Coalition of Immokalee Farm Workers MARCH TO END MODERN SLAVERY
The Coalition of Immokalee Farm Workers (CIW) invites you to join them in their March To End Modern Slavery In The Fields.
5 MILE
MARCH TO END MODERN SLAVERY
IN THE FIELDS
WHY ARE FARMWORKERS MARCHING ON APRIL 2?
Over a decade ago, farmworkers with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) created the award-winning Fair Food Program, a uniquely successful program of worker-led monitoring and enforcement that has virtually eradicated long-standing human rights abuses, from sexual assault to modern-day slavery, for tens of thousands of farmworkers under its groundbreaking protections.
The Fair Food Program is widely recognized as the new gold standard for protecting fundamental human rights in corporate supply chains, winning acclaim from human rights observers from the United Nations to the White House.
All of the largest fast-food companies — McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway, Taco Bell and Chipotle — joined the program a decade ago. All except Wendy’s.
Meanwhile, in fields beyond the Fair Food Program’s reach, headlines across the country show modern slavery on the rise again. Indeed, it has become truly big business.
In one of several recent prosecutions, 24 people were arrested as part of a forced labor conspiracy alleged to have affected 71,000 workers and netted over $200 million in illegal profits in a multi-year operation in the onion fields of South Georgia.
““The conspirators are accused of raping, kidnapping and threatening or attempting to kill some of the workers or their families, and in many cases sold or traded the workers to other conspirators. At least two of the workers died as a result of workplace conditions.” — Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Dec 3, 2021
Traditional corporate codes of conduct and social responsibility audits – the approach to supply chain accountability embraced by Wendy’s – have not stopped these massive, sophisticated new forced labor schemes. In contrast, human rights experts and U.S. government representatives alike have repeatedly singled out the CIW’s Fair Food Program as the most effective weapon for corporations looking to rid their supply chains of modern-day slavery and other longstanding farm labor abuses. And still Wendy’s refuses to follow the example of its fast-food competitors and join the Fair Food Program.
There is no single person more responsible for Wendy’s failure to join the Fair Food Program than multi-billionaire and hedge fund mogul, Nelson Peltz.
Mr. Peltz is not only the Board Chairman of Wendy’s – with his son at his side as Vice Chair – but also CEO of the hedge fund Trian Partners, Wendy’s largest institutional shareholder. And both Peltz and Trian count Palm Beach as one of their homes.
If you’re in Florida, please join farmworkers on April 2 in Palm Beach to end forced labor in the fields!