Protest Whole Foods

On Saturday, March 8th, International Women’s Day, activists from UltraViolet, a national women’s advocacy organization, and Fight for 15, concerned citizens, and customers will rally outside Whole Food Stores around the country demanding justice for Rhiannon Broschat, a single mother from Chicago who was fired from her job at Whole Foods after missing work to care for her special needs son during the polar vortex. More than 50,000 Whole Foods customers have already signed on to demand justice, but Whole Foods has still not rehired Rhiannon.

WHERE: Whole Foods World Headquarters. 550 Bowie Street, Austin, TX
WHEN: Saturday, 08 March 2014. 9:00 A.M. CT

The rallies will also take place in more than a dozen cities including Chicago, Austin, St. Louis, Memphis, Nashville, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Oakland, Berkeley, Sacramento, Milwaukee, Atlanta, Miami, Orlando, and Toronto.
See the full list of events here: http://act.weareultraviolet.org/signup/WF_dayofaction/
“We demand that Rhiannon be immediately reinstated,” explained Melissa Josephs, Director of Equal Opportunity Policy of Women Employed. “No working mother should have to choose between paying her bills and taking care of her children.”
The actions come after Whole Foods rejected numerous efforts to reinstate Rhiannon or follow its policies on weather disasters so that no employee has to choose between a sick child and a paycheck. More than 50,000 members of UltraViolet, a national women’s advocacy organization, have signed onto a petition demanding that Whole Foods “reinstate Rhiannon Broschat and honor your policy to make room for family leave."
See the petition to Whole Foods here: http://act.weareultraviolet.org/sign/WholeFoods

Rhiannon's situation is not unique. Nearly 40% of US households have a female breadwinner and the US is the only industrialized country in which sick days are not guaranteed, meaning that nearly 80% of low-wage workers in the country are forced to make the choice between staying home sick or with their sick children and earning enough to pay their bills or buy groceries.
“Whole Foods markets itself as a progressive company, but it’s forcing moms to choose between caring for their children in an emergency and keeping their jobs. That’s wrong, and tens of thousands of Whole Foods customers, workers, and moms across the country want answers,” said Nita Chaudhary, co-founder of UltraViolet. “Whole Foods relies on it’s progressive reputation in selling their products at high prices, and customers don’t want to pay those prices to contribute to a moral injustice. Their response to this controversy has consistently shown that they don't support working moms.”