Is hamburger giant’s move a genuine step toward real social responsibility? Shocker: Wendy’s Board recommends shareholders vote FOR social responsibility transparency resolution!… Is hamburger giant’s move a genuine step toward real social responsibility, or just a ploy to relieve growing investor, consumer pressure to join the “gold standard” for human rights protections today, Fair Food Program? Shareholders who filed the resolution seem skeptical, writing: “While this Board Recommendation to vote in favor of the proposal is welcome, investor support for the proposal… is warranted for the following three reasons: Wendy’s has failed to demonstrate effective implementation of a meaningful commitment to respect the human rights of workers in its food supply chain and lacks transparency regarding its food supplier monitoring practices. Wendy’s lags behind industry peers by failing to adopt the available measure most widely recognized as effective in preventing human rights risks in food supply chains and that addresses the concerns of the proposal, the Fair Food Program. Failure to effectively address actual and potential human rights impacts in its food supply chain, including worker illness and deaths from COVID-19, exposes Wendy’s to financial, reputational, supply chain disruption and human capital management risks, and its failure to meet the industry standard for human rights protection, the Fair Food Program, has already resulted in potential reputational harm including consumer protests and public letters from key investors calling on Wendy’s to join.” Wendy’s does a 180… Well, we have to admit, we really didn’t see that coming. After all, when the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany first filed their shareholder resolution calling on Wendy’s to back up its claims of human rights compliance in its supply chain with real data, the hamburger giant did the predictable thing: It fought the resolution tooth and nail. Just three months ago, Wendy’s formally requested that the Securities and Exchange Commission allow the company to block a vote on the Sisters’ resolution at Wendy’s upcoming annual meeting, writing, for the record: We believe that the Company’s day-to-day operations of running a quick-service hamburger concept are far removed from any underlying policy consideration of the protection of human rights and worker safety of the country’s meat and produce Suppliers. Indeed, fighting the resolution for supply chain transparency was right on brand for Wendy’s, as was its unforgettably frank declaration that the human rights of workers in its suppliers’ operations are essentially none of Wendy’s business. But then Wendy’s lost before the SEC, and the resolution made it on to the ballot. And so, with the battle lines drawn, the Sisters of Allegany, and the responsible investment organization Investor Advocates for Social Justice (IASJ) of which they are an affiliate, prepared for a campaign to educate their fellow Wendy’s shareholders on the justifications for their resolution in the weeks leading up to the annual shareholder meeting later this month. Until Wendy’s decided to save them the bother and recommend, in its “definitive proxy statement” filed earlier this month, that its shareholders vote to support the resolution! And just like that, an otherwise straightforward “dog bites man” story takes a sudden turn, and observers watching what had been called “one of the 13 most important ESG resolutions” of 2021 in the pages of the Financial Times were left scratching their heads. Thankfully, the Sisters of Allegany and IASJ wasted no time in helping decipher the surprising news. Trust, but verify… So what’s really behind Wendy’s unorthodox move? Are we to understand that Wendy’s has seen the light and now sincerely believes, despite its unequivocal statement to the contrary just three months ago, that the fast-food brand does in fact bear some measure of responsibility for “human rights and worker safety” in its suppliers’ operations? What’s more, can we really expect to see some semblance of reporting that satisfies the resolution’s demands for disclosure? In short, can Wendy’s 180-degree pivot on the resolution be taken at face value, or should it be regarded with a heavy dose of skepticism?... Read more about the Wendy's shareholder resolution over at the CIW website! Coalition of Immokalee Workers (239) 657 8311 | [email protected] | www.ciw-online.org Connect with us ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ Coalition of Immokalee Workers | 110 S 2nd St, Immokalee, FL 34142 Unsubscribe [email protected] Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected] powered by Try email marketing for free today!