PHOTO REPORT: Mississippians bring the Wendy’s Boycott to the Deep South!

After nearly two decades, and thousands upon thousands of protests from Maine to California, there are very few corners of this country that the Campaign for Fair Food has yet to reach. But today, we are pleased to bring you news of a new milestone in the Fair Food movement —  a photo report from the campaign’s first-ever splash in Jackson, Mississippi!

Last week, a delegation from Immokalee traveled to Jackson to take part in the Mississippi Food Summit and Agricultural Revival, hosted by the Mississippi Sustainable Agriculture Network.

The Summit featured the voices of farmworkers alongside those of small farmers and food justice advocates from around the state, all of whom were held up as the leaders sorely needed to fix the cracks in the country’s vast food system. Conversations drew parallels between the CIW’s farmworker-led fight for fundamental human rights in the fields and the ongoing struggle of Mississippians to cultivate local, healthy food — as well as thriving, equitable communities — in the shadow of the region’s long history of deep racial and economic injustice.

Pictured (from left): Dr. Ricardo Salvador of the Union of Concerned Scientists, Dorothy Grady-Scarborough of Mississippians for Greener Agriculture, Rukia Lumumba of Cooperation Jackson, and Ben Burkett of the Indian Springs Farmers Co-Op. PHOTO CREDIT: Creceda LeMaire

After a long, inspiring day of dialogue and exchange between small farmers, community leaders, students, food justice advocates, and farmworkers, it was time to take action!

On Saturday, nearly 50 allies gathered at the Mississippi Farmers’ Market for the state’s inaugural boycott march on a local Jackson Wendy’s. The protest, organized by the Mississippi Sustainable Agriculture Network, was well-attended by students and faculty from Ole Miss and the University of Georgia, local elementary school students, and community leaders active in environmental, immigrant rights, and racial justice movements in Jackson and other parts of the state.

CIW’s Lupe Gonzalo kicked it off by welcoming the crowd…

PHOTO CREDIT: Brian Williams

…which included allies of all ages!

PHOTO CREDIT: Brian Williams

PHOTO CREDIT: Brian Williams

PHOTO CREDIT: Brian Williams

PHOTO CREDIT: Brian Williams

Warmed up and ready to go, the marchers stepped off, steady chants rising as the crowd made its way to the prominent Wendy’s just down the road…

PHOTO CREDIT: Brian Williams

PHOTO CREDIT: Brian Williams

Arriving at the Wendy’s, protesters formed a loud and joyful picket under the afternoon sun outside the store.

PHOTO CREDIT: Brian Williams

PHOTO CREDIT: Brian Williams

PHOTO CREDIT: Brian Williams

PHOTO CREDIT: Brian Williams

PHOTO CREDIT: Brian Williams

PHOTO CREDIT: Brian Williams

PHOTO CREDIT: Brian Williams

PHOTO CREDIT: Brian Williams

PHOTO CREDIT: Creceda LeMaire

Though the local Wendy’s manager, like many of his peers, rejected a local delegation’s letter, the protest and its impact were felt all the way up the food chain and throughout Jackson. As Lupe concluded, “Whether or not they accepted the letter, we showed Wendy’s the power that consumers have across the country!”

PHOTO CREDIT: Creceda LeMaire

The local Jackson Free Press caught wind of the action, and published an excellent report on the day’s event and the overall movement for Fair Food across the country, titled “Protesters March on Wendy’s for Workers’ Rights”:

Protesters March On Wendy’s for Workers’ Rights

Wendy’s on High Street got traffic from more than just the lunch crowd this week. The Mississippi Sustainable Agriculture Network and the Florida-based Coalition for Immokalee Workers brought dozens of activists from around Mississippi and as far away as Florida together at the Mississippi Farmers Market Saturday at the biannual Mississippi Food Summit and Agricultural Revival, and then marched to the nearby fast-food restaurant. The march was in protest of the world’s third-largest fast food chain’s refusal to participate in the Fair Food Program.

“We’re here in Mississippi today joined by dozens of allies here locally to educate people about the conditions in which Wendy’s brings the tomatoes that it sells to its customers,” said Lupe Gonzalo, a member of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers.

Gonzalo said Wendy’s participation would show commitment not only to better wages for workers, but also respect for the people who farm their tomatoes.

“(Joining means) committing to a code of conduct in which the workers’ rights are respected and which has zero tolerance for the worst of abuses including sexual harassment and modern-day slavery, and that the voice of the worker is respected throughout the supply chain, she said at the Jackson protest. She added that farm workers must have the right to speak out against abuses they face without fear of retaliation… Read More

The CIW’s first visit to Jackson will surely not be its last, as the ties that were formed there during this brief but brilliant stay will carry on well into the future. Our struggles are too similar, our fates too bound up together, for us to go our separate ways now. We thank our friends in Mississippi for their heartfelt reception, and are already looking forward to returning the favor in Immokalee and the next time we can be together in this long fight for food justice, dignity, and fundamental human rights.

National religious leaders visit Immokalee and bear witness to transformative changes taking place within the Fair Food Program!

Over the past six weeks, the Fair Food Nation has been on the road, as crews from Immokalee joined allies to take the call for farmworker justice to diverse corners of this country – from the grand metropolises of Chicago, Atlanta, and New York, to the small rural towns of Appalachian Maryland and Pennsylvania. 

But the Behind the Braids tours have not been the only momentous events taking place in the Fair Food Nation! Over the past two weeks, Immokalee has hosted two sets of powerful faith leaders, first from the Presbyterian Church (USA) and then T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, representing millions of individuals from coast to coast. Since the earliest stirrings of a worker-led movement in Immokalee, farmworkers have counted on the moral weight, hospitality, and friendship of leaders of faith and conscience from all corners of the United States. Today is no different.

Two weeks ago, the CIW and AFF had the honor of welcoming the Rev. Jan Edmiston, Co-Moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA) to Immokalee. Representing nearly two million Christians nationwide in the highest elected position within the PC (USA), Rev. Edmiston and her visit signify the latest demonstration of deep and unwavering commitment from an institution that, over the course of our history, has been a driving force in the movement for Fair Food.

Accompanied by the Rev. Graham Hart, General Presbyter of the Peace River Presbytery in Southwest Florida, Rev. Edmiston received a warm welcome from CIW members and a tour of the very community center and low-power radio station that both the PC(USA) and the Peace River Presbytery generously helped to launch thirteen years ago. After hearing firsthand from CIW leaders about the transformations that have taken place in the fields, Rev. Edmiston both met with Judge Laura Safer Espinoza of the Fair Food Standards Council and traveled to Sunripe Certified Brands (formerly, Pacific Tomato Growers), to hear from a participating grower how this unique, unparalleled partnership is bringing dignity and human rights to the fields for the first time in decades.

The church leaders even received a tour of Sunripe’s new, in-progress training facility – tailored specifically to host the worker-to-worker education sessions farmworkers receive as part of the Fair Food Program.

Before departing, Rev. Edmiston shared the hope she felt during her visit to Immokalee, a welcome ray of inspiration in trying times. 

Only a week or so after Rev. Edmiston’s visit, Immokalee hosted the ninth delegation of “Tomato Rabbis” from T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights. During a profound, three-day immersive exchange, the eight Jewish leaders (hailing from all across the nation, Boston to Miami) held lively discussions with CIW members as well as the Fair Food Standards Council and Fair Food Program participating growers, acquiring a deep understanding of all facets of the FFP.

Remarkably, these rabbinic delegations – the first of which took place in September of 2011 – have borne witness to the dramatic changes experienced by farmworkers since that first season of the Fair Food Program’s implementation. Rabbi Rachel Kahn-Troster, director of Programs for T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights and organizer of the yearly trip, observed poignantly that the first visit to Southwest Florida came on the heels of the area being dubbed “ground-zero for modern-day slavery” in the U.S. by a federal prosecutor – and yet today, the visit provides an opportunity for religious leaders to observe an extraordinary and unique program that has virtually eradicated 21st-century slavery in the fields. 

The #tomatorabbis visit would not be complete, however, without strategizing for the year ahead or taking action in the Campaign for Fair Food – which represents the consumer power and resulting market consequences foundational to the Fair Food Program. 

Donning prayer shawls and taking up the shofar – the traditional ram’s-horn trumpet used in Jewish prayer – the rabbis concluded their visit by heading to a Wendy’s on busy highway 41 in Bonita Springs. The rabbis entered the fast food restaurant to deliver a letter to the local manager, chanting prayers while handing out copies of the letter to customers inside. To their surprise, the manager instructed the rabbis to return 20 minutes later, when a representative from Wendy’s regional leadership would be in attendance.

Though their second visit to the store did not bear much fruit – as the Wendy’s representative merely demanded that the rabbis cease disrupting Wendy’s business, and instructed them to leave the premises – the rabbinic delegation left determined to take the boycott to their congregations and communities back home.

Leaders of many faiths have a mighty and venerable history of standing with farmworkers, lending both their moral voice and consumer power to achieve what was once seen as impossible – real, verifiable human rights in an industry once built on poverty and exploitation of workers at the bottom of the supply chain. The deep-rooted commitment of people of faith continues to build across the country, and will only grow as the struggle for justice continues to expand beyond Florida’s tomato industry and spread to new states, new crops, new industries, and beyond.

GRAND FINALE: Boycott Wendy's actions from Miami to Chicago wrap up "Behind the Braids" fall mobilization!

It’s a wrap! Following the tremendous leadership of the CIW, the Fair Food Nation has been at the forefront of the movement for farmworker justice since the birth of the Campaign for Fair Food in 2001. And this fall – even as the country has been adjusting to the new political landscape – the commitment to heed the call for farmworkers’ human rights shone brighter than ever as the Wendy’s Boycott ballooned in over 25 cities from Miami to Austin to Chicago to Boston.

There’s much to share from the final stretch of this fall’s boycott mobilization, including on-the-ground reports from the last of the Behind the Braids regional tours, which hammered the Wendy’s Boycott throughout the fast food giant’s territory in the Midwest, and a recap of the Weekend of Action finale. Here we go!

The final Behind the Braids Midwest Tour kicked off on November 5 in Chicago, a community with deep roots in the Campaign for Fair Food ever since the city mobilized tirelessly during the CIW’s 2005-2007 campaign against McDonald’s.  Touching down in Chicago, it was more of a homecoming than a visit: we were warmly welcomed by excited members of the Son Jarocho community as well as many longtime community allies, including Interfaith Worker Justice and El Centro Autónomo — all ready to drum up some Fair Food spirit in the Windy City!

From there, we hit the ground running.  We stretched out across the city for Food Chains screenings; countless classroom presentations at college campuses, elementary schools, and high schools, including Oakton Community College, the University of Illinois at Chicago, Kenwood Academy; and exchanges with community groups, such as the Autonomous Tenants Union and El Centro de Trabajadores Unidos.

On November 9 — even as we confronted news of the election results that shook communities across the country — nearly 50 allies stood strong alongside farmworkers outside of a local Wendy’s with even more determination and ánimo to defend human rights — of farmworkers, and of all human beings.  CIW’s signature energy of hope and resilience remained unbroken as the first leg of the Midwest Tour laid the groundwork to continue growing the Wendy’s Boycott in Chi-Town!

With spirits running high, we continued north to Wisconsin’s largest city the next day, making whirlwind stops at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Marquette University, Escuela Vieau and Escuela Verde to educate high school and college students on the longstanding human rights abuses in the fields – and the proven solution that is now transforming conditions for tens of thousands of farmworkers in the U.S.

After inspiring exchanges with SEIU Local 1 and members of Young People’s Resistance Committee at UW-Milwaukee as well as a lively community Food Chains screening, we joined an animated group of allies for a letter delivery to a local Wendy’s manager, declaring that consumers in Milwaukee refuse to accept the fast food giant’s polished public relations ploys as an excuse to reject the Fair Food Program.

We hit the road for Madison, where we took the time to re-connect with Fair Food veterans – many of whom had pledged their unwavering support to the CIW even before the Fair Food Program was born – and to cultivate relationships with newcomers to the Fair Food movement.  On Monday, we spent a full day trekking across the landmark Bascom Hill at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to over a dozen classroom presentations, spreading the message of the Wendy’s Boycott to hundreds of students.  Later that night, we had a powerful exchange with campus strongholds MEChA de UW-Madison and the Student Labor Action Coalition.  The gathered students learned about the importance of continuing to build on the long legacy of student solidarity with the CIW that has existed at UW-Madison since the Taco Bell boycott years — and committed to take action the following day.

It was time to hit the streets!  We were met by over 60 students, professors and local community members ready to bring the Wendy’s Boycott to town.  Colorful art lined the sidewalk and lively chants echoed between the Capital Building and the UW-Madison campus buildings, as hundreds of students paced the restaurant-lined street during their lunch hour.

As the culminating action of the six “Behind the Braids” fall tours wrapped up, plans for what’s coming next were already in the works.  Madison — echoing the determination and commitment we saw in Chicago and Milwaukee — promised to keep the pressure up on Wendy’s, for as long as the fast food chain continues holding out on protecting the human rights of farmworkers!

Simultaneously, over in Cleveland, Ohio, we met by hundreds of Ohioans, from students at John Carroll and Case Western Reserve Universities to stalwart allies with the InterReligious Task Force on Central America and Colombia, listeners of FCB Radio Network, and groups who had tirelessly been getting out the vote.  Women of the Presbytery of the Western Reserve and the national offices of the United Church of Christ welcomed CIW with the open arms — a spirit of support that has humbled us since the beginnings of the campaign all the way through the Presbyterian Church (USA) and UCC’s endorsements of the Wendy’s Boycott earlier this year.  

The week of raising consciousness turned into action on Friday as a 40-strong group of Clevelanders came out in the bitter cold to protest at a Shaker Heights Wendy’s.

In the blustery evening, representatives from all the above-mentioned organizations, as well as from Forest Hills Presbyterian Church, the Greater Cleveland Immigrant Support Network, and many who had never taken action before joined the growing demand from Ohio:  Wendy’s must support and expand human rights for farmworkers rather than run from its responsibility as a massive corporate buyer of fresh produce.  

We headed from there down to Columbus.  Following a protest of thousands after the November 8 election, Ohio State University students took to the streets once more with CIW to demand that the University refuse to renew its lease with Wendy’s. 

Just days after the Diocese of Southern Ohio of the Episcopal Church officially endorsed the Wendy’s Boycott at their Columbus meeting, members of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbus, the Methodist Theological Seminary, Franklinton Community Gardens, Central Ohio Worker Center, and students from OSU marched to the administration building where President Michael Drake has his offices.

After attending a powerful action in solidarity with Standing Rock activists, connecting the fight against exploitation of the environment with that against the abuse of human beings in the fields, we wrapped up our time in Ohio with a final action alongside Real Food Challenge.  Representatives of environmental justice movements, small-scale farmers, rural communities, and workers’ organizations spoke powerfully to the need to hold OSU accountable for their investment and spending as it affects our food system. 

Oscar Otzoy of the CIW closed the rally with these words:  “On behalf of all workers in Immokalee who everyday do the hard work of putting food on the tables of everyone in this nation, we are grateful for the support of everyone here.  What is clear now more than ever is that we must all be united.  It may seem that these corporations are the ones with power — but that is not true!  Power lies right here, now, with us.  And with that strength, it doesn’t matter what we are up against — I know we will win!”

As the final of the six regional Behind the Braids Tours came to a close, the rolling wave of energy for the Wendy’s Boycott hit Florida’s sunnier shores for a spectacular Weekend of Action finale!

On Saturday, students at Barry University and St. Thomas University in Miami coordinated a spirited march of more than 150 on Wendy’s in the neighborhood of Coral Gables, near the University of Miami’s campus.  Joined by dozens of CIW farmworker members from Immokalee and numerous faith and community allies from Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties – including representatives from South Florida Interfaith Worker Justice and the Presbytery of Tropical Florida – marchers began in a downtown community park with a rousing reflection on the uncertainty of the times we are living in, and the importance of taking action and continuing to unite in the struggle for human rights.

From there, the march kicked off with a long, loud picket outside of a nearby Publix.  The group took advantage of the moment to remind the Florida-based supermarket chain that it, along with Wendy’s and other resistant retailers, needs to hear the call for justice coming from farmworkers and Publix’s own consumers. After a successful delivery of letters written by students at St. Thomas University for Publix management, the march looped around the block and over to the busy U.S. 1 thoroughfare to make its way to the main event: a colorful picket outside a very prominent Coral Gables Wendy’s on that same road.  Though the manager refused to take a delegation’s letter, the group left the scene buoyed by the march’s high energy and the unmistakable joy of the Fair Food Nation.

The action wasn’t just in South Florida.  Central Florida was also present this past weekend, with two consecutive protests in the Fair Food strongholds of St. Petersburg and Tampa!  In St. Pete and Tampa, students at Eckerd College and the Tampa community invited others to join them in two dozens-strong marches to Wendy’s.  In a surprising move, the local manager met the delegation in St. Pete with openness – even while informing allies that Wendy’s corporate offices had warned many Wendy’s chains that Fair Food protests might be taking the boycott to their stores that day.

The Weekend of Action finished off in Fort Myers the next day, just a stone’s throw from Immokalee itself, with over 50 farmworkers and allies from across Southwest Florida. 

Participants ranged from congregations whose support stretches back to the pre-Campaign for Fair Food days, to students at Florida Gulf Coast University who had first learned of the CIW’s work only a few weeks ago.

The multigenerational crowd proudly raised their voices in solidarity with farmworkers as a sizable delegation of CIW farmworker women and faith allies, including youth from the nearby Unitarian Universalist Church of Fort Myers, approached the store to deliver their letter.  In the second surprise of the weekend, meeting them at the door were two Wendy’s representatives who introduced themselves as the Director of Operations and the regional Wendy’s manager.  Instructing the delegation to deliver their letter to Wendy’s headquarters in Dublin, OH, the pair turned away even after hearing local consumers and farmworker leaders argue persuasively in favor of Wendy’s joining its peers in the Fair Food Program.

BONUS: Video from the Washington, DC “Behind the Braids” action!
And to wrap up this marathon report, we have a video produced by students in Washington DC, documenting the final action of the Mid-Atlantic Behind the Braids Tour just a few short weeks ago. Enjoy, and get ready for the next big wave of action this December 10, International Human Rights Day!

The battle for human rights continues...

“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”

We have had occasion to quote those words, attributed to Dr. Martin Luther King, many a time over the 25 years that we have been organizing here in Immokalee. The quotation reminds us that, though at times it might seem that progress has grown unbearably slow or even ground to a halt, it never truly stops, and that, when viewed from a sufficient distance, the trajectory of history bends only one way — toward greater freedom and equality. 

The Fair Food movement is fundamentally a human rights movement. Yes, it is about immigrant rights, but non-immigrants work in the fields too and they are every bit as exploited and abused as their immigrant brothers and sisters. And yes, it is about labor rights, but it is about women’s rights as well, both in the fields and at home in the fight against domestic violence. It is even about consumers’ rights, the right to demand that, in the 21st century, food corporations no longer turn a blind eye to abuses in their supply chains, but use the power of the market to help fix the poverty and exploitation that their purchasing policies have driven for so long.

If we are to protect the fragile progress toward ever-greater social justice that we have made across the generations, we must fight together, in a broad and inclusive movement to protect our rights — immigrant rights, women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, civil rights, labor rights, our right to health care, our right to religious freedom, our right to a clean and sustainable environment, our right to a fair and equitable economy, and more — our human rights. If each of those sectors faces the challenge alone, we will be weak, we will be on the defensive, and we may lose ground. Together, however, we can define the agenda, one that fosters a vision of universal human rights, and we can win.

America has given birth to many great movements across the centuries, from the fight against monarchy to the fight for universal civil rights. In this new century, perhaps it is time for a new American movement — the American human rights movement.  

If so, the Fair Food Nation will be there...

And now, News from the Lone-Star State...

With four whirlwind “Behind the Braids” tours already behind them, farmworkers from Immokalee and their allies hit the road again last week, turning their sights this time to a longtime hotbed of Fair Food action:  The Lone-Star State. From the Rio Grande Valley and Austin to San Marcos and San Antonio, the Immokalee crew swept through Texas with community gatherings, school presentations, animated actions, and collaborations with incredible grassroots and student organizations, building an even stronger national boycott of Wendy's.

Rio Grande Valley
The Texas Tour started off with a bang!  Along South Texas Boulevard in Weslaco, we were joined by seventy community leaders from around the Rio Grande Valley, including members Fuerza del Valle, a longtime CIW ally and workers’ rights powerhouse whose support stretches back to the beginnings of the Campaign for Fair Food.  

Spirits were running high among the protesters gathered that sunny Saturday afternoon, raising colorful Fair Food banners and singing chants at the top of our lungs as we started marching along the sidewalk.

Once we arrived to Wendy’s, the scores of community members started a picket before a delegation made its way into Wendy’s.  The delegation was immediately met with resistance.  The manager, after refusing to allow the CIW or Wendy’s own local customers speak, proceeded to call the police.  In spite of the cold shoulder, the delegation left even more animated than when they had entered, rejoining the upbeat protest outside ad continuing the protest with our flags and boycott banners held high, drawing support from many drivers and passersby.

The spirited action was then followed by a gathering with members from Fuerza del Valle, which generously hosted the CIW at the office of the Edinburg American Federation of Teachers.  Together, the CIW’s Lupe Gonzalo and other workers shared their motivations and their vision for worker-driven social responsibility, building bonds of solidarity that anchored everyone in the room not only to the Wendy’s boycott, but also to the movement for basic human rights in workplaces across the nation.

Austin and San Marcos
After the visit to the Rio Grande Valley, we headed off to Austin and San Marcos.  First up, we were hosted by the Workers’ Defense Project and the Fight for 15 at a community gathering that was followed by two back-to-back days of class presentations.  As we visited classroom after classroom in universities like St. Edward’s University and the University of Texas in Austin, hundreds of new students committed themselves to strengthening the boycott even as Wendy’s tries to ignore the voices of student consumers across the country.

From there, we were invited to San Marcos, where we held class presentations at Texas State University and a screening of the award-winning documentary Food Chains at el Centro Cultural Hispano de San Marcos.

To wrap up our region to that corner of Texas, it was back to Austin for more action!  Scores of students, members of the Workers’ Defense Project, organizers from the Fight for 15, and community members from Austin gathered for a lively picket with both long-time and brand-new allies from the community.

San Antonio
Finally, we made our last stop in San Antonio.  From the “El Mundo Zurdo” Conference to presentations at the University of Texas at San Antonio and meetings with the Southwest Workers Union, we witnessed even more young people take up the Fair Food banner.

With that, we wrapped up an incredible tour of the Lone Star State, and left inspired:  we saw students, workers’ rights organizations, people of faith, and communities not only join our presentations, screenings, and actions, but also commit to deeper, long-standing support of the Wendy’s Boycott in their home state.  We have no doubt that the good people of Fair Food Texas will continue to pressure the fast-food hold-out until Wendy’s finally comes to the table with the workers who pick their tomatoes.

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!