CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – A protest to boycott Wendy’s led by Student Action for Farmworkers, also known as SAF, left five protesters stranded with slashed tires.
“I don’t know what their intention was, I don’t know. They were angry at us, that’s the only thing I know,” said Nancy Garcia, a SAF intern.
According to the police report, a police officer arrived at a Wendy’s located on North Duke Street in Durham and reported vandalism and damage to five cars.
SAF is a non-profit organization that promotes justice in the agricultural and health system for farmworkers and their families.
Maria Juarez, a youth organizing director with SAF, said she was disappointed with the outcome of the protest.
We’re just seeing someone yelling, we were ignoring it. They were coming from the drive-thru and just saying a bunch of like of things ‘I know you all are poor, like your mom was poor, your daddy’s poor’ or whatever. And she said, ‘why don’t you take it up with McDonald’s?’,” Juarez said.
But she said that McDonald’s is actually part of the Fair Food Program, along with Taco Bell, Burger King, Trader Joe’s, and Walmart, among other stores. The program is a partnership among farmers, farmworkers, and retail food companies that ensures humane wages and working conditions. Wendy’s has yet to join.
Boycotters have targeted Wendy’s since 2016 because it has not signed up for the program that strives to improve the rights of agricultural supply chain workers.
“So we have a chant that’s like 4 for 4, how about one cent more? It really doesn’t cost them anything, but they just like hard labor for cheap and it’s unfair,” Juarez said.
Carolina Mendez is a SAF intern and sophomore at UNC. She said she felt prepared for the protest to turn dangerous.
“I think we definitely had a planning process,” Mendez said.
“Just protesting is a risk to your legal status. For me, I have the privilege of being an American citizen, so I do have that protected right. And yes, that isn’t without the fear that I’ll be threatened, but because this is an important cost to me and my family,” Garcia said.
Juarez said that although the protest escalated badly, they will continue to persevere because it’s a fight worth fighting.
“It’s important to realize where your food comes from. There’s a story behind every vegetable, behind every fruit, behind every meat, whatever it is, gallon of milk. There’s a story. There’s a set of hands that can barely feed their own family,” Juarez said.
Wendy’s was reached for comment, but did not respond.