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

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. 

@CBSSunday so disappointed in Publix for not joining the movement. #fairfoodprogram

— Alicia (@alijl) August 9, 2015

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.  

@Publix no @FairFoodProgram? No shopping from me! And I will spread the word around @SocNCharlotte

— Judy/Charlotte,NC (@JudyFStanley) August 9, 2015

@Publix oh I have. This is not, as you say, just a labor dispute. That marginalizes what's going on in the farms in America today cc @ciw

— Susan LaMotte (@SusanLaMotte) August 9, 2015

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

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.

Join the National Day of Action on June 20th calling on Ben & Jerry's to Stand for Dairy Farmworkers' Rights

Across Vermont’s rolling hills and pastoral landscapes, a broad-based movement, led by dairy farmworkers themselves, has been steadily building for years to confront egregious human rights abuses, including dangerous working conditions, no time off and substandard housing.

Dubbed Milk with Dignity, Vermont dairy workers are forging a solution, modeled on key concepts of the CIW’s Fair Food Program, to harness the market power of major retailers to enforce a set of worker-designed human rights standards and increase pay at dairy farms across The Green Mountain State. 

For several years, workers have sought to inform Ben and Jerry’s about human rights violations in its supply chain and call on the ice cream giant to become the first company to join the Milk with Dignity Program. Yet, Ben and Jerry’s has failed to make a commitment to dairy workers rights, instead promoting their “Caring Dairy” initiative, a farmer self-monitoring program that denies farmworkers a real voice in the decisions that affect their lives.

Demonstrating the power of the growing grassroots movement to call on Ben and Jerry’s to commit to Milk with Dignity, Migrant Justice is planning a National Day of Action on June 20th at Ben and Jerry’s scoop shops nationwide. 

In the words of farmworker leader Enrique Balcazar:

"Join us for a national day of action on June 20th calling on Ben & Jerry's to take responsibility for these conditions in their supply chain. They've stood up to protect cows and chickens but not farmworkers! We need Milk with Dignity!"

Will you join them and help ensure dairy farmworkers win the dignity and respect they deserve?

Get in on the action by planning a letter delegation or a solidarity action at your local Ben and Jerry’s! For action planning resources, head to the Migrant Justice site or contact info@migrantjustice.net / 802-540-8370.

Get up! Get Down! Milk with Dignity's Comin' to Town!

Midwest turns up for Wendy's shareholder meeting!

Wendy’s annual shareholder meeting began before 8 a.m. in the quiet Columbus suburb of Dublin, Ohio, on a cold, wind-whipped Monday morning.  Undaunted, some 75 people, inspired by the tireless organizing of Ohio allies, took the workday off to travel to the action, from as far away as Cincinnati and Ann Arbor.  Fair Food Nation members brandished their banners and signs, forming a funnel for the arriving shareholders.  The crew was made up of countless organizations, their bond now deep after two and a half years of organizing together in the Wendy’s campaign:  Ohio Fair Food, the Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center, the Central Ohio Workers Center, SFA at the Ohio State University, SFA at the University of Michigan, Real Food Challenge, Ohio AFL-CIO, Communication Workers of America and First Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbus, to name just a few!

Immediately before the meeting, the gathered protesters turned the gray day vibrant as they chanted and cheered in a jubilant send-off to CIW’s Lupe Gonzalo as she headed inside the meeting.  As the doors closed, the allies picked up their yellow flags and marched to the Wendy’s nearby flagship restaurant.  After a high-spirited protest there, the group gathered 'round for a spontaneous reflection.  When the circle finally closed, nobody was ready to leave without hearing the meeting report — so everyone piled into a nearby coffee shop to escape the wind and await the news.

At just about that time, inside the meeting, the moment had finally come for Lupe to address Wendy’s executives and shareholders alike.  Word for word, here is what she said:

Buenos dias. Mi nombre es Lupe Gonzalo. Soy un representante de la Coalición de Trabajadores de Immokalee. Estoy aquí el día de hoy por que hace 10 años ya, que enviamos una carta pidiéndole a Wendy’s a llegar a un estándar de ética mas elevado dentro de su cadena de surtidores, y a pagar un precio mas alto para los sueldos de pobreza que reciben los trabajadores del campo. 

(Click here for English version.)

Desde entonces, 90% de los rancheros del tomate de la Florida se han unido al Programa por Comida Justa, al lado de los cuatro competidores mas grandes de Wendy’s que han reconocido el Programa como un paso importante para modernizar sus cadenas de surtidores.

Sin duda, el Programa ha movido mucha de la industria del tomate en la Florida al siglo 21: eliminando esclavitud moderna y enormemente reduciendo el acoso sexual, entre otras cosas. Por eso, este año, la casa blanca nos premió con la Medalla Presidencial por esfuerzos extraordinarios en combatir al esclavitud moderna.

Pero, no queremos quedarnos ahi. No queremos que este programa solamente afecta a miles de trabajadores adentro de los campos del tomate en la Florida, sino que también a los cientos de miles de trabajadores en otros estados y otros vegetales. Con el compromiso de Walmart en 2014, ya estamos listos para esa expansion.

Pero se necesita el compromiso de Wendy’s para que los trabajadores en su cadena no quedan afuera. A la vez, participar en el programa le ayudaría a Wendy’s a prevenir el riesgo de relaciones publicas y poder dar a sus consumidores un producto que realmente es honesto.

Shareholders smiled and nodded in Lupe’s direction.  As she finished, heads turned back to the front of the room for CEO Emil Brolick’s response:

We are proud to partner with suppliers that share our commitment to ethical business behaviors.  We have previously communicated our stance on the Fair Food Premium: While we support the goals of an organization that seeks to improve human rights, we prefer to rely on our suppliers to act as signatories to the agreement.  We are in the process of developing a Supplier Code of Conduct by year-end, and will continue to consider the best means of promoting responsible business practices in our suppliers.

Next up was a statement prepared by Ohio State University SFA’s Amanda Ferguson:

Last year, my fellow student at OSU, Sara Stanger, stood here and informed you that after countless unanswered attempts at communicating with Wendy’s leadership, we were moving forward with a national campaign called Boot the Braids, wherein we — and students around the country — would be meeting with our administrations and organizing demonstrations on our campuses to end university licensing contracts with Wendy’s until the company commits to support the CIW’s Fair Food Program. 

In the year since then, Wendy’s has still not joined what the Washington Post called “one of the great human rights success stories of our day.”  And the reaction from millennials like myself has only grown stronger. […]

[…]  Two months ago, with still no word from Wendy’s, students from universities across the country with Wendy’s restaurants on campus took to the stage before thousands at the CIW’s Concert & Parade for Fair Food and announced a national student boycott of Wendy’s — to begin on my campus, OSU.  Since that time, the University of Michigan, whose students stand in support outside of this meeting space, has likewise adopted the boycott, and dozens of others are preparing to follow suit.

As a millennial, I recognize I am part of the target market of the fast food industry.  I speak for my generation when I say that new, flashy branding and modern restaurants are not enough to attract our business.  Our concerns for the food we eat goes beyond the menu.  As students and young people, we want to know that the food we consume does not come at the cost of another person’s dignity.  We want to know that this is a commitment of Wendy’s, too.

As the student boycott continues to grow, is Wendy’s ready to continue alienating young people and consumers rather than join a proven solution to farmworker poverty and abuse?

And with that, the meeting was adjourned and all were excused — though not before two shareholders approached Lupe to tell her how powerfully she had delivered the CIW’s message, and that they would be keeping an eye on this matter with their organizations’  pension funds in mind.

Fifteen minutes later, as Lupe walked through the double doors of the café where the protestors were gathered together with their warm drinks, the crowd burst into thunderous applause and cheers.  Moved by the unexpected, beautiful show of support, Lupe gave a powerful report-back from the meeting, letting them know that the presence and commitment of each and every one of them — and each and every person in the fair food movement, from the workers in Immokalee to those who are always ready to stand with them — not only make this struggle for justice possible, but enriching and joyous along the way.

Asheville turns out for farmworker justice at grand opening of city's first Publix!

Last week, as Publix prepared to open its doors to the good people of Asheville for the first time, a crew of farmworkers and allies from Immokalee also made the long trek to join Ashevillians in welcoming the Florida-based grocery chain with the message of Fair Food! 

Bright and early last Wednesday morning, a stalwart group of local allies joined CIW member Julia de la Cruz outside the store's grand opening. With banners, flags, and flyers in hand, the group positioned itself alongside the larger-than-life inflatable green grocery bag heralding the presence of Asheville’s newest supermarket.

As the inaugural customers turned into the parking lot, many of them stopped to ask about the campaign, expressing dismay over Publix’s refusal to join the Fair Food Program.  Local residents took part in a delegation to meet the new manager and deliver a letter, explaining that Asheville consumers would continue to organize alongside the CIW until Publix decided to "do the right thing."  Publix, of course, offered up the well-worn, well-refuted ‘labor dispute/put-in-in-the-price’ combo response that they so often give to Florida residents.

The rest of the day was spent in the classroom, sharing the latest Campaign news with students and professors at Warren Wilson College.  On campus later that evening, students and Asheville community members gathered for a screening of Food Chains.  The closing credits were met with robust applause and, after a wave of questions about both the expansion of the Fair Food Program into North Carolina and Publix’s confounding refusal to be part of the transformation in Florida’s fields, all the movie-goers committed to taking action.

The Immokalee crew returned to Publix on Saturday in true Campaign for Fair Food fashion -- along with over 60 Asheville allies, including members of Nuestro Centro, COLA, the Western North Carolina Workers Center, and buses of students from Warren Wilson College -- holding a high-energy picket full of art, accompanied by chants for justice over the beat of a tomato bucket drum.

Members of the manager delegation took with them a printed response to Publix’s misinformation about the Fair Food Program. CIW’s Julia de la Cruz explained that the Program has never been a labor dispute, but is instead an unprecedented collaboration between growers, farmworkers and major retail buyers — and that the penny is, in fact, in the price (a point the CIW first published back in 2011, which Publix has readily ignored).

At the protest, Bruno, a 15-year Asheville resident, expressed his astonishment at Publix’s resistance to the FFP, saying that he and many others wouldn’t be visiting the new store until they saw a change.  His sentiment was shared by one of the many Warren Wilson students who joined the delegation, one of whom shared that although she’d only just learned of the Publix campaign after seeing Food Chains, she felt fully committed to standing up for farmworker justice. 

The question voiced by many as the picket wrapped up  captured the energy and excitement of a community ready to take up the Fair Food banner in the Publix campaign: “What’s next?”

In the words of the day’s final chant, “We’ll be back!”

With unyielding actions taking place all across the Fair Food Nation, from Nashville to Asheville, we’re communicating that Publix cannot dream to win the loyalty of consumers in North Carolina without first making the commitment to human rights for farmworkers back home a reality.