In home stretch before shareholder actions, Wendy’s targeted in nationwide e-action…
Hot on the heels of the Publix e-action launched last week by our new friends at Walk Free, longtime Campaign for Fair Food allies sumofus.org have kicked off an e-action of their own, and this one is aimed right at the final fast-food holdout, Wendy’s.
The petition is timed to coincide with the big actions coming up this week and next in New York City and across the country. Here’s an excerpt from sumofus.org’s announcement accompanying the e-action:
“For the last 20 years, there’s been a quiet revolution in the tomato fields of Florida. A group of immigrant farmworkers called the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (or CIW) has been organizing to eradicate human rights abuses, like wage theft, sexual assault and in extreme cases, modern slavery which once ran rampant in the tomato industry, and improve working conditions and wages for people who pick the tomatoes we eat. They’ve made incredible progress, but now Wendy’s is standing in their way.
Most of the largest fast food chains, including McDonald’s, Subway, Burger King, and Taco Bell have all signed on to the CIW’s Fair Food Program. They have agreed to pay an extra penny per pound of tomatoes to raise wages and only buy from fields where workers’ rights are respected. Wendy’s is lagging behind the rest of the industry and is refusing to sign the agreement, despite being asked five times since 2007.
Farm workers and their allies are planning to march in the lead up to Wendy’s shareholder’s meeting in New York on May 18, and we want to make sure they can bring along a huge petition to show than consumers are behind them…” read more
You can — and should — sign the petition yourself by clicking here. Once you have signed it, be sure to share it with all your friends!
And speaking of the big actions this week and next… Check out this great video put together by the fine people at the Community Farmworker Alliance in NYC ahead of the protests!
Now that you’re ready to hit the streets, here below is a just a sample of the cities where actions will be taking place. If you have a protest planned and don’t see your city’s name here, be sure to send us an email and let us know at workers (at) ciw-online.org!
- New York City (joined by delegations from DC, Philadelphia, Providence, and Boston!)
- Ann Arbor, MI
- Bay Area in CA
- Cincinnati, OH
- Cleveland, OH
- Two actions in Columbus, OH
- Denver, CO
- Pittsburgh, PA
- New Orleans, LA
Keep the pressure on, it’s time to level the playing field in the fast-food industry!