Former Manhattan Borough President and stalwart CIW ally Ruth Messinger pens powerful op/ed for the Gotham Gazette: “It’s time for the New York City Council to pass a resolution introduced over a year ago calling on Wendy’s to join the [Fair Food] program as a necessary support for farmworkers’ lives.”

As the calls for legally-binding and verifiable enforcement against sexual violence and other human rights abuses in Wendy’s supply chain continue to grow louder by the day — including a letter to Wendy’s Board Chair Nelson Peltz signed by over 100 responsible investors representing $1 trillion in assets under management and another letter by six State Treasurers earlier this year — momentum is also building quickly for the passage of a New York City Council Resolution calling on the Wendy’s to join the Fair Food Program. Just today, the pioneering online hub for New York City policies Gotham Gazette published a hard-hitting opinion piece by Ruth Messinger, former Manhattan Borough President and once candidate for New York City Mayor, titled “New York City Should Send a Message to Wendy’s, Which Refuses to Protect Its Farmworkers.”

Ruth’s op/ed paints a striking picture of Wendy’s significant (and economic) ties to New York City: the fast-food company’s top institutional shareholder is Trian Partners, a multi-billion dollar asset management firm headquartered in Midtown Manhattan and founded by Nelson Peltz and Peter May, who both happen to hold positions as Chair and Vice-chair of Wendy’s Board of Directors, respectively. The article makes the case for the New York City Council to pass Resolution 1156 – calling on Wendy’s to join the Fair Food Program and play a critical role in advancing farmworkers’ urgent call for human dignity and respect in U.S. agriculture, especially in light of farmworkers’ disproportionate impact during the pandemic. As she points out in the op/ed, the Fair Food Program has designed binding, enforceable, and lifesaving COVID-19 safety protocols for all participating farms as part of its worker-driven Code of Conduct.

Be sure to check out Ruth’s op/ed in its entirety — it’s definitely worth the short read. And if you live in New York City and don’t see your Council Member on the list of 24 co-sponsors, get in touch with your City Council member today and ask them to sign onto Resolution 1156 in support of farmworkers’ human rights!

Read the op/ed