PHOTO REPORT: Behind the Braids tour takes the Mid-Atlantic by storm!

If anything has been clear in the past few weeks, it’s that Wendy’s is feeling the pressure coming from all corners of the Fair Food Nation! Just a couple weeks ago, the Northeast Behind the Braids tour witnessed Wendy’s release its most direct response to the CIW’s Campaign for Fair Food since farmworkers’ call for justice began nearly four years ago. Of course, Wendy’s statement is nothing more than a weak and misleading attempt to answer to the truths that the CIW and allies have been uncovering and amplifying since the national boycott of the chain launched in March.

If Wendy’s is on the defensive, they’re a step beyond ignoring the growing chorus of thousands of farmworkers and consumers nationwide calling for justice and respect from the fast food giant. And that means, certainly, that we’re a step closer to victory in the Wendy’s Boycott!

Instead of deterring consumers from standing with farmworkers, Wendy’s half-truths and outright lies fueled hundreds of allies on the next tour criss-crossing the Mid-Atlantic states of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. Presentations, visits, conversations, and gatherings built up momentum for a big march in Washington, DC last Sunday and continued to deepen allies’ commitment post-action.
 
Philadelphia & Baltimore

The Behind the Braids Mid-Atlantic tour kicked off in Philadelphia with a visit to The Simple Way, an intentional faith community in North Philadelphia begun by longtime CIW supporter Shane Claiborne. After a meaningful reconnection with Shane, who has marched alongside the CIW since before the start of the Campaign for Fair Food, the tour team headed to Chestnut Hill College and the University of Pennsylvania to build support for the boycott in schools new and experienced in the campaign alike. Excitement among students in Philly for the upcoming action just a couple of hours south in Washington, D.C. quickly gathered momentum!

After a packed day in Philadelphia, the tour crew headed down to Baltimore. A successful evening event at staple café and bookstore Red Emma’s drew a crowd of new supporters and familiar faces. Allies who had accompanied the CIW in their struggle for justice for years were present, including members of recent Boycott endorser, the Central Atlantic Conference of the UCC. Ken Brown, a minister and poet known as Analysis, welcomed the CIW’s Julia de la Cruz by performing a moving, powerful piece of spoken word dedicated to the Coalition. It began, “As I bite into a delicious Jubilee / I’m forced to wonder if the person who picked it is even free” and crescendoed:

“However the workers! Now, collectively, the workers grow stronger,
like a fine wine, and so we follow their leadership,
Ally with them, knowing that over time
Justice will prevail in the fields and
Human rights will be deemed more important than what a crop yields.
Their spirit is strong, and even in the midst of tears they sing freedom songs.
So, with them, we continue the Struggle. Though the road may be long,
Integrity is ours, and to us the victory belongs!
 
…Coalition, may the strength, may the strength,
May the strength of the earth be yours!”

Washington D.C.

With energy mounting, the Mid-Atlantic tour then set its sights on Fair Food stronghold Washington, D.C.! DC Fair Food, the powerhouse Fair Food group that sustains and grows local support for the CIW’s work year-round in the nation’s capital, had already organized a packed schedule of events for this stop of the tour.

Following a well-attended Food Chains screening at the Mt. Pleasant public library and a Student/Farmworker Alliance teach-in at George Washington University involving 30+ students from GW and nearby Georgetown University, nearly a hundred Fair Food supporters in the District came together to celebrate the CIW’s arrival to the sounds of local bands and Son Cosita Seria’s loyal group of jaraneros for an evening fundraiser at the popular Haydee’s restaurant. In the days leading up to Sunday’s big march on Wendy’s, the tour team also connected with longtime allies at the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor at Georgetown University, and local urban farm Three Part Harmony.

On Sunday afternoon, scores of students from Georgetown, George Washington, and American universities as well as the University of Pennsylvania, clergy and lay leaders from local Catholic, Episcopal, Quaker, and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) congregations, and community members from across the Mid-Atlantic gathered in front of the White House for the culminating action of the tour.

After a joyful welcome from Julia de la Cruz of the CIW and Ceci Behgam of DC Fair Food, Victoria Goncalves from the Student/Farmworker Alliance base of support at GW University spoke to the importance of students’ formidable presence at the march and in the boycott of a restaurant so focused on its youth market like Wendy’s. The Rev. Dr. Sharon Stanley-Rea, Director of Refugee & Immigration Ministries for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), then blessed the group gathered on that sunny afternoon to take a stand with farmworkers. With that, the march kicked off! Marching nearly two miles in downtown D.C. on the busy New York Ave. thoroughfare, the lively group made a loud splash with its creative chants: “Wendy’s you are all alone / With your frosty heart and your empty code! We’ll ignore your 4 for $4 / Until you pay a penny more!”

Hundreds of DC residents had already learned of the Wendy’s Boycott and its wide-reaching support by the time the marchers arrived to the Wendy’s restaurant at the busy intersection of New York and Florida Avenues. On the sidewalk, the group formed a moving picket aimed at stemming the flow of consumers, their boycott chants heard loud and clear all around the restaurant! Midway through the picket, a delegation went inside to deliver a letter from DC Fair Food to local Wendy’s management. Received by workers inside the restaurant, the delegation group made clear that this demonstration aimed to put pressure on decision-makers within Wendy’s with the power to do right by farmworkers – understanding that both farmworkers and fast food workers share much in common in the struggle for justice in the food chain. The high-energy picket concluded with a heartfelt reflection from the delegation group regarding the importance of solidarity and of growing the Wendy’s Boycott right there in the District, and a resounding, “We’ll be back!” led by the CIW’s Julia de la Cruz!

Check out the English- and Spanish-language coverage of the march on HispanTV and TeleSUR.

Western Maryland & Southern Pennsylvania

But the Mid-Atlantic tour didn’t stop there. For a remarkable final flourish, the tour team headed west toward the Appalachian mountains – beautifully aflame with autumn colors during these final weeks of October – to bring consciousness about the consumer boycott of Wendy’s to the small mountain towns of Southern Pennsylvania and Western Maryland.

Stopping first at St. John’s UCC in Salisbury, PA the CIW’s Julia de la Cruz led a teach-in for faith leaders in the region about the decades of Immokalee farmworkers’ struggle for justice and the powerful voice for change people of faith have in this movement. Later that evening, efforts discussed by the faith leaders to raise consciousness began in earnest as community members from several UCC and Mennonite churches in the area gathered for a screening of the documentary Food Chains. The next day, the tour team visited Frostburg State University in Maryland, generating rich discussion among students and faculty about how to amplify the national Wendy’s Boycott in this breathtaking corner of the country.

And with that, the Mid-Atlantic Behind the Braids tour is a wrap! Stay tuned for more as the Campaign grows and builds in this region – and watch for next week’s report from the road as the Texas tour finishes up!

Wendy’s cowers as Northeast Tour exposes lies!

8 days, 6 protests, hundreds take the streets to boycott Wendy’s 

Last week, in the midst of the Northeast Behind the Braids tour, Wendy’s released their most direct response to the CIW’s Campaign for Fair Food to date.  As outlined in CIW's response, that answer – rather than honestly address the letters, protests and calls of thousands of farmworkers and their allies – sidestepped, told half truths and outright lied (make sure to read the CIW’s point-by-point rebuttal if you haven’t already!).

Wendy’s statement was not the difficult but high road they claimed; rather, it served to expose the fear Wendy’s harbors of the growing tide of support for the farmworker-led, national boycott.  And as farmworkers traveled along the East Coast in a tour of education and action this past week, farmworkers and consumers saw Wendy’s fear over and over in their cowering response both in their public statement and on the ground.  

With hundreds of people committing to join the boycott in last week’s tour of New York, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, exposing the deceit “Behind the Braids,” we’re excited to bring you this report from the road!

New York City
The Northeast Behind the Braids tour started off with a bang in New York City!  
The Lower Eastside Girls Club of New York, whose support of the CIW’s organizing stretches back to the Taco Bell boycott days, organized a lively march from their community center through Tompkins Square Park and the streets of Manhattan’s Lower East Side all the way to the Wendy’s in Union Square, packed with pedestrians on a busy and sunny Saturday afternoon.
The girls had prepared for the CIW’s visit not just with handmade boycott banners and signs, but also with stylish braids and freckles, similar to the fast food chain’s iconic redhead.  Even in the buzzing streets of New York City, the march made a big splash with the indomitable energy of the girls’ boycott chants and drums.  Hundreds of New Yorkers passing by received flyers and word of the national Wendy’s Boycott.  
In spite of the infectious spirit of the city’s young girls, the delegation to the Wendy’s manager was rejected, and both CIW members and the young New York residents were promptly instructed to leave the premises.
Nanuet, NY
Meanwhile, just an hour upstate, a burgeoning group of allies in the Hudson Valley area joined together for a multifaith action at a Wendy’s in Nanuet, New York.  The Multifaith Community at Stony Point Center and members of local Presbyterian Churches, which are part of the Hudson River Presbytery, hosted Lupe Gonzalo of the CIW for a presentation about the Boycott, and the group then caravanned up the road, ready to take action!  
At the protest, hundreds of passersby stopped to listen as members of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian community members proclaimed that one uniting, central theme of their respective traditions is a call for worker justice.  Yet, even in the face of this beautiful and respectful coalition, we were threatened with arrest and not allowed to speak when a delegation approached the Wendy’s manager.
Undeterred by Wendy’s stunning disrespect for farmworkers, faith leaders and even schoolgirls, the Wendy’s Boycott movement continued to spread over the course of the following days, with thousands in Upstate New York catching coverage of the protest on Channel 12 and hearing about Fair Food at White Plains Presbyterian Church involving members of the Presbytery, the AFL-CIO, and WESPAC Foundation and presentations with Manhattanville students and high schoolers at the School of the Holy Child.
Montclair, NJ
On Monday, we headed to Montclair, New Jersey to meet up with the brand-new Montclair Fair Food Alliance, a vibrant new Fair Food group uniting students from Montclair High School, Montclair State University and Passaic Community College, congregants from local synagogue B’nai Keshet, and other community leaders.  The group held a protest at Wendy’s on the busy Bloomfield Ave, a thoroughfare for New Jerseyans heading home at the end of the workday.
During the small but spirited action, a group of workers and allies entered the store to try to speak with a manager — and, much to their surprise, were directed to three regional executives, who were seated inside the Bloomfield, New Jersey restaurant for a quiet meeting.  Breaking with the pattern of the two previous actions, two of the regional directors listened to Lupe’s powerful testimony and counter argument after counter argument to Wendy’s recent excuses for refusing to join the Fair Food Program.  After listening without interruption, both to CIW and to local students about the movement is growing in Montclair, the regional managers respectfully received the group’s letter.
Back to Manhattan…
The CIW’s stop in New York City concluded with a powerful vigil on Wednesday night in front of the offices of Wendy’s Board Chair Nelson Peltz.  In this hallowed stretch of sidewalk, where the Wendy’s Boycott launched earlier this year, religious leaders from all around the New York area gathered to “set the table of justice” — starting with an altar in the middle of the financial district.
After prayer and opening from Rev. Betty Tom of Mt. Vernon Presbyterian Church and Rev. Noelle Damico of the National Economic and Social Rights Initiative, dozens of faith leaders gathered shared songs, held candles, and wrote down their own personal hopes for Mr. Peltz and Wendy’s, which were to be delivered at the end of the vigil.  Members of Jornaleros Unidos carried produce and pennies to the table to represent the incredible gains of the Fair Food Program.  Meanwhile, New York City Fair Food supporters listened as farmworker leaders and religious leaders responded directly to the statement freshly released by Wendy’s just that morning. 
With the vigil taking place during the holy month of Muharram, Sahar Alsahlani of Stony Point Multifaith Center called to mind Imam Husayn ibn Ali’s example of standing up against injustice, reminding us, “We are here for the protection of our beloved earth, and we are here for the intersections of our movements.  Thank you to the Immokalee workers for awakening this remembrance of how we are all connected.”
Celebrating the harvest holiday of Sukkot, Rabbi Marisa James, Senior Organizer from T’ruah:  The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, also shared: “Right now, someone behind us has gotten a little too comfortable knowing what it is to always have a roof over your head and having the security of always having food in your hand … Those who are doing the work of harvesting deserve the dignity and respect that we all deserve.”  
Carol Barton, Executive for Community Action with United Methodist Women, spoke of the longstanding support of the 800,000-member organization for the CIW’s work.  And Larry Cox, co-director of the Kairos Center at Union Theological Seminary, shared these powerful words: “People often come to seminary because they want to find God.  What they learn is that the best place to find God — the God of justice and the God of love — is not in seminary.  The best place to find God is here, right now, with us, and with the workers around the world who are fighting for their dignity, their justice, and their rights.  That is where you find God.”
Speaking directly to Mr. Peltz, he said, “The spirit of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, so unlike what Wendy’s is trying to do, does not divide workers — it unites them, all workers, everywhere…  It unites all workers, all poor people, and all of us.  And just one more message for Mr. Peltz: This is a spirit that we have all learned over the decades cannot be crushed.”  
As all waited in silence outside, the messages the vigil participants had written down for the company’s leadership were then carried inside by the CIW and allies.  A security guard did not allow farmworkers to speak directly with Mr. Peltz, but agreed to attempt delivery of the messages.  
Rabbi Rachel Kahn-Troster, Director of Programs at T’ruah, closed the vigil addressing Mr. Peltz: “The gates of repentance are always open.  As we stand here again calling upon Wendy’s to do the right thing, for Nelson Peltz to use his leadership, and to hear the words of the farmworkers who are leading this movement for change in the fields of Immokalee.  It is not too late.  You can always do the right thing.  It’s time for Wendy’s to do the right thing and join the Fair Food Program.”
Lupe closed the reflective space with a direct message for Mr. Peltz and the leaders of Wendy's: “Today we are in front of the offices of Nelson Peltz so that he sends this message to Wendy’s corporation and stops deceiving consumers.  We want Wendy’s to show the truth to all of their consumers, because we don’t just want justice for us as workers, but also justice for consumers so Wendy’s stops pulling the wool over your eyes. It’s necessary for us to continue fighting, to continue revealing the truth – because while we may not have the advertising dollars of Wendy’s, what we do have is our truth.”
Providence
Soon after the vigil, we drove to Providence, where rich interchanges with students at Barrington Christian Academy and Brown University through the Brown Student Labor Alliance, attendees of the Quaker Meeting , parishioners at local churches and members of Central Falls’ Fuerza Laboral and the American Friends Service Committee, set the table for a protest in strong rain and a harsh cold to make sure that Rhode Islanders know about the national Wendy’s Boycott.  Soaked but spirited, the protest sent a delegation to explain our presence to the manager, but workers and students were instead not allowed to talk and again told they would be arrested if they remained on Wendy’s property.  
Lupe Gonzalo of the CIW reflected, “The crude rejection we experienced at the door today is not out of the ordinary: Wendy’s rejection is something we experience on a daily basis as farmworkers.  But recently, Wendy’s has been making that rejection more public and obvious, with managers using threats and aggression to keep us from any kind of dialogue – which just shows Wendy’s lack of respect and their fear of what we are doing.” 
Cameron Johnson of the Brown Student Labor Alliance expounded: “There’s nothing they can do to make us afraid.  We’re here under the rain, we’re building power, making noise, spreading a message, and that is beautiful.  Don’t let anything dampen your motivation – this is a beautiful moment to me.”
Before leaving for Boston, we participated in Direct Action for Rights and Equality’s 30th anniversary, celebrating DARE’s incredible history of unified grassroots organizing and the longtime connection with farmworker justice through the work of the CIW.  
Boston
The Northeast tour ended in a historical seat of the CIW’s campaign: Boston, MA, where consumer allies anchored a successful campaign to bring Ahold USA, parent company to Quincy-based Stop & Shop, to join the Fair Food Program.  Welcomed with warm hospitality for presentations and meetings in communities including Hillel B’nai Torah, Nehar Shalom, First Baptist Church of Jamaica Plain, and Northeastern University, the final action of the tour, over 60 strong, represented the aforementioned groups and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, New England Jewish Labor Committee, Jewish Organizing Institute and Network, Boston Workmen’s Circle, Northeastern Real Food Challenge, Northeastern Progressive Student Alliance, MassCOSH, SEIU, Haley House, Clark Real Food Challenge, Harvard Student Labor Action Movement, Maine-based Mano en Mano, and local small farmers.  
The lively picket sent representatives to share with the manager our purpose, but the group was harshly rebuffed. Hannah Hafter of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee reported on the group’s experience and made the connection with conditions for farmworkers in Wendy’s supply chain: “The level of disrespect that we received five minutes ago when we went inside was quite shocking…. but the disrespect in terms of how we were treated is nothing in comparison to the kind of disrespect that farmworkers are facing every day in the fields.”  Itzel Vasquez-Rodriguez of the Harvard Student Labor Action Movement drew the connection between Harvard dining workers’ ongoing strike and the struggle of the CIW: “We’re here today because all workers deserve respect, but obviously corporations [and institutions] like Harvard and Wendy’s think otherwise.”

That's a wrap for the Northeast Tour! 

As protest after protest was met with slammed doors and refusal to dialogue, it’s clear that Wendy’s feels deeply threatened by the growth of the boycott.  Even as Wendy’s spews public relations drivel, thousands of consumers are going “Behind the Braids” to reveal Wendy’s falsehoods and bring them to be part of a reality of justice in the fields.  Strong coalitions across the Northeast are mobilizing – and they are pledging to continue doing so. With three of the six Behind the Braids tours still to come, Wendy’s, your lies won’t be able to withstand this fearless movement!

PHOTO REPORT: Southeast and Midwest ‘Behind the Braids’ Tours take off!

Spreading consciousness about the Wendy’s Boycott to thousands of consumers throughout the fall (and bringing people together in powerful actions along the way), the upcoming six ‘Behind the Braids’ tours are set to ramp up the Wendy’s Boycott in over 20 cities across the country. And this past weekend, teams of farmworkers and allies from Immokalee packed their bags and hit the road, setting off on the first two tours throughout the Southeast and Midwest. Below are the take-off reports, hot off the presses, from the teams on the ground: 

Southeast Tour

The ‘Behind the Braids’ Southeast Tour began bright and early Sunday morning in Nashville, as faith leaders of New Covenant Christian Church and Woodbine United Methodist Church welcomed CIW’s Nely Rodriguez to speak at their morning service on Wendy’s unconscionable moral failure in evading its responsibility to protect farmworkers human rights.   Later on that evening, members of Nashville Fair Food set up a convivio and art-building session to welcome CIW, and together, we inaugurated Fair Food fighter Brenda Ayala as the group’s first part-time organizer!  

We spent the next couple of days in classroom after classroom at Tennessee State University, Vanderbilt University and Trevecca Nazarene University, educating students on the CIW’s long history of struggling for human rights and strategizing on how to continue building support on campus this fall for the Wendy’s Boycott — and of course, animating students to take action on Tuesday afternoon!

When action time came around, we were met with over 50 energized allies at Wendy’s right off of TSU’s campus – including stalwart members of Nashville Fair Food, Vanderbilt Food Justice, members of New Covenant Christian Church and the unstoppable Rev. Dr. Judy Cummings, and of course, our friends from Workers’ Dignity – all of whom were fired up and ready to boycott Wendy’s!  

As boycott chants echoed throughout the highly-trafficked intersection and allies zipped through the streets passing out boycott flyers to passersby, a community delegation entered Wendy’s and delivered a letter to the friendly manager who agreed to pass it along to corporate. 

During the delegation reportback, Rev. Dr. Judy Cummings addressed the crowd: “When we talked about how Wendy’s — rather than coming on board with the Fair Food Program —  would rather take their business to Mexico to further exploit workers, [the manager] was confounded.  I think we truly made progress here today, and I’m certain corporate headquarters will be hearing about this.  We are the ones who will continue to speak out until justice is done. God is on the side of justice. And we are on God’s side, so we will win!” 

Nely wrapped up the picket, capturing Nashville’s excitement and commitment to continue boycotting Wendy’s: “It is not the last time we will be here in Nashville… We will continue to put pressure on Wendy’s because that’s what it’s going to take to win this boycott.  That’s what it takes when corporations like Wendy’s evade their corporate responsibility and disrespect workers at the bottom of their supply chain.  Justice is not bought, justice is not simply given, justice is won and defended!”

At the crack of dawn, the Immokalee team headed South for our next stop along the tour: the quaint, yet bustling town of Athens, Georgia.  For weeks, a coalition of local organizations dedicated to creating an inclusive and unified community in Athens organized a full day of events to bring the Wendy’s Boycott to town.  A series of presentations with professors and students from the University of Georgia’s Center for Social Justice, Human and Civil Rights and School of Social Work set the stage for a lively, creative Boycott Wendy’s march with dozens of newly-animated UGA students and community members. 

The high-energy march – led by members of Athens for Everyone, Real Food Challenge UGA, Amnesty International UGA, Daily Groceries Co-op and Bombs Away Collective – blasted the message of the Wendy’s Boycott to scores of people walking to class, heading in to work and even those leaving the Wendy’s drive-thru. 

Finally, after the action, over 40 people attended a screening of the award-winning documentary Food Chains, including several Fair Food veterans from the days of the Taco Bell boycott!  The day wrapped up with a special and savory community meal hosted by Bombs Away Collective to celebrate the tour stop’s success.  Our main take-away from the energizing visit:  Athens is ready to take up the Fair Food banner in the Wendy’s Boycott! 

Midwest Tour

As the first Midwest arm of the ‘Boot the Braids’ tours took off on Monday, both farmworkers from Immokalee and allies in Ohio, Kentucky and Michigan had one thing in mind: bring the message of the Wendy’s Boycott to the heartland of the fast-food giant.  

Starting off in Wendy’s home state of Ohio, members of the Cincinnati Interfaith Worker Center, the First Unitarian Church of Cincinnati, the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition and other local organizations greeted CIW members this past Tuesday with a warm welcome befitting of the Mid-South Queen City. 

After an in-depth interview and call to action on the local radio station, La Mega, with hundreds tuning in, the CIW and CIWC headed off to protest at the Camp Washington Wendy’s, sending in a delegation of brand-new Fair Food allies to ask the manager to alert his higher-ups that the Wendy’s Boycott was growing.   

CIW’s Oscar Otzoy closed the protest with these words: “I hope our friends on the rest of the ‘Behind the Braids’ tours have the same beautiful experience we had here today, and that our dreams become reality — that the corporate executives become just as receptive to us as the Wendy’s workers we encountered at the restaurant today were.  Don’t lower your protest signs yet, because sooner or later we are going to win — and when we do, we will celebrate.”

As the protest came to a close, the Midwest Immokalee team divided into two directions — one group headed for Louisville (stay tuned for next week!) and the other to Cleveland, where longtime allies in the Inter-Religious Task Force on Central America and students at John Carroll University joined us for a high-energy action in Shaker Heights.  The action was buoyed both by IRTF’s tenacious commitment to solidarity with the CIW as well as people’s movements against injustice in Central America, and by John Carroll students’ budding excitement to organize on their campus.  

An unstoppable team passed out boycott flyers to hundreds of passersby, many of whom had pulled over out of curiosity. 

When a delegation attempted to enter the Wendy’s store, the manager refused to even accept a letter explaining why protestors were there — but the group, many new to the Wendy’s Boycott, left inspired to continue organizing in Cleveland to bring more and more people to support.

What a whirlwind of action – and we’re only just getting started! Stay tuned as the ‘Behind the Braids’ tours continue storming the country with a clear message for Wendy’s: Consumers nationwide will continue boycotting your restaurants, until you join the Fair Food Program! 

SIGN & SHARE: Join SFA at Ohio State University in asking administration to deny Wendy's a lease on campus!

For the past several months, Student/Farmworker Alliance members at the Ohio State University have been attempting to hold a meeting with administration to talk about the upcoming contract renewal between the University and Wendy’s. OSU SFA, in partnership with Ohio Fair Food, has remained firm and clear that the Wendy’s on campus needs to be removed until the fast-food giant joins the Fair Food Program. 

Throughout this time, the administration has been silent and ignoring students’ requests for having a meeting. And as scores of farmworkers, OSU students, people of faith and Ohio-area allies prepare to take on Wendy's at OSU tomorrow at 3 p.m. as part of the Columbus leg of the 'Behind the Braids' Midwest Tour, we’re calling on YOU to support OSU SFA’s Boot the Braids campaign! Send an email to OSU President Drake and CEO of the OSU Wexner Medical Center Dr. Sheldon – where Wendy’s is located – to not only listen to students’ concerns, but to take the necessary step of denying Wendy’s business on campus until they do their part to protect human rights for farmworkers in their supply chain. 

We share with you below a message from OSU SFA. Support this student-led campaign tomorrow and spread the word!

Ohio State University Student/Farmworker Alliance and Ohio Fair Food are organizing to kick Wendy’s off of Ohio State’s medical center campus. OSU administrators have been ignoring student demands to remove Wendy's from campus until the fast-food giant joins a real solution to farmworker exploitation: the Fair Food Program. Instead, they have been refusing to meet with us, using as an excuse a pending meeting with Wendy’s to hear more about their fake Code of Conduct.

With the Wendy’s contract with the University up for renewal at the end of the semester, now is a crucial time to push OSU to do the right thing. Please sign and share our letter to University Hospital CEO Sheldon M. Retchin and President Michael V. Drake asking them to not renew OSU’s contract with Wendy’s until they join the Fair Food Program.

Let’s #BootTheBraids from OSU, and get Wendy’s on board with the Fair Food Program!

Bring Wendy’s to the table! 

Coming soon, the Fair Food Nation takes action during Southeast, Midwest ‘Behind the Braids’ tours!

Building on last week’s first-ever Wendy’s Boycott Summit in Immokalee, farmworkers and allies from coast to coast are animated by a full weekend of skill-building, strategizing, and taking action – and now, the Fair Food Nation is setting its sights on the next big thing on the horizon:  six national Behind the Braids tours to take the Wendy’s Boycott to communities across the country!

Next week, the CIW will embark on the first two of these tours: one criss-crossing the Southeast, and the other heading to straight into the heart of Wendy’s territory in the Midwest.  Already, teams of farmworkers and allies in Immokalee are preparing to hit the road this weekend and putting finishing touches on plans for the upcoming journey.

Check out the seven Wendy’s actions taking place in cities across Georgia, Tennessee, Ohio, and Kentucky. If any of the Behind the Braids tours are heading your way, make sure to get in touch and catch the wave of actions sweeping the nation!

TUESDAY, October 4
Wendy’s Protest in Cincinnati, OH
4:30 PM@ Wendy’s (1246 Hopple St, Cincinnati)
Contact: shelby (at) allianceforfairfood.org

TUESDAY, October 4
Wendy’s Protest in Nashville, TN
5:30 PM @ Wendy’s (1045 28th Ave N)
Contact: carmen (at) allianceforfairfood.org

WEDNESDAY, October 5
Wendy’s Protest in Cleveland, OH
4:30 PM @ Wendy’s (13246 Cedar Rd.)
Contact: shelby (at) allianceforfairfood.org

WEDNESDAY, October 5
Wendy’s Protest in Athens, GA
5:30 PM @ Daily Coop (523 Prince Ave)
Contact: carmen (at) allianceforfairfood.org

THURSDAY, October 6
Wendy’s Protest in Louisville, KY
12:00 PM @ University of Louisville Library
Contact: shelby (at) allianceforfairfood.org

FRIDAY, October 7
Wendy’s Protest in Columbus, OH
3:00 PM @ Wendy’s (2004 N High St.)
Contact: shelby (at) allianceforfairfood.org

SATURDAY, October 8
March to Wendy’s in Atlanta, GA
1:30 PM @ Piedmont Park Charles Allen Entrance
Contact: carmen (at) allianceforfairfood.org

Stay tuned for beautiful photos, waves of press, and exciting report backs from Gainesville to New York City to Columbus in the action-packed weeks ahead! For more information on the different actions happening across the country, visit the Behind the Braids website! 

Wendy’s Boycott Summit kickstarts campaign organizing for the year ahead!

This past weekend, nearly 90 allies from across the Alliance for Fair Food’s vibrant national network of students, youth, people of faith, food justice advocates, and grassroots organizations came together in Immokalee for a successful, first-ever Wendy’s Boycott Summit. Hailing from nearly 20 different states and from dozens of high schools, universities and congregations from coast to coast, participants gathered at the heart of the movement for Fair Food to build skills, relationships and, of course, develop a winning strategy for a victory in the Wendy’s Boycott!

The Summit’s timely confluence of experience, fresh ideas and commitment takes place at a critical moment in the Campaign for Fair Food. The dozens of committed allies attending the Summit, and the hundreds upon hundreds they represent nationwide, understand the urgency behind the CIW’s second-ever call for a national consumer boycott of a major food retailer: the Fair Food Program has taken root and is successfully guaranteeing verifiable human rights to tens of thousands of farmworkers across the East Coast, yet Wendy’s stubborn, drawn-out refusal to commit to the Fair Food Program and decision to shift purchases outside of Florida continues to provide an alternative market for growers who, outside the Program, perpetuate abuses with impunity.

The weekend began with a beautiful opening ceremony at the CIW’s community center in Immokalee as allies were warmly welcomed by the CIW’s Women’s Group, and an important reflection on planting seeds of consciousness to harvest fruits of dignity and justice. Over the next couple of days, participants dove into skill-building workshops about community organizing, press, art, and more; campaign history sessions that drew insightful connections between the seminal Taco Bell boycott to the current boycott of Wendy’s; and group discussions about the importance of standing shoulder-to-shoulder in the struggle for farmworker justice.

Strategy development sessions made up the heart of the weekend, during which participants split into breakout discussions based on geographical region and constituency. As students made plans for strengthening and growing the Boot the Braids campaign to cut university contracts with on-campus Wendy’s – including at The Ohio State University in Wendy’s hometown of Columbus, OH – people from the nine Christian, Jewish and Muslim faith traditions present strategized to mobilize their congregations and institutions to take action and provide support for the Wendy’s Boycott. Fair Food Groups based in cities across the country also put their heads together to map out a vision for stronger locally-based organizing in the Wendy’s Boycott.

On Saturday, the group loaded onto buses and headed into Naples, where they were met with an energized contingent of farmworkers and their families from Immokalee and dozens more Southwest Florida allies to picket outside a prominent Wendy’s location. The 150-strong protest went far from unnoticed by Wendy’s management and the cars passing by on busy U.S. 41, drawing on the strength, excitement and commitment of the farmworkers and allies that throughout the year and throughout the weekend had been working together to bring Wendy’s to the table with the CIW.

The Summit weekend concluded with participants conscious, committed and ready to hit the ground running with a long, concrete list of plans to take back to their home bases and turn up the heat on Wendy’s!

The upcoming Behind the Braids regional fall tours, which will bring the boycott to thousands of consumers in over 20 cities, and culminating with a national weekend of action from Nov. 11-13, is only the beginning. After an entire season of university, congregational, and community organizing that will undoubtedly swell support for the Wendy’s Boycott nationwide, it’s only a matter of time before Wendy’s realizes the only way forward is joining the Fair Food Program!

Check out the ‘Behind the Braids’ fall schedule to attend or plan an action in your city!

Become a founding member of the Fair Food Sustainer Program!

Over the last decade and a half, farmworkers and their steadfast allies have fought to make the dream of enforceable human rights for farmworkers a reality. Today, that reality is the Fair Food Program. Now, the support of the Fair Food Nation is essential to bringing these critical human rights to thousands of workers in new crops and regions by sustaining the three core elements of this work: the leadership and community organizing of farmworkers, the commitment of allies working in partnership with the CIW, and the essential monitoring work of human rights investigators.

Fifteen years ago, a small group of farmworkers and consumers stood on the side of State Road 41 in Ft. Myers, Florida, carrying an oversized papier-mâché tomato.  They gathered there, squeezed between strip malls and rush-hour traffic, to declare a national boycott of Taco Bell. Outside of Florida, only a handful of people had ever heard of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. And outside of the CIW members and their few faithful allies gathered that day, no one gave the Taco Bell boycott a ghost of a chance.

Yet here farmworkers and consumer allies stand together today, having won the Taco Bell boycott, and

•    Thirteen more agreements with major food retailers from McDonald’s to Walmart;
•    The partnership of over 90% of the Florida tomato industry, and;
•    Verifiable human rights protections for 35,000 farmworkers and their families through the groundbreaking Fair Food Program, which is expanding and now operates in six new states and two new crops since its launch in 2011.

Gone is the daily barrage of sexual harassment, discrimination, and dangerous working conditions. Gone, too, are three decades of falling wages. Today, thanks to the Fair Food Program, workers can stand up for their rights without fear of being fired, and the Florida tomato industry is a model of social responsibility recognized around the country and around the world.

None of these historic changes would have happened without the unwavering commitment of thousands of people of faith, students and youth, food justice advocates, grassroots organizations, and every individual who has supported the CIW's vision of justice for farmworkers over the course of the Campaign for Fair Food.

But in many ways, this work is just getting started.

Calls for the expansion of the Fair Food Program to new crops and new states come in weekly; the only real limit to expansion are the resources necessary to sustain growth with the kind of integrity that has become the Program’s hallmark. The growing Campaign for Fair Food represents a central pillar on which the Fair Food Program rests, bringing on board major food retailers and holding them accountable to the conditions faced by workers in their supply chain. Further, the Fair Food Program is proof of a new concept in human rights, Worker-driven Social Responsibility (WSR), with the potential to bring verifiable human rights protections to millions of workers in even more industries.

To sustain and expand each of these pieces of our collective work, the CIW, the AFF, and the Fair Food Standards Council are calling on the national network of allies that has fought for fifteen years in the streets to make the Fair Food Program a reality—not just for support in action, but for financial support, too.

So today, we are launching the Fair Food Sustainer Program.

With a steady stream of monthly contributions, the Alliance for Fair Food can sustain and expand the three core elements of our work in conjunction with the CIW and the Fair Food Standards Council:

•    The leadership of farmworkers through community organizing, worker-to-worker education, and frontline monitoring of their own rights in the fields,
•    The commitment of consumer allies through action holding retail food companies accountable for labor conditions in their supply chains, and
•    The essential monitoring work of investigators though complaint investigations and field audits ensuring compliance with the Fair Food Code of Conduct.

And from the base of an ever more successful Fair Food Program, the Worker-driven Social Responsibility model can develop and take root in more and more communities of low-wage workers across the country and around the globe.

Whether it is with a sustaining donation of $500 or $5 a month, with the partnership of the thousands upon thousands of people that make up the vibrant Fair Food Nation, there is nothing we cannot do together!

Become a founding member of the Fair Food Sustainer Program today.

CIW and AFF announce ‘Behind the Braids’ national truth tours, weekend of action this fall!

As the Wendy’s Boycott swells with support from groups and individuals nationwide – including last week’s endorsement by the National Council of Churches and the nearly 50,000 petition supporters on Change.org – farmworkers in Immokalee are ready to hit the road this fall with the truth about Wendy’s and its callous disregard for human rights!

Starting the first week of October, just as the harvest season and organizing in the farmworker community begins to pick up here in Immokalee, CIW members will join thousands of consumer allies for powerful actions, film screenings, presentations, workshops, and interviews in nearly two dozen cities around the country, from the Southeast to the Midwest. To culminate the busy season of tours, the Fair Food Nation will come together for a national weekend of action just ahead of Thanksgiving, Nov. 11-13, amplifying the Wendy’s Boycott from coast to coast.

Check out the ‘Behind the Braids’ tour schedule and join us this fall to demand full respect for the human rights of farmworkers in Wendy’s supply chain!

Southeast (Oct. 2-12): Nashville, Atlanta, Athens, Gainesville

Midwest (Oct. 4-10): Cincinnati, Cleveland, Louisville, Columbus, Ann Arbor

Northeast (Oct. 14-24): NYC, Providence, Boston

Texas (Oct. 23-Nov. 3): McAllen, Austin, San Antonio

Mid-Atlantic (Oct. 24-30): Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C.

Midwest (Nov. 6-15): Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison

National Weekend of Action (Nov. 11-13)

This October and November, the CIW will set out across the U.S. with the truth about Wendy’s flight from the Fair Food Program and real, Worker-Driven Social Responsibility in Florida and the company’s decision to move tomato purchases to Mexico, where endemic human rights violations – from child labor to modern-day slavery – go largely unchecked. The six ‘Behind the Braids’ regional tours will spread the news of Wendy’s human rights hypocrisy to tens of thousands of consumers from Boston, Massachusetts, to Austin, Texas.  

The truth behind Wendy’s well-groomed braids is already out -- and from now until Wendy’s steps up to take responsibility for its supply chain practices, the Fair Food Nation will make sure that truth resonates loud and clear for Wendy’s consumer base from coast to coast to take note, and join the growing boycott.

Check out the Behind the Braids webpage for a schedule and map for the six ‘Behind the Braids’ tours. We’ll be updating it in the coming weeks with action details in each tour stop, and adding mobilizations organized by allies for the Nov. 11-13 weekend of action as they’re confirmed.

If we’re stopping near you or you’d like to participate in the weekend of action, get in touch (organize@allianceforfairfood.org) to figure out the best way to bring the Wendy’s Boycott to your campus, congregation, or community!

Take action with your congregation this Labor Day weekend!

Though it has become synonymous with cook-outs and the end of summer, Labor Day’s meaning is rooted in the value and importance of workers and their labor. For allies of faith in the Fair Food Nation, Labor Day (Sep. 2-4) represents an opportunity to amplify the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ longstanding struggle for justice in the fields. With the CIW’s second-ever corporate boycott in full swing, Labor Day also provides a platform to take meaningful action in response to Wendy’s unconscionable refusal to commit to the Fair Food Program, the groundbreaking worker-driven human rights program that’s bringing an end to the exploitation and poverty that were for decades the hallmark of agricultural labor in this country.

Wendy’s participation in the Fair Food Program is necessary in order to shrink the market for growers that continue to abuse workers with impunity, and make human rights and worker-driven social responsibility an industry standard – therein lies the urgency of our call. As people of diverse faith traditions, and as people of conscience, we stand behind farmworkers’ unrelenting and righteous pursuit of justice.

During Labor Day weekend this year, the CIW invites allies of faith to incorporate the fight for Fair Food and the Wendy’s Boycott into the weekend’s religious services – through sermon, ritual, prayer, or another avenue – and then take action with a community photo petition to show Wendy’s that the longer they stall, the longer they delay – and thereby deny – justice, the louder and more insistent our call will be.

In the coming week, we’ll be updating this page with resources and materials you can use to plan your own Labor Day service and action. Including:

+An interfaith worship guide, including a sample service elements, sermon points, and links to supplemental texts and readings
+A customizable photo petition template

If you plan to participate, let us know at organize@allianceforfairfood.org! We’d love to hear your ideas and support you in planning. After Labor Day weekend, be sure to send us your congregation’s photos and a report of how things went!

SIGN & SHARE: CIW launches Wendy’s Boycott petition on Change.org!

The national Wendy's Boycott is about to go viral! With over 100 million petition starters and supporters in more than 196 countries, Change.org is the prime platform for CIW to launch a far-reaching petition calling on consumers to stand with farmworkers in boycotting the final fast food holdout until they join the Fair Food Program.

Sign the petition – and then share it far and wide! 

It’s been almost six months since the Wendy’s Boycott took off during the Workers’ Voice Tour in March – and though thousands upon thousands of consumers of conscience have since then protested, marched, phoned, emailed, organized, and pledged to boycott Wendy’s until the fast food giant commits to respecting human rights for farmworkers, the corporation continues to ignore the growing calls for justice.

But with a brand-new petition live on one of the most successful online campaign sites in the country and a fresh season full of student, faith and community organizing – starting with the Wendy’s Boycott Summit in Immokalee in late September – kicking off, the Fair Food Nation is ready to ramp up the pressure on Wendy’s!

So head over to Change.org to be among the first to add your name to the boycott petition!

Be sure to check out the tools below to spread the word widely with your friends, family and networks to grow support for the Boycott Wendy's petition! 

Sharable graphics for social media:

Sample tweets: 

Stand with @ciw in boycotting @Wendys until they agree to protect the human rights of farmworkers! change.org/boycottwendys #BoycottWendys

.@Wendys: If you want our business, you must join @FairFoodProgram! change.org/boycottwendys #BoycottWendys 

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