500+ farmworkers and supporters marched through Manhattan on Monday evening, demanding transparency and a real commitment to farmworkers’ human rights from Wendy’s.
From a visit from world-famous comic/actor/activist Amy Schumer, to a powerful march of over 500 farmworkers and their supporters (despite a persistent evening rainstorm!), to a surprise boycott endorsement by presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on Twitter, the CIW’s day-long action reverberated in the fabled streets of Manhattan and across the country to millions of supporters. The message was unmistakable: Wendy’s assurances that working conditions are fine in their greenhouse suppliers’ operations are not holding up against the hard evidence of harsh conditions faced by workers in greenhouses, not to mention the well-documented failures of the superficial auditing companies tasked with protecting workers from widespread labor and safety violations. And neither farmworkers nor consumers are buying it.
That’s why on Monday, hundreds of consumers joined farmworker leaders in asking the obvious question: If there truly are no human rights violations occurring in Wendy’s suppliers’ operations, why not meet its competitors’ challenge and join the FFP, the most comprehensive, most widely-respected human rights program in agriculture?
Today, we bring you a video and an extensive photo report from the day-long protest in front of Trian Partners and the massive march through the heart of Manhattan. For those of you who couldn’t join us there, we hope this gives you a sense of all the color, consciousness, and commitment on display in the Big Apple this past Monday!
