On behalf of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Gradye Parsons, stated clerk of the General Assembly, and Linda Valentine, executive director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, join with religious leaders from around the country to call on Wendy’s to work with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) in the Fair Food Program.

The group is presenting its call via a letter to Wendy’s CEO Emil Brolick at the annual shareholders meeting May 28 in Dublin, Ohio.

“The gains the CIW has achieved to bring safety, better pay, freedom from sexual abuse and dignity to the fields where our sisters and brothers harvest our food will only be permanent when all buyers agree to the standards of the Fair Food Program,” Parsons said. “Wendy’s should join Walmart and the others in the mighty flood of justice sweeping through the fields of Florida and beyond.”

Valentine stressed the church’s ongoing support.

“The CIW has created an inspiring model that brings together farmworkers, growers, corporations and consumers in common purpose to ensure human freedom and dignity,” she said. “The PC(USA) will continue to stand with the farmworkers and workers throughout the food chain until the day when all are afforded the rights and fairness they deserve.”

The full text of the letter:

Mr. Emil Brolick, CEO
Wendy’s International, Inc.
1 Dave Thomas Blvd.
Dublin, OH, 43017

May 23, 2014

Dear Mr. Brolick:

Nine years ago, as the CEO of Taco Bell, you pioneered a partnership with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and Florida growers that set in motion a new paradigm for human rights and corporate responsibility.

For three years, the Fair Food Program has been in operation in over ninety percent of Florida’s 650 million dollar industry and the changes have been as comprehensive as they are breathtaking.  While for generations the Florida tomato industry was plagued by poverty wages, wage theft, sexual harassment and, in extreme cases, forced labor, those abuses are now not only being eliminated, their root causes are being addressed through the Fair Food Program (FFP). The Program has been lauded by the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights and the White House for its innovation, impact and sustainability, and has gained global recognition as the new paradigm for corporate social responsibility.

Twelve corporations have joined the Fair Food Program, agreeing to pay a penny-per-pound premium to their Florida tomato suppliers that is passed on to workers through the growers’ regular payroll process, and to purchase only from growers that uphold the Fair Food Code of Conduct. The largest global retailer, Wal-Mart, joined in January of this year and four out of five of our nation’s leading fast-food restaurants are already participating.

But not Wendy’s. Instead Wendy’s has tried to give consumers the impression that it supports the changes achieved through the FFP while in fact continuing to do business as usual.  By refusing to join its competitors in paying the penny-per-pound premium, Wendy’s gains an unconscionable cost advantage over the rest of the fast-food industry leaders. By refusing to commit to buy its Florida tomatoes only from growers complying with the Fair Food Program, Wendy’s perpetuates the old, “no questions asked” market for those growers unwilling to recognize the FFP’s human rights standards. 

We are perplexed and alarmed at Wendy’s posture on this issue of basic human rights. 

The call for society to recognize that our lives are intertwined, that our decisions and actions impact one another, and that we have a moral responsibility to ensure human well-being is as ancient as the command, “love thy neighbor.” 

The time is now to answer that call. Perfect what you pioneered nine years ago.  Lead Wendy’s to be part of the common good we are building together as consumers, farmworkers, growers and buyers by joining the Fair Food Program.  

Sincerely, 

Jim Winkler, General Secretary and President, National Council of Churches, USA

Gradye Parsons, Stated Clerk, Office of the General Assembly, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Linda Valentine, Executive Director, Presbyterian Mission Agency, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Rev. Geoffrey A. Black, General Minister and President, United Church of Christ

Rev. Dr. Sharon E. Watkins, General Minister and President, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Rev. Dr. Susan Henry-Crowe, The United Methodist Church - General Board of Church and Society

Harriett Jane Olson, General Secretary and CEO, United Methodist Women

Ervin R. Stutzman, Executive Director, Mennonite Church USA

Rabbi Jill Jacobs, Executive Director, T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights

Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed, National Director of Interfaith & Community Alliances, Islamic Society of North America

Brian D. McLaren, author, speaker, blogger

Shane Claiborne, author, activist, founder of The Simple Way

Sr. Patricia Chappell, SNDdeN, Executive Director, Pax Christi USA

Kim Bobo, Executive Director, Interfaith Worker Justice

Rev. Lindsay C. Comstock, Executive Director, National Farm Worker Ministry

Nico Gumbs, Youth and Young Adult Network of the National Farm Worker Ministry

James Ennis, Executive Director, Catholic Rural Life

Dianne Aid, TSSF, President, Episcopal Network for Economic Justice

Bishop Chuck Leigh, Ecumenical Catholic Communion

Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Dubuque, Iowa

Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, Co-Director, Kairos Center for Religions, Rights, and Social Justice and Coordinator, Poverty Initiative, Union Theological Seminary

Rabbi Joshua Lesser, Chair of the Social Justice Commission of the Jewish Reconstructionist Communities