Dispatches from the student front in the fight for Fair Food ahead of huge Follow the Money March!

Student/Farmworker Alliance leaders convene in Immokalee for a face-to-face planning weekend on the Wendy’s Boycott!

Student/Farmworker Alliance leaders from across the country come together to turn up the pressure on Wendy’s!

Anyone who knows anything about the two-decade old Campaign for Fair Food knows the all-important leadership role students have played in winning the legally-binding agreements — with now fourteen of the world’s leading food brands — that put the teeth behind the groundbreaking Fair Food Program’s human rights standards.  Without those agreements, there would be no market consequences for human rights violations on Fair Food Program farms; without those agreements, 35,000 workers (and growing) would still face rampant sexual harassment and assault, systemic wage theft, and even forced labor, on the job, without recourse; and without those agreements, there would be no Fair Food Program.

And so whenever student leaders with the Student/Farmworker Alliance (SFA) come together from across the country to make plans for turning up the heat in the Campaign for Fair Food, we here at the CIW are eager to receive news of the gathering, and to share that news with you!  And that’s exactly what happened last weekend in Immokalee, which means we have the report, hot off the presses, for you today from the SFA itself. 

So, without further ado, here below is the latest dispatch from the front lines of student organizing ahead of the major Follow the Money March, (including a special video treat at the end of today’s update…).  Enjoy!: 

Last week, the newly-inducted members of the Student/Farmworker Alliance’s national leadership made their way to Immokalee, FL, for a full weekend of building strategy and student power in the Campaign for Fair Food!  The 2020 Steering Committee (SC) — comprised of 15 tireless organizers hailing from Washington State to Rhode Island — convened for its first face-to-face meeting of the year, setting ambitious campaign goals and sharpening their organizing skills.  

The long weekend’s packed schedule included interactive workshops ranging from the shameful legacy of slavery in our country’s food system to building resilient campus organizations.  Most importantly, the SC spent many hours making moves to mobilize scores of students and youth for the CIW’s upcoming Follow the Money March in New York City from March 10-12.  Stay tuned in the weeks ahead as we announce details about the buses and caravans leaving from a city near you to the major spring action!

Throughout the year, the SC will be helping to coordinate community-building and direct actions within SFA’s vast network of allies.  So, here’s your chance to meet the official new and returning members of the 2020 SFA Steering Committee:

Big news out of Immokalee: SFA’s Jordan Lake and Nova Friedman join the ally team! 

On the topic of new leadership, we’re excited to announce that we’ve hired two incredibly remarkable SFAers to join the ally team in Immokalee!  First up, Jordan Lake is stepping into her role as a National Co-coordinator for SFA, working with the SC and SFA leaders to bring the Wendy’s Boycott to new heights and build leadership across our network.  Jordan first became involved with the CIW as a participant of the CIW’s powerful 5-day Freedom Fast in 2018. The following year, she helped grow the Wendy’s Boycott at UMass Amherst and throughout the Northeast as a member of the SC.  Beyond working with the SFA network, Jordan is excited to support new and existing Fair Food Groups to sustain the fight for farmworker justice! You can catch her on email at jordan@allianceforfairfood.org. 

Also new to the Immokalee crew is Nova Friedman, one of the core leaders of the Boot the Braids Campaign at Temple University.  After participating in the 2018 SFA “Encuentro” gathering in Immokalee, Nova helped to start a burgeoning Student/Farmworker Alliance chapter at Temple’s campus to pressure the administration to cut ties with Wendy’s over the company’s refusal to join the Fair Food Program.  Nova will be working as part of the Alliance for Fair Food staff as an Administrator and Historian, supporting the AFF’s day-to-day operations, creating new resources to amplify our network’s vibrant organizing on-the-ground, and documenting the movement for Fair Food’s 20-year campaign history!  Feel free to get in touch with her at nova@allianceforfairfood.org. 

To wrap up this exciting recap of what has been a truly great start to 2020 for SFA, we leave you with this smashingly choreographed dance video from our brand-new TikTok account (follow @boycottwendys, btw). Facilitated by SFA’s very-own Dave the Director, check out and share the SC’s rendition of the viral “Renegade” dance with a Wendy’s Boycott twist at the end! 

Watch out, Wendy’s… we coming for you! 

 

@boycottwendys

Boycotting Wendy’s is 🔥. Justice for farmworkers now! #boycottwendys #fyp #foryoupage #WhatsYourStuf #imanexpert #busteddream #justice #wendys

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