Three Ways to Support Farmworkers on April 2

1) If you’re in Florida, march shoulder-to-shoulder with Immokalee farmworkers on Saturday, April 2, in Palm Beach to help end forced labor and other human rights abuses in the fields. Register for the 5-mile march today!

2) If you live outside of Florida, plan a solidarity protest outside of your local Wendy’s. Sign up here to join Fair Food allies taking action from New York City to San Francisco!

3) If you’re unable to participate in person, you can join our campaign to raise $10,000 to fund a charter bus of farmworkers from Immokalee to Palm Beach and purchase water and meals for the day-long march. Make a contribution here! 

In less than one month, farmworkers from Immokalee and their families will be making their way across Alligator Alley to the billionaire enclave of Palm Beach for the 5-mile March to End Modern Slavery in the Fields. Their goal: Hold Wendy’s Board Chair Nelson Peltz accountable — in his own community — for his failure to bring Wendy’s into the Fair Food Program.  While farmworkers and allies across Florida work around the clock in the next three weeks on final preparations, from wrapping up march logistics to making larger than life-sized art for the big day, we’re counting on our vibrant, national network of allies to make plans to stand in solidarity with us on April 2! 

Here are three ways YOU can take action:

1) March with farmworkers in Palm Beach on April 2If you live in Florida, show up in solidarity with Immokalee farmworkers by joining us, in person, for the “March to End Modern Slavery in the Fields.” We’ll be gathering at 11:30 a.m. at Bradley Park in Palm Beach for an outdoor welcome ceremony featuring a classic CIW popular education theater piece before stepping off at 12:30 p.m. for a 5-mile march looping through the heart of The Island. 

We’re counting on allies across the Sunshine State to make their voices heard and help us amplify our call for long-overdue justice: As horrifying new instances of brutal modern-slavery surface month after month in North American agriculture, Wendy’s stubbornly refuses to commit to the Fair Food Program, the widely-recognized gold standard human rights program for eradicating modern slavery and other long-standing human rights abuses in the fields. Register today to march with us on April 2!

A team of CIW farmworkers and Alliance for Fair Food organizers is already in the South Florida area making connections with students, people of faith, worker centers and unions, grassroots organizations and conscious consumers to help us mobilize for April 2. If you’re in the area and would like to host a CIW farmworker in your classroom, congregation service or community meeting, reach out to us at organize@allianceforfairfood.org to schedule a presentation.  

2) Plan a solidarity action outside your local Wendy’s: Before COVID-19, CIW would typically call on our entire national network of allies to join us in person for the major spring action, hosting caravans of allies overnight in shared housing spaces and organizing massive meals and musical events to celebrate our two decades of groundbreaking struggle. Due to the risks posed by the ongoing pandemic, we are unable to provide such accommodations for allies outside of Florida this year.

However, you can still be part of the action, even if you’re not in Florida!  From San Francisco to New York City, Fair Food allies are planning solidarity actions in their own communities in the lead up to April 2, bringing the message of the “March to End Modern Slavery in the Fields” to their own local Wendy’s restaurants.  Organizers with the Alliance for Fair Food will provide resources and support you in all your action planning needs, whether you’re thinking of putting together a protest outside of Wendy’s or dropping off a manager letter with a few friends. Make sure to sign up here to add your action to the growing list today!

3) Help us raise $10,000 to support CIW’s farmworker mobilization: While it might not be possible for everyone to participate in person these days, there are still concrete ways to support Immokalee farmworkers making their way to Palm Beach on April 2. We’re launching a campaign to raise $10,000 to fund a bus of farmworkers from Immokalee to Palm Beach and purchase water and nutritious meals to fuel a day of marching to end forced labor and other human rights abuses in U.S. agriculture. If you can, make a contribution here, and if you’re not in a position to give, share our fundraising campaign with 5 friends who you think can pitch in!  

We’ve got a lot more to share with you in the next few weeks leading up to April 2, so make sure to stay tuned as we continue to ramp up pressure in the Wendy’s Boycott!