Local Residents and Clergy to Urge Gainesville Wendy’s to

Sign Fair Food Agreement

Gainesville, FL (January 18, 2013) – Members of Gainesville’s Interfaith Alliance for Immigrant Justice (IAIJ) and local clergy will gather at the North Main Street Wendy’s on Monday, January 21 at 11:00 a.m. to encourage the fast food chain to sign the Fair Food Agreement—a contract that would guarantee fair wages and working conditions for Florida farmworkers.

Residents will present a letter to the Wendy’s manager and encourage him/her to pass it along to the chain’s corporate headquarters. They are acting in conjunction with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) of Immokalee, Florida, which partners with Florida immigrants and farmworkers to end unfair labor conditions and wages.

The CIW’s Campaign for Fair Food has resulted in Fair Food Agreements with major retailers, such as Taco Bell, McDonald's, Compass Group, Whole Foods Market, and Trader Joe's. Wendy’s is one of the last fast food chains to sign the agreement.

For more information, please contact: Richard Macmaster at (352) 371-6772 or GainesvilleIAIJ@gmail.com; or Sheila Payne at (831) 334-0117.

The Interfaith Alliance for Immigrant Justice is a coalition of local faith communities and Gainesville residents working with farmworkers and immigrant rights leaders to support justice in their own traditions. For more information, please visit www.gainesvilleiaij.blogspot.com.

The Coalition for Immokalee Workers (CIW) is a community-based organization mainly comprised of Latino, Mayan Indian, and Haitian immigrants working in low-wage jobs throughout the state of Florida. The coalition’s primary objectives are to build strength as a community on a basis of reflection and analysis, attention to coalition-building across ethnic divisions, and investment in the leadership development of members. From this foundation, CIW advocates for: a fair wage for workers; respect from supervisors and the industries in which workers are employed; higher quality and more affordable housing; improved laws and enforcement against those who violate workers’ rights; the right to organize without fear of retaliation; and an end to forced labor in the fields. To learn more about the CIW, visit www.ciw-online.org.