Wendy's #Time'sUp: Support the 2018 Spring Action
Sara Policastro
Hey there,
The 2018 Spring Action is headed our way! With that in mind, organizers, students, and farmworker allies from across the District of Columbia are joining together to unite with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) in their call for solidarity this March up in NYC. Revered by some as the "Big Apple," New York City is also home to executive Nelson Peltz and other Wendy's corporate shareholders who engage in harmful ways in the Big Tomato industry. As farmworkers head up North to confront Nelson Peltz (Wendy's executive and major shareholder) and tell him that "Time's Up" on sexual assault and wage exploitation in the fields, we are preparing to stand beside them.
Donations to this page will support bus tickets, snacks, and other logistical needs for those traveling from DC to NYC for a week. Some participants will be fasting for a full week in solidarity with the CIW, others will be providing necessary support for a week-long direct action and culminating March on Peltz' corporate home: Trian Partners.
Support our trip by donating any amount to: https://www.paypal.me/dcfairfood
ABOUT THE CIW: In 2011, Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) launched the Fair Food Program (FFP), a groundbreaking model for Worker-driven Social Responsibility (WSR) based on a unique partnership among farmworkers, Florida tomato growers, and participating retail buyers, including Subway, Whole Foods, and Walmart. The CIW has successfully won organizing campaigns targeting 14 corporations at the top of the supply chain over the past two decades, ensuring a penny more per pound is given to the tomato pickers. The Fair Food Program has effectively doubled farmworker wages, and protects farmworker women from the otherwise 80% reported sexual assault rate in the fields.
WHY WE'RE MOBILIZING: For years now, Wendy’s has turned a deaf ear to workers’ and consumers’ calls to join the Fair Food Program. Worse yet, in response to pressure to join the FFP, Wendy’s abandoned its longtime Florida tomato suppliers altogether and shifted its purchases instead to Mexico, where sexual harassment and assault in the fields are endemic and farmworker women are intimidated into silence by a culture of fear, violence, and corruption. Rather than do its part to support the leading program for ending sexual violence in corporate supply chains, Wendy’s has chosen to partner with an industry where – despite widespread abuse -- its brand will be protected because women there are afraid to complain and are forced into silence. The CIW has specifically called for national allies to join them in standing up to Wendy’s this Spring.
Thanks for your continued support of DC Fair Food and the work we do!
Warmly,
Sara Policastro
DCFF Member