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Columbus City Council member Elizabeth Brown spoke to members of the Return to Human Rights tour at Goodale Park on March 26 before they marched to the Ohio Union in protest of Wendy’s refusal to join the Fair Food Program. Credit: Mitch Hooper | Engagement Editor
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Farmworkers from Immokalee, Florida as well as members of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers came to Columbus to march in protest of Wendy’s refusal to join the Fair Food Program. Credit: Mitch Hooper | Engagement Editor
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Members of the Columbus community as well as students from the Ohio State Student/Farmworker Alliance joined the Coalition of Immokalee Workers on March 26 to protest of Wendy’s refusal to join the Fair Food Program. Credit: Mitch Hooper | Engagement Editor
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Members of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and Ohio State students created signs and floats to urge consumers to boycott Wendy’s until it joins the Fair Food Program. Credit: Mitch Hooper | Engagement Editor
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Members of the Columbus community joined the Coalition of Immokalee Workers on March 26 to walk from Goodale Park to the Ohio Union in protest of Wendy’s refusal to join the Fair Food Program. Credit: Mitch Hooper | Engagement Editor
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The Coalition of Immokalee Workers created hats that urged consumers to boycott Wendy’s until it joins the Fair Food Program. Credit: Mitch Hooper | Engagement Editor
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Members of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, students from the Ohio State Student/Farmworker Alliance and people from across the country marched in the Return to Human Rights tour. Credit: Mitch Hooper | Engagement Editor
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Members of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and farmworkers from Immokalee, Florida led the parade down North High Street to its final destination at the Ohio Union on March 26. Credit: Mitch Hooper | Engagement Editor
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Members of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, students from the Ohio State University Student/Farmworker Alliance and people from across the country stopped their march outside of the Wendy’s on North High Street to deliver a letter to the manager and urge those nearby to boycott until it joins the Fair Food Program. Credit: Mitch Hooper | Engagement Editor
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Members of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, students from the Ohio State University Student/Farmworker Alliance and people from across the country march on the Oval. Credit: Mitch Hooper | Engagement Editor
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Members of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, students from the Ohio State University Student/Farmworker Alliance and people from across the country march through the Oval towards the Ohio Union on March 26. Credit: Mitch Hooper | Engagement Editor
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After arriving at the Ohio Union, members of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, students and people from across the country celebrated with music and dancing. Credit: Mitch Hooper | Engagement Editor
Members of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, students of the Ohio State Student/Farmworker Alliance and people from across the country marched from Goodale Park to the Ohio Union in protest of Wendy’s refusal to join the Fair Food Program on Sunday.
The Student/Farmworker Alliance is demanding the university ends its contract with Wendy’s as a way to pressure the restaurant chain to join the Fair Food Program and adhere to its standards for tomato pickers. The program has added 14 major corporations to its program, including McDonald’s, Burger King, Chipotle and Wal-Mart, but it hasn’t convinced Wendy’s to join.
OSU’s contract with Wendy’s, which leases a location at the Wexner Medical Center, states the school will work to find “a resolution of the concerns of the Student Farmworkers Alliance regarding the procurement of tomatoes for the operation of Tenant’s business at the Premise that is satisfactory to Landlord in its sole discretion.”
OSU spokesman Chris Davey said the university is actively working on finding a resolution for this and that “OSU has a firm commitment to social responsibility and actively supports appropriate treatment of workers.”
“We have been working actively with Wendy’s to achieve a satisfactory outcome related to the concerns of the students and Coalition of Immokalee Workers that aligns with the university’s values and reinforces that commitment,” Davey said in an email. “We understand that Wendy’s also extended an offer to meet with this group of concerned students directly; the students have declined.”
Previously, the university set up a meeting between Wendy’s and the Student Farmworkers Alliance, but the group declined to meet, citing a message posted to Wendy’s website dating from 2013. In that statement, which has since been updated and changed, Wendy’s said it was being targeted by CIW and that the restaurant should only have to negotiate directly with the supplier, not a third-party organization like CIW.
He reiterated the statements previously made by OSU spokesmen Ben Johnson by saying the university stands by its commitment to safety and — referencing a hunger strike that students participated in last week — does not condone or support behavior that threatens the health and safety of any member of the university.
After the march on Sunday, members of the Student/Farmworker Alliance ended their fast.
