“We stand in solidarity with our sisters and brothers in the Coalition of Immokalee Workers in their longstanding struggle for fair labor practices in the agriculture industry …”
Posted by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers.
In an historic act of support, the Presbyterian Church (USA) moved last week to endorse the boycott of Wendy’s, becoming the first major Christian denomination to formally commit to carry forward the boycott until Wendy’s joins the CIW’s Fair Food Program!
Representing nearly 2 million Christians nationwide, the church has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the CIW since the earliest days of the Campaign for Fair Food. Over the past several months as the CIW’s Wendy’s campaign evolved into a national boycott, the PCUSA has worked to marshal its power and massive constituency to send an unmistakable message to Wendy’s: Fleeing from human rights is unacceptable. And just two days ago, on May 11th, the church announced that the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board had made the PCUSA’s support for the Wendy’s Boycott official. From the Presbyterian News Service:
“Rather than support Florida growers who uphold human rights under the Fair Food Program, Wendy’s switched its tomato purchases to Mexico, where the denial of human rights in the produce industry was well-documented in last year’s Los Angeles Times exposé,” said the Rev. Gradye Parsons, stated clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) “This is unacceptable, especially from a company that has prided itself on using U.S.-made products. Therefore, the PCUSA joins the Coalition of Immokalee Workers in calling on Wendy’s to sign a Fair Food agreement.”
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The PCUSA is boycotting a USA company because of poor working conditions in Mexico? Therefore, the Mexican and US workers associated with Wendy’s will all suffer!?. As millions of American’s suffer with economic problems, this Mexican/Wendy’s issue wasn’t on my radar.
Just a little distortion in the news release. If they were to be good journalists, the release should have stated “…more than 1.5 million Christians” in place of “nearly 2 million Christians.”
Actually, it may be more like 1.5 million when the latest statistics are released. How sad!
Maybe it was just my imagination, but when I went to the drive thru window at our local Wendy’s this evening for a large chocolate Frosty with which to celebrate this latest PCUSA boycott, I could have sworn that I saw a sign in the window that read: “Proud to be Boycotted by the PCUSA.” And so they should be, whether they actually had such a sign in their window or not. I may also have to go there tomorrow and get myself a Baconator with the works — not because it is an outstandingly delicious burger, you understand, only because I feel the need to make a noble personal sacrifice for the cause. Go Wendy’s!
The PCUSA’s “massive constituency”?!…..that shows how much reality is reflected in all this. …and this church just keeps on becoming more and more of a laughingstock for its hand-wringing ignorance.
Misplaced attention. There are serious core issues that need attention. This self destruction is hard to watch and impossible to understand.
Haven’t been to Wendy’s for a while, but I will need to change that just like I bought a bunch of HP products after PCUSA divested from it (but not from companies doing business in Saudi Arabia where converting to Christianity is punishable by death).
The ironic thing about this is the National Presbyterian Church of Mexico cut ties with the pcusa a couple of years ago after the last GA, (not that the louisville sluggers cared) and now because of this boycott, I’ll be parked at my local Wendy’s drive thru…..they just keep on knocking them out of the park…WOW
I’m afraid the people who are excited at this announcement are going to be disappointed. The vast majority of people in PCUSA will either not know about this or not care, which means few of the “nearly 2 million” people will actually participate in the boycott. Also, PCUSA no longer has any political clout whatsoever. It will be business as usual for Wendy’s.
Show of hands now. How many remember the vigorous debate or process in the denomination to arrive at this conclusion? How many remember the process that got us to consensus? Exactly. My guess this some overpaid and under-worked professional church bureaucrat in the rented out office space in Louisville sort of said, “let’s boycott this company. I sort of feel in a double and frosty type of mood today.