BREAKING: Students descend on OSU President Drake’s office, launch sit-in on eve of International Women’s Day

Coalition of Immokalee Workers<workers@ciw-online.org>

3/8/2019 10:52 AM

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BREAKING: Students descend on OSU President Drake’s office, launch sit-in on eve of International Women’s Day Rachel Birri, OSU Junior: “Today, as Ohio State students, we continue to be ashamed of how this University acts. But we are so proud of ourselves and of our communities in the way we are able to fight for justice, in the way we will not give up, in the way we will make sure that farmworker voices are heard here at Ohio State, here in the hometown of Wendy’s…” PLUS: Join in today’s call-in to President Michael Drake’s office! Yesterday afternoon, just ahead of today’s major International Women’s Day march to the heart of Ohio State University’s campus, a group of 25 OSU students, faculty, staff and community members marched to the doorstep of President Michael Drake’s office and launched a sit-in, demanding that the university’s contract with Wendy’s come to an end. The peaceful, student-led action represented a major escalation in the students’ efforts to boot Wendy’s off campus, building on six years of the campus-based Boot the Braids campaign squarely in Wendy’s corporate backyard of Columbus, Ohio. Upon arriving at the President office inside Bricker Hall, students with the Ohio State University Student/Farmworker Alliance chapter took turns reading aloud a powerful letter, addressed to President Drake, expressing the urgency of their demand to end OSU’s business relations with Wendy’s. Here is an excerpt of the letter: Dear President Drake, We are here today to demand that you cut OSU’s contract with Wendy’s. Now is the time. Ohio State has been stalling for six years. Six years of students, staff, faculty, alumni and community members calling on you to demonstrate Ohio State’s commitment to human rights through one simple action: refusing to do business with Wendy’s until they join the Fair Food Program. You and the Ohio State administration have continually evaded our call to action, prioritizing the public image of Wendy’s over your own social responsibility. We are here today, on the eve of International Women’s Day, to invite you to follow through on your word that you “actively support fair treatment of workers” by cutting the contract. Now is the time... Although President Drake remained behind closed doors in his office while the students’ read the letter, he did make a brief appearance during the sit-in, flanked by campus police. Ignoring students’ questions and demands for a meeting, President Drake emerged from his office and exited the building as quickly as possible, with their songs and chants echoing at his back. By 5:30, as the building was shutting down, a larger contingent of police entered the room and threatened students with arrest if they refused to leave. But even after the sit-in participants were physically forced out of the administration building by both campus security and police into the chilly winter air, their spirits remained high. Singing as they exited the building, students held an impromptu reflection on their experience, solidifying their determination to keep the campaign going... READ MORE PLUS: Join today's national call-in day to President Drake's office! In just a few short hours, over 800 farmworkers and allies will be gathering in Goodale Park in Columbus for the International Women’s Day March through Columbus into the heart of the Ohio State University campus. If you can’t be with us today, make sure to take part in the Alliance for Fair Food national call-in day TODAY to President Drake’s office! Here’s how: 1. Call the Office of the President of Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio at (614) 292-2424 2. Ask if you can leave a message for President Drake regarding OSU’s business with Wendy’s tomato purchasing policies. 3. You’ll likely be directed to an assistant. Once you get someone on the line, give your statement. Feel free to offer your own personal comments, or use the script provided below! “Hi, my name is ________ and I am calling to urge you, President Drake, to cut Ohio State’s contract with Wendy’s. By refusing to sign onto the Presidential Award-winning Fair Food Program, Wendy’s has put profit above workplace protections against wage theft, sexual assault, and modern-day slavery. They have also rejected the notion of paying workers just one penny more per pound of tomatoes in an effort to raise wages for some of the nation’s lowest paid and most exploited workers. As one of the country’s largest and most renowned universities, it is OSU’s responsibility to cut its business ties with Wendy’s until they commit to improving workplace conditions and wages for farmworkers on the fields they purchase tomatoes from. If OSU truly strives to embody its motto of “Education for Citizenship” then it should hold Wendy’s accountable and show students, community members and the world at large that OSU will be on the right side of history on this issue. The choice is yours, President Drake, and OSU students, many of whom have sacrificed classes, assignments and other activities to join in solidarity with farmworkers, are expecting you to make the only moral choice — to boot Wendy’s off-campus until they join the Fair Food Program. It’s time for the OSU administration to join the campus community in supporting the farmworkers who feed us.” 4. Post about it! Let us know that you called and invite your friends to make a call, too, on social media. Head over to the CIW website for a video and photo report – and to find out how YOU can support today's action! Coalition of Immokalee Workers (239) 657 8311 | workers@ciw-online.org | www.ciw-online.org Connect with us  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌

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Sanders, Warren and Other Lawmakers Sign Pledge to End America’s “Forever Wars”

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Sanders, Warren and Other Lawmakers Sign Pledge to End America’s “Forever Wars”

Eight members of Congress have taken a pledge to work to bring ongoing U.S. global military conflicts to a “responsible and expedient” end, the result of a first-of-its kind lobbying effort by military veterans on Capitol Hill.  The pledge was written and organized by a group called Common Defense, made up of veterans and military families, which advocates for scaling back U.S. military commitments overseas. Common Defense boasts of more than 20,000 veteran members in all 50 states, and it threw its endorsement behind almost 30 candidates in the last midterm election cycle…  All of the signatories so far are members of the Democratic caucus, and most of them are associated with the left wing of the party: Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren; Omar and other freshmen Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ro Khanna, and Rashida Tlaib; and Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chair Mark Pocan. Common Defense is also courting more moderate lawmakers, particularly those in swing districts and Democrats.   More    Other than Warren, apparently no one else from Massachusetts.

Fair Food Nation comes together to celebrate International Women’s Day in style with massive march demanding Ohio State University “Boot the Braids”! Coalition of Immokalee Workers

Fair Food Nation comes together to celebrate International Women’s Day in style with massive march demanding Ohio State University “Boot the Braids”!

Coalition of Immokalee Workers<workers@ciw-online.org>

9:57 AM

To  alfredjohnson34@comcast.net  

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Fair Food Nation comes together to celebrate International Women’s Day in style with massive march demanding Ohio State University “Boot the Braids”! International Women’s Day has long been a highlight in the Campaign for Fair Food’s annual organizing calendar. Year after year after year, workers from Immokalee and their Fair Food allies have marked March 8th with creative and deeply moving reflections and actions.  2019 would prove to be no exception.  Again this year, a new chapter was added to that growing history of CIW International Women’s Day actions – an action that would fit squarely in what our colleagues at the National Economic and Social Rights Institute (NESRI) described as the nation’s tradition of joyous yet “confrontational and fractious organizing marches and protests, driven by grassroots energy” in their own thoughtful reflection on International Women’s Day yesterday. Protesters leave hundreds of red carnations at the doorstep of the Ohio State University administration building on Friday afternoon following a march to the OSU campus through Columbus, Ohio. The flowers – given first to the OSU students who held a sit-in on March 7th, and then to the rest of the participants in the action – symbolize the strength and resolve farmworker women maintain even while routinely confronting sexual harassment and assault outside the protections of the CIW’s Fair Food Program, the leading human rights program in US agriculture today. Students at OSU are demanding that their administration cut the university’s contract with Wendy’s until the hamburger giant agrees to join the Fair Food Program. On Friday, hundreds of protesters – including workers from Immokalee and their families, Ohio State University students, and Fair Food allies from across the northeast and midwest – braved snow flurries and bitter cold to gather in Columbus, Ohio, where they marched to support the efforts of OSU students to “Boot the Braids” from the flagship university’s campus. Friday’s march and protest followed Thursday’s sit-in at OSU President Michael Drake’s office by 25 students, staff, and community members, during which President Drake refused to meet – or even speak – with students calling for OSU to cut the university’s contract with Wendy’s until the Ohio-based fast-food chain joins the Fair Food Program. The campaign at OSU gained momentum in the wake of last month’s news that Wendy’s would not be returning to the University of Michigan campus following successful student and community protests there.  Today’s report includes photos and video from a day jam-packed with events (a day so full of action, in fact, that we don’t even have space in today’s post to touch on two remarkable articles published yesterday on the Campaign for Fair Food and the Fair Food Program, one that took up nearly the entire front page of the New York Times Business section, the other a powerful op/ed by Time’s Up leader and Fair Food ally Alyssa Milano. We will return to those articles next week!). International Women’s Day provides a prism for conversation on women’s rights as human rights… Friday’s activities at OSU began bright and early with a morning reflection – held in the sanctuary (below) of the Summit United Methodist Church, our longtime ally and gracious host for so many CIW visits to Columbus – on the Fair Food Program and the rights of women farmworkers in our food system. Check out all of the beautiful videos and photos from International Women's Day over at the CIW website! Coalition of Immokalee Workers (239) 657 8311 | workers@ciw-online.org | www.ciw-online.org Connect with us  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌

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Can you take our quick survey? BernieSanders.com

Can you take our quick survey?

BernieSanders.com<info@berniesanders.com>

11:14 AM

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