Calling all members of the Fair Food Nation:
Mark your calendars to contact Wendy's next Tuesday, May 20th!
Demand justice for farmworkers by calling, emailing, or delivering a printed letter to Wendy's urging the fast-food giant join the Fair Food Program!
On May 21, 2025, Wendy's shareholders will convene for their annual meeting, where the owners of Wendy's stock -- institutional and individual shareholders alike -- make their voices heard on decisions that can shape company business for years to come. This year Wendy's shareholders will vote on a resolution calling on the company to produce a report on how Worker-driven Social Responsibility (WSR) can protect Wendy's from the risk of forced labor and other forms of extreme abuse in its suppliers' operations. Unconscionably, Wendy's Board of Directors has already come out against this resolution and has asked its shareholders to vote "No", effectively turning the company's back on the widely recognized gold standard for social responsibility in corporate supply chains today.
To this, we say: Enough is enough.
It's time for Wendy's to join the Presidential Medal-winning Fair Food Program.
With 15 years of unparalleled success safeguarding the human rights of farmworkers, the FFP's industry-leading protections prevent longstanding farm labor abuse -- including wage theft, sexual harassment, and modern-day slavery -- by empowering farmworkers to be the frontline monitors of their own rights, backed by the purchasing power of 14 of the country's largest buyers of produce. And when it comes to guaranteeing freedom and dignity for workers in fast-food industry supply chains, Wendy's lags far behind its major competitors – including McDonald's, Taco Bell, Subway and Burger King – all of whom joined the Fair Food Program nearly two decades ago.
That is why we are calling on all supporters of farmworkers’ human rights to reach out to Wendy's on May 20th, the day before the company's annual shareholder meeting, to let the fast-food giant know that its customers are deeply concerned about the human rights of the men and women who harvest their food.
Click here to get instant updates on all things CIW and FFP, including our digital action toolkit, sent directly to your email inbox ahead of the May 20th day of action!
For a quick refresher on the history of the Wendy's campaign, click here, here, and here for just a few highlights through the years.
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Kerry Kennedy, President of RFK Human Rights: “This recognition is a personal honor and a reminder that the pursuit of human rights demands boldness, compassion and an unshakable commitment to justice.” Kerry Kennedy: “I march with Coalition of Immokalee Workers to demand dignity and respect for farmworkers. I march for fair wages and humane working conditions.” It is our great pleasure to share the news that Kerry Kennedy — a longtime ally of farmworkers, the CIW, and of human rights defenders everywhere — has been awarded the prestigious Oscar Romero Human Rights Award by the University of Dayton’s Human Rights Center last month […]
Silvia Perez, farmworker and CIW staff member: “All these successful campaigns to get more Participating Buyers for the Fair Food Program have only been possible with the support of students and people of faith.” Well, that’s a wrap! The Spring of Consciousness tour, led by farmworker staff members of the CIW alongside allies, stopped in major cities across Florida including Tampa, Miami, and Orlando in order to educate consumer, student, and faith communities about the important role they all play in guaranteeing farmworkers’ human rights. This statewide tour may be coming to an end, but we want to take a […]
Fair Food Nation, get ready! This spring, in honor of National Farmworker Awareness Week, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers is embarking on the Spring of Consciousness tour across three of Florida’s biggest cities: Tampa, Miami, and Orlando! In each city, the CIW will connect with student, faith, and community allies and build awareness of the abuses farmworkers continue to face in fields from Homestead, Florida, to Delano, California, outside of the Fair Food Program (FFP). For the last twenty years, farmworkers and consumer allies have stood together in the Campaign for Fair Food, demanding dignity and respect for the people […]
Chandan Kumar, India Sugar Industry Workers Association: “This partnership will help Indian producers align with global standards and respond to international calls for greater transparency and accountability in supply chains.” Lucas Benitez, CIW co-founder: “We have seen firsthand the unparalleled impact of the FFP in the fields… We look forward to partnering with sugarcane workers in India to help bring that same transformation to India’s sugar industry — for the benefit of all, workers, farmers, and corporate buyers alike.” MAHARASHTRA, INDIA – A coalition of labor and human rights groups – coming together under the banner of the newly-formed India Sugar Industry […]
La Jornada: “Both the administrators and the CIW explain that, in the end, the agreement not only directly benefited the workers but also improved the company’s business and reputation.” Lucas Benitez, CIW co-founder, on Worker-driven Social Responsibility: “How beautiful it is that we can say: here’s the formula for this medicine and you can adapt it to your reality…” Since its inception 15 years ago, the Fair Food Program has ushered in a new day for farmworkers across the US by guaranteeing them essential human rights protections against wage theft, harassment, retaliation, and modern-day slavery. And now, the Presidential Medal-winning FFP […]
Welcome to Florida podcast: “The CIW was instrumental to enacting one of the most effective programs to improve working conditions for agriculture workers in U.S. history, the Fair Food Program.” Nely Rodriguez, CIW: “During the fast, I found myself reflecting on the things I’ve seen, like the mothers here who have to get up extremely early to drop their kids off at daycare or school, but under the Fair Food Program, that is no longer the case. If we can make this Program expand, those things will change.” Although the Fair Food Program now operates in 23 states domestically, covering […]
Gerardo Reyes Chavez, CIW: “We have been able to get rid of situations of modern-day slavery. The [Fair Food] Program has elevated conditions to the point of prevention.” “If you can do something to help some of the most vulnerable workers in this country, do it… Help us expand [the Fair Food Program].” As the Fair Food Program continues to expand both domestically and overseas, the CIW’s Gerardo Reyes Chavez sat down with Danielle Nierenberg, the founder of Food Tank, to reflect on the history of the CIW, the birth of the FFP, and the crucial role consumer allies continue to play today […]
José Ignacio, VT construction worker at press conference: “Just like we know that the community is facing challenges, we know that the community is capable of creating solutions.” Douglas Guerra, construction worker and CTUL Board President: “It is a win-win for both the workers and the companies that join the program. Workers can expect decent conditions and fair pay, while construction companies can be at the forefront of a system that will change the entire industry.” In yet another groundbreaking victory for advancing workers’ fundamental human rights through the Worker-driven Social Responsibility model, the Vermont Construction Company has committed to join […]
Professor Susan Marquis, in Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Envisioned and led by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, the Fair Food Program is transforming agriculture, ending the endemic abuse on farms across the U.S. and, increasingly, around the globe. When this groundbreaking program was still a bold but untested idea in the early 2000s, Jimmy Carter and The Carter Center brought expertise in conflict resolution and Carter’s prestige to the farmworkers’ campaign for human rights.” Decades-long relationship began in 1997 with the former President’s public intervention in the CIW’s month-long hunger strike, continued through birth of Fair Food Program and growth of WSR […]
Farmworker with the CIW: “Heat and weariness don’t affect us because justice is priceless.” Alice Driver, author, on the CIW and Venceremos: “The CIW has organized workers since 1993, and, like Venceremos, it began as a small group of workers meeting weekly. Over the years, they developed a worker-led model and used protests and media campaigns to pressure retailers to source food ethically and encourage consumers to support just labor conditions.” As we ring in the new year — one sadly marked by a vast uncertainty and, in many communities, real fear — we want to take a moment to […]