Women’s rights legend Gloria Steinem calls out Wendy’s for failing to support farmworker women!

Farmworker women lead the “How Much Longer, Wendy’s?” March through Manhattan in July 2018

Wendy’s Boycott momentum rolls on through the summer with shoutout from Gloria Steinem, media coverage from La Jornada!

The CIW’s “How Much Longer, Wendy’s?” March, which took place earlier this month in Manhattan, continues to make waves for Wendy’s, keeping the spotlight trained squarely on the only major national fast food chain that still refuses to join the Fair Food Program.  Today, we bring you two quick media hits from the Wendy’s campaign front.

First up, following the New York City action, journalist/activist/women’s rights pioneer Gloria Steinem called out Wendy’s on social media, taking a stand with farmworker women who have brought the broader, centuries-old struggle for women’s fundamental rights to the agricultural fields of the U.S.  Between Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, her powerful message was seen and shared by hundreds of thousands of people.

The New York action wasn’t amplified only on social media, but also caught the attention of traditional news media.  The march was covered by La Jornada, one of Mexico City’s leading daily newspapers.  U.S. correspondent David Brooks captured the march both through an article and a video of the action, which you can check out at La Jornada’s website.  Here below we bring you highlights from the article (you can find the full text in Spanish here):

Immokalee demands that Wendy’s adopt the Fair Food Program

David Brooks // July 19, 2018

New York – Dozens of farmworkers with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) and hundreds of their allies marched through the heart of Manhattan to demand that Wendy’s – a fast food chain – sign a Fair Food Agreement with the internationally-recognized and award-winning Fair Food Program, which guarantees dignified working conditions for farmworkers in Florida and other states.

Wendy’s is the only of the largest national fast food chains that has refused to commit itself to the Fair Food Program, an innovative model designed for and by farmworkers together with growers and businesses, which has not only lifted workers’ wages, but also established new norms and processes to guarantee their basic rights, which has been able to eliminate conditions of slavery and sexual harassment of women on the farms participating in Florida and six other states. […]

[…] Lupe Gonzalo, an organizer with the CIW, said “with all of this strength, we will not give up,” making it clear that Wendy’s would sign onto the Program, sooner or later.

Lupe Gonzalo at the “How Much Longer, Wendy’s?” March, July 2018

Gerardo Reyes, a coordinator with the CIW, also commented to La Jornada that “we are not in this to look for conflict, but rather to invite Wendy’s into a solution… and to join the Program… in order to work with us and thereby guarantee real, verifiable social responsibility through the participation of workers, a process through which the human rights of workers are truly respected.”

“I am part of a smart generation, one that will create a better world, where workers are not exploited just for the betterment of a few,” declared Florida university student Brian, recalling that Wendy’s has invested millions to convert young people into their clientele. “Your misleading statements no longer work, and we’re coming for you,” he announced.

Today, 40 farmworker community members with the CIW arrived in this city to protest in front of the offices of Nelson Peltz, the company’s Board Chair, in Park Avenue where they were accompanied by religious leaders from the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths; students; labor and community activists; artists; and more, and from there, they marched to Fifth Avenue until they reached Wendy’s in front of the iconic skyscraper, the Empire State Building, chanting “Boycott Wendy’s,” and “Justice, Now!”

The Fair Food Program, which has received recognition such as a 2015 Presidential Medal, is made up of the CIW, growers, and 14 major food companies, and has transformed conditions for farmworkers in U.S. fields along the East Coast.

And that’s a wrap for today’s quick media round-up!  Stay tuned for more news on the Fair Food Program in the weeks ahead.