Ohio State renewed its Wendy’s contract for five more years at Doan Hall in the Wexner Medical Center June 1. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor

Ohio State renewed its five-year contract with Wendy’s June 1, despite ongoing student protests.

Some students look for the university to disaffiliate with the fast-food chain until it joins the Fair Food Program. The program ensures humane wages and working conditions for farmers and farm workers with retail companies, according to its website.

Ohio State’s contract, for a restaurant at Doan Hall in the Wexner Medical Center, would have ended June 30 if not renewed. At the time of renewal, Wendy’s was not affiliated with the Fair Food Program, according to its website. 

“Ohio State is committed to social responsibility and actively supports fair treatment of workers,” the university stated in a June 1 release. “Since 2017, the university has worked closely with Wendy’s to review its sourcing and labor practices for assurance that our lessees actively support university values.” 

Ohio State last renewed its lease with Wendy’s at the Wexner Medical Center in 2017 for three years. The university had previously promised not to renew the contract until student concerns regarding the fast-food chain’s labor practices were resolved. 

Despite not joining the Fair Food Program, university spokesperson Ben Johnson said in an email the university confirmed that Wendy’s supplier code of conduct satisfies university values.

According to Wendy’s 2017 Supplier Code of Conduct, suppliers are expected to provide a safe and healthy workplace, employ those whose presence in the workplace is voluntary and legally authorized to work, have lawful breaks and working hours and create an environment free of discrimination. 

It also states suppliers are subject to third party human rights and labor practice reviews for certain fresh agricultural products harvested by hand or in an otherwise manually intensive way. 

Suppliers are also expected to fairly compensate and provide wages, benefits and overtime premiums to their employees that adhere to federal laws and regulations and either match or exceed benefits and wages in the industry, according to the code of conduct.

The Ohio State chapter of the Student Farmworker Alliance expressed disapproval of the recent renewal on social media Thursday, stating the university continues to “ignore” the importance of the Fair Food Program when it comes to protecting farmworkers. 

The Undergraduate Student Government passed a resolution March 10 urging the university not to renew its lease with Wendy’s until the fast-food chain joined the Fair Food Program, Anna Valerius, USG’s vice president and fourth-year in political science, said. 

Valerius said April 6 she and USG President Jacob Chang’s administration would prioritize this initiative and encourage students to join the advocacy for farmworkers’ rights. 

“We want to make sure that students know about that; this is something that we as a community are a part of and that students have a weight to be able to pull and be able to say ‘Hey, this is a problem, we need to address this,’” Valerius said.

The Ohio State Student Farmworker Alliance and Undergraduate Student Government could not be reached for further comment.