[hupso_hide][hupso title=”#MothersDay brought out kids of #NYC, too!” url=”https://ciw-online.org”]

Midtown Workmen’s Circle school kids put their art skills and love for social justice into action to call on Wendy’s to join the Fair Food Program…

The Midtown Workmen’s Circle School is a New York City institution, part of a storied, nationwide Jewish organization founded in 1900.  Here’s how they describe their mission (from the MWCS website):

In its early years, Workmen’s Circle played a crucial role in helping Jewish immigrants find their place in American society, and in advocating for economic justice for all.

Now, the organization is building from that history to become a leader in creating a secular Jewish education that affirms and acts on progressive values.  (read more)

The Midtown Workmen’s Circle School is one of a number of “shules” affiliated with the national network, and this past Sunday, in honor of Mother’s Day, they did the movement proud with a colorful, art- and music-filled action calling on Wendy’s to join the Fair Food Program — now!

Here’s an extended, first-hand report of the action from the students’ dedicated teacher:

This week was our mother’s day school’s field trip to Wendy’s.  It was amazing!  The kids have been working on targeting Wendy’s for months, since we first did the CIW-provided curriculum in once class, and then began strategizing about what it would mean for us to work as organizers.  This work started with the older grades at my school, ages 10-11, but the 8-9 year olds at some point along the way refused to be left out of the work and have become great collaborators.  We’ve collected dozens of letters and video testimonials, made dozens of images, and reworked the Wendy’s logo in hundreds of imaginative ways.  

But this protest was something else!  The kids were incredibly fired up.  They are very upset with Wendy’s, it’s personal because Wendy’s won’t answer their letters or phone calls.  

We met at our school, which is 3 blocks away from the Wendy’s at 34th St and 8th Ave.  We learned how to fold little chant books from a regular sized piece of paper, and then made our plan of action for the day.  We talked about student/worker solidarity, and the importance of being in solidarity with the workers in the Wendy’s as well as the workers in Immokalee – how are real targets were the manager because that’s our closest link to the Wendy’s corporate office, and the people passing by and/or going into the Wendy’s because we have a message for them!

We made a plan for how to present the 45 letters we have collected – one student suggested wrapping them up like a mother’s day present.  ‘But what if the manager is a man?’ asked my students.  I explained that everyone can celebrate mother’s day, and that actually the holiday is rooted in a radical celebration of the importance of every person, that mother’s day was started as a day to raise awareness of the importance of good sanitation for family health, and became an important anti-war holiday at the beginning of the 1900s.  Anyway, our youngest students wrapped the letters in beautiful paper and we set off.  

The kids asked for the manager.  When she came they presented the letters, the students asked: “Do you have a penny that I could have?  (she looked for one)  That’s not really a lot, is it?  Well do you know about the Coalition of Immokalee Workers?…” 

The kids were amazing!  They had so much energy, their parents were amazed.  The adults stood on the sidelines and helped chant, while the kids gave out 250 fliers and fanned out into an incredible net that no one could escape on busy 34th street without hearing about the CIW.  

Two of my students came up to me really excited, saying “That man told us he was going to go to Wendy’s but that he won’t cross a picket line!”  I told them that was great, and good job!  “What’s a picket line?” they asked.  I love that these kids are learning what solidarity means not by learning the words first but by feeling what it’s like to demonstrate solidarity, to fight corporate power, to create beauty in the form of pictures and songs as we do campaign work that links us in struggle to the incredible work of the CIW.  

But it wasn’t all!  According to the teacher who accompanied the kids, “We also rapped!”  Here’s the text of a rap sung by one of the students by the name of Shayna:

Your food is great
Let’s negotiate 

There are so many
That need a penny
Just some to give
To let them live 

Come on Wendy’s
Sign the Contract
People working so hard
And that is a fact 

Sign the Contract Wendy’s (x4)

 They pick tomatoes
With very litle pay
How much do they work? 

Well they work all day
The Fair Food Agreement
To be paid fair fare
McDonalds signed
But Wendy’s just don’t care 

Sign the Contract Wendy’s (x4)

The energy, heart, and conviction of young people has fueled the Campaign for Fair Food since its inception in 2001 with the Taco Bell Boycott — a time Wendy’s current CEO Emil Brolick certainly must remember well, as he was CEO of Taco Bell when that four-year campaign ended in 2005 — and with the leadership of kids from Immokalee to Midtown Manhattan, it shows no signs of slowing down today.  Great job, MWCS!