Representing over a thousand members across the U.S. and the world, the Quaker Southeastern Yearly Meeting and Dominican Sisters of Peace endorse the Wendy’s Boycott!
“Guided by our Quaker principles of fairness and equality, Southeastern Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), has supported the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) for many years…”
The list of official endorsements of the CIW’s Wendy’s Boycott just keeps growing!
Fresh off the excitement of last week’s major Day of Action, we bring you news of two new Wendy’s Boycott endorsements: the Dominican Sisters of Peace on April 11th, and the Southeastern Yearly Meeting on April 19th! Here is the full report from the Alliance for Fair Food:
The Dominican Sisters of Peace have been longstanding allies to the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, ever since the Wendy’s campaign began six years ago. With members in 22 states, Peru, and Nigeria, the Dominican Sisters represent nearly 470 sisters ,770 associates and form part of the worldwide Order of Preachers. Through ministry, prayer, and a mindful way of life, the Dominican Sisters of Peace work to build a more peaceful world. When writing about peace and justice the Dominican Sisters refer to the following biblical verse “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you.” (John 14:27)
And that is not the only community of conscience that has stepped up to endorse the Wendy’s Boycott this month! The Southeastern Yearly Meeting (SEYM) represents 25 Quaker Meetings and Worship Groups in Florida, southeast Georgia, coastal South Carolina, and Managua, Nicaragua. The SEYM endorsement includes the commitment to share its position with “all Yearly Meetings across the country,” thus extending the invitation to endorse to an additional 36,000 Quakers. (We know of course, given the deep history of Quaker commitment to the CIW’s Campaign for Fair Food and the Quaker tradition of joining the frontlines of social justice movements, most Friends have been saying #NoThanksWendys for years now!)
Here below is SEYM’s powerful Wendy’s Boycott endorsement statement in full:
“Guided by our Quaker principles of fairness and equality, Southeastern Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), has supported the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) for many years. Over the years we have been gratified to see the progress that CIW and its Fair Food Program have made in bringing together farmers, farm workers, and retail food companies to ensure humane wages and working conditions for tens of thousands of US farm workers. McDonald, Walmart, Taco Bell, KFC, Whole Foods Market, Fresh Market and Pizza Hut are some of the companies that now recognize the benefits of buying from growers that agree to fair labor standards.
We are concerned, however, that, of the five largest fast food companies, Wendy’s is the only one that has declined to participate in CIW’s Fair Food program. In order to convince Wendy’s to join in this human rights effort, Southeastern Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends endorses and supports the CIW sponsored boycott of Wendy’s Company.
Friends approve sharing this statement with Wendy’s Company and with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. We will also send this statement to all Yearly Meetings across the country, and include it on our website and newsletters, and other publications as led.”
The call for fellow institutions to endorse the campaign serves as a reminder for all Fair Food allies: 1) secure a Wendy’s Boycott endorsement from your campus group, religious institution, or organization and 2) invite others to do the same, especially those organizations aligned with fighting human trafficking and gender-based violence at work.
Make sure to check out the official Wendy’s Boycott site for the extensive list of formal boycott endorsements, both institutional and individual. In the words of the formal endorsement letter, now signed onto by scores of organizations and individuals:
In the face of Wendy’s failure to do the right thing, we, as organizations, people of faith, students, and consumers of conscience, pledge to boycott Wendy’s until the world’s third largest hamburger chain commits to protect the human rights of the farmworkers who make their profits possible by joining the Fair Food Program.
Join the Fair Food Nation in building up the ever-growing list of endorsements for the national Wendy’s Boycott! Once you’ve completed the endorsement form, send it along to organize@allianceforfairfood.org.
[ ENDORSE HERE ]