REPORT: Faith leaders’ rolling Florida fast hits halfway mark, Interfaith Worker Justice takes Wendy’s Boycott to the streets in Chicago!

Last week, in solidarity with Florida fast participants, 80+ IWJ members, including IWJ Executive Director Laura Barrett and IWJ Board President Rev. Doug Mork, hand-delivered a copy of their letter to a local Wendy’s manager in Chicago suburb Des Plaines.

30 Faith leaders for 30 days: Rolling fast to demand farm labor justice from Wendy’s!

Interfaith Worker Justice to Wendy’s CEO:  “Wendy’s actions unequivocally fail the basic moral code that demands every single one of us work tirelessly for justice for all people on this Earth – and that unquestioningly prioritizes human life over corporate profits.  Communities of faith, workers, and consumers across the country will not allow such actions to go unanswered…”

Today, over 30 faith leaders and clergy across the state of Florida – the state with the most Wendy’s restaurants in the country – are crossing the halfway mark of this month’s 30-day rolling fast to escalate the national Wendy’s Boycott and the demand for farm labor justice from the final fast food holdout.  The Florida Interfaith Fast for Farmworker Justice, which launched at the beginning of July, echoes the momentous actions taken first by 19 students at the Ohio State University, who fasted for a week to advance their campaign to terminate Wendy’s campus lease, and then by hundreds of students at fourteen universities across the country throughout the month of April.

As faith leaders continue to add their voices to the growing chorus of consumers refusing to support Wendy’s unconscionable failure to respect farmworker human rights, we bring you the full report from the front lines of the Wendy’s Boycott, straight from the untiring organizers of the Alliance for Fair Food:

…Major religious and worker leaders of Interfaith Worker Justice endorse the Florida fast

Earlier this week, the dozens of fasting Florida clergy and lay leaders received tremendous national backing from major religious leaders associated with longtime CIW supporter Interfaith Worker Justice, which endorsed the Wendy’s Boycott late last year.  At IWJ’s annual convening in Chicago, the IWJ Board of Directors, which is representative of 10 faith traditions, unanimously voted to support the Florida fast. Their searing letter, also signed by over 50 faith and workers’ center IWJ affiliate representatives, is addressed to Wendy’s President and CEO Todd Penegor and condemns the fast food giant’s failure to join the Fair Food Program:

IWJ Board President Rev. Doug Mork

As faith leaders representing various religious denominations and institutions, as well as representatives from worker centers and unions nationwide, we write to you today on behalf of the Interfaith Worker Justice network to express our wholehearted support for the scores of faith leaders across Florida embarking on a month-long rolling fast throughout the month of July in support of the Wendy’s Boycott called for by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers…

And today… we, too, join the growing alliance of consumers of conscience refusing to patronize Wendy’s because of its shameful refusal to take responsibility for conditions faced by farmworkers in its supply chain…

Wendy’s actions unequivocally fail the basic moral code that demands every single one of us work tirelessly for justice for all people on this Earth – and that unquestioningly prioritizes human life over corporate profits. Communities of faith, workers, and consumers across the country will not allow such actions to go unanswered…

(You can find the letter in full over at the Alliance for Fair Food website.)

In solidarity with Florida fast participants, 80+ IWJ members including IWJ Executive Director Laura Barrett and IWJ Board President Rev. Doug Mork hand-delivered a copy of the letter to a local Wendy’s manager in Chicago suburb Des Plaines.

In addition to refraining from eating for a day, allies participating in the Florida Interfaith Fast for Farmworker Justice have been called to take accompanying action to fortify the movement to boycott Wendy’s. As the fast continues in the next couple weeks, we’ll be highlighting the statements of those who have chosen written reflection as their medium to amplify the fast.

This morning, the words of Rev. Leigh McCaffrey of the Florida Conference of the UCC serve as food for mind and spirit for those whose fast is still to come:

A Regretful Way

I really like Wendy’s baked potatoes and chili, especially on a chilly day. But I haven’t had them in years. I am really grateful for the way the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption has done terrific work through their Wendy’s Wonderful Kids Recruiters. They help children like my grandchildren, who came to us through foster care and adoption. Wendy’s seems to really care about kids.

Except the kids of farmworkers.

…Wendy’s has repeatedly refused to join other food companies in agreements that would guarantee worker conditions and safeguards. Are these farmworker kids somehow less important than little white girls with red braids?

So, regretfully, I am boycotting Wendy’s. Last week, I took part in a rolling fast by clergy to try to pressure this company to do the right thing and join other responsible food vendors in protecting those who work in harsh conditions for low wages. I didn’t eat any tomatoes. But I had water to drink and a clean bathroom, and I didn’t spend the day looking over my shoulder in fear. At the end of the day, I got to giggle with my grandbabies on the phone. I want that for everyone’s mother and grandmother. I want that for everyone’s children.

I hope you will join me in this boycott, and in raising awareness of the needs of those whose labor feeds us every day.

(Read Rev. MacCaffrey’s full reflection here.)

Let us join the boycott, and work together towards a future in which the dignity of all farmworkers is respected.

You can sign the petition in support of the fasting Florida leaders and learn more about what you can do to grow the call for human rights from Wendy’s – including, making a donation today to the Wendy’s Boycott Fund. If you’d like to take part in the fast yourself, email patricia@allianceforfairfood.org.  

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Stay tuned for more reflections and updates in the weeks to come!