through all of the parts of the Disciples of Christ that are represented here, we will continue working here to tear down the wall!”  She led the refrain over and over, all one hundred chanting with her: “Tear down the wall down! Tear down the wall!”

All in all, it was an incredibly powerful evening, charged with electric energy and a resolve made only stronger by the unseemly turn of events.  The CIW’s Julia de la Cruz closed out the action with these words: “We are not unaccustomed to Wendy’s closing the door on us and refusing to let us enter.  But our struggle is never to become discouraged, but to increase our energy and commitment as we fight for justice, justice for all farmworkers. We will keep fighting.  The Disciples of Christ have supported us for so many years, and the struggle continues.  Before long, Wendy’s will have to join the Fair Food Program.”

 
 


After years of organizing, Florida United Methodists bring forth resolution calling on Publix — and win in a decisive victory

“In particular, I have members in my congregation who are key executives in Publix…"

A long-awaited milestone moment in the almost-six-year Publix campaign transpired this past weekend in sunny Daytona Beach, where the Florida United Methodist Church (UMC) held their Annual Conference. After years of on-the-ground organizing by farmworkers and United Methodist allies, a key resolution on farmworker justice calling on Publix to join the Fair Food Program was brought forth before the delegates representing 700 churches across Florida. 

The Florida UMC had never successfully passed a resolution in support of the human rights of farmworkers, despite various attempts throughout the decades. Moreover, as those who verbally opposed the resolution on the floor admitted themselves, Publix is a prominent supporter of Methodist institutions throughout the state. Needless to say, the impending vote was charged with this interconnected relationship, giving enormous weight to whichever way Publix’s Methodist brethren would vote. Anticipation had been building for months, until the final hour of the four-day conference, when the resolution was finally presented.

 
 

At the end of the day, justice won out in a landslide victory, with a margin far wider than any of the other resolutions on the floor. Not only that, but not one, but two planned attempts were made to strip the resolution of its power through amendments: in one version, removing mention of Publix altogether, and in a second version, exchanging the request that the church “call on Publix… to join the Fair Food Program” for an empty appeal to "strongly encourage that corporation to support farmworkers in a generous and meaningful way.” Despite the impassioned speeches made in favor of both these amendments, too many clergy and laity were thoroughly prepared to explain to the thousand delegates gathered why nothing less than a full and direct call to Publix on behalf of the whole church would be acceptable. Too many dedicated United Methodist allies had engaged in education and action over the years, from listening to farmworker presentations in Sunday church services; to countless clergy and lay leaders marching and fasting; to hundreds of United Methodist Women writing letters and holding vigil.

And so both amendments — as enticing as the path of least resistance could have sounded — were voted down. Finally, the Bishop called a vote on the main motion itself, despite many leaders still waiting in the wings to speak strongly in its favor, from a clergy person and Publix stockholder who spent years working at Publix, to a United Methodist Woman, to a reverend who pastors to Methodist farmworkers, to a church leader who was once minister to Publix’s highest ranking executives. And then, on the big screen, the numbers revealed themselves: 515 for, 165 against. The resolution had passed overwhelmingly.

With this comment, it became clear that Publix's financial muscle has lost its power to persuade even the members of its own community. In the moral arena of the corporation’s decision makers, the body has spoken, and the message is unmistakable: Publix, it’s time to come to the table, and for the first time ever, sit face-to-face with farmworkers. It’s time to join the Fair Food Program.

We wouldn’t want to spare anyone the details of the dramatic unfolding of the resolution’s passing, so please head to the CIW website for the full report. Enjoy listening to the CIW’s United Methodist allies beautifully articulate the urgency behind Publix committing to a proven solution to abuse in the fields, and do spread the news: The tide has turned. At this point, it’s just a matter of time.

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