AMERICAN LEFT HISTORY

This space is dedicated to the proposition that we need to know the history of the struggles on the left and of earlier progressive movements here and world-wide. If we can learn from the mistakes made in the past (as well as what went right) we can move forward in the future to create a more just and equitable society. We will be reviewing books, CDs, and movies we believe everyone needs to read, hear and look at as well as making commentary from time to time. Greg Green, site manager

Tuesday, March 06, 2018

ORGANIZING REPORT: New York City gets fired up for the Freedom Fast!

Actress Erika Alexander sends a message to Wendy's: Join the Fair Food Program!

Award-winning playwright Eve Ensler to farmworkers preparing to fast: “Keep going, brave, beautiful women. I am with you, and all of us at V-Day and One Billion Rising – countless activists around the world – stand with you today, rising in the name of justice for all women workers.”

For the past six weeks, our advance organizing team has been taking New York City by storm in preparation for next week’s Freedom Fast. Thanks to the tireless crew of CIW farmworker leaders and Alliance for Fair Food staff members assembled in the city, a palpable buzz is building by the day among faith communities, students, worker groups and labor unions, women’s rights organizations, and celebrities ahead of next week’s Freedom Fast and Time’s Up Wendy’s March! In addition to the excitement about the big march through Manhattan on the 15th, scores of allies from around New York and the country — from Massachusetts to Wyoming — will be joining nearly two dozen farmworkers in their five-day fast outside of the offices of Nelson Peltz. Now just a week out, the Freedom Fast and march are shaping up to be the largest and most significant actions in the Wendy’s Boycott to date.

There’s a lot of news out of the Big Apple, so we’ll jump right in! Here’s the action-packed update straight from the indefatigable organizing team in New York:

After over a month of outreach, New York is just about ready for the upcoming Freedom Fast and Time’s Up Wendy’s March! First up, we have a report from the swiftly-growing movement for women’s rights. In addition to public support from the Time’s Up movement, actresses like Erika Alexander (see video above), Amber Tamblyn, and Patricia Arquette, and the announcement that U.S. Women’s Soccer superstar Abby Wambach, New York Times bestselling author Glennon Doyle, and human rights leader Kerry Kennedy will be marching alongside the CIW, we have been working closely with both local and national women’s rights leaders who are stepping up to the plate to combat sexual violence. We marched in the 200,000+ strong Women’s March in NYC, spreading the word about the Wendy’s Boycott and upcoming action to countless women. Since then, the Women’s March NYC Chapter has committed to show up en masse for the upcoming Time’s Up Wendy’s March. And, the New York chapter of the National Organization of Women — one of the country’s largest women’s organizations — will also be marching with farmworkers on March 15th! ...

Head over to the CIW website for the full update from the New York organizing team!

Coalition of Immokalee Workers

(239) 657 8311 | workers@ciw-online.org | www.ciw-online.org