BOSTON — Hundreds of Wayfair employees walked out of company headquarters in Boston on Wednesday to protest the online retail giant’s selling of furniture to contractors that furnish detention facilities for children seeking asylum along the U.S.-Mexico border. The workers gathered in Copley Square holding signs that read, “A prison with a bed is still a prison,” and “A cage is not a home.” They were met by spectators and activists.
“I would fire you all!” one man yelled, one of the few vocal opponents of the demonstration.
While most of the Wayfair employees either blended into the crowd or stood in solidarity on the fringes of the protest, a vocal handful took to the microphone and called for action from the company. Wearing her company T-shirt, Wayfair engineer Kayla Smith told the crowd how shocked she was to hear of the company’s decision to continue business with the centers.
“They’re a very liberal company so for them to come out with a decision like this isn’t on par with what I know them to be,” Smith said. Her voice shaking, she told Patch she’s usually a very shy person, not one to hop in front of a crowd, but the issue resonated with her. “It’s more important than ever to talk right now,” she added.
On Tuesday, more than 500 employees signed a letter letting the company know they did not think supplying beds that ended up in detention facilities on the southern border was ethical.
Wayfair maintained it’s within its rights to sell to anyone who is operating within the law. Employees said Wayfair executives sent an email Tuesday morning saying it donated $100,000 to the American Red Cross, but for many protesters that’s not enough.
“The Red Cross isn’t who we asked them to donate to, it’s great but there are a lot of ICE facilities that the Red Cross can’t enter,” Wayfair product manager and protest organizer Madeline Howard said.
“I’m here to ask for one thing, no profits for prison camps,” Wayfair engineer Travis Pope said.
A leaked Wayfair receipt obtained by CNBC shows 1,600 mattresses and 100 bunk beds were sold to Baptist Child & Family Services, or BCFS.
Howard said management met with a few hundred employees in a company-wide meeting on Tuesday to try to come to an agreement. She asked one of Wayfair’s CEOs, Steve Conine, if the company would meet the employees demands. Howard said he responded with, “I’m not going to be able to tell you what you want to hear.” Howard said she has hopes the company follows through on the employee’s wishes but is prepared to discuss further measures.
“The business basically exists to be a profit-generating entity, tries to create success for all our employees, tries to create wealth in all our employees so that we can all have an impact on the world,” Conine said during the meeting, according to an audio recording obtained by The Atlantic. “I mean, we’re not a political entity. We’re not trying to take a political side in this.”
Wayfair employee Tom Brown said that’s beside the point.
“This is not a political situation, this is a humanitarian situation,” Brown said. “We believe in our leadership … We think there are good people there. We think this will start the conversation.”
The walkout account tweeted a list of goals to be accomplished by the protest including a commitment of requests laid out in the group’s original letter and that the profits from completed sales be donated to RAICES. RAICES is a nonprofit that offers low-cost legal services to underserved immigrant children, families, and refugees.
A massive chunk of the crowd was made up of protesters like Susan Klimczak who heard about the protest on Twitter and felt the need to mobilize.
“I work with youth and I believe that all young people deserve to be treated with humanity and respect,” she said, “My conscience wouldn’t be clear if I didn’t come out and support folks here.”
Workers said they were not threatened by the company when they made mention of the walkout. Employees said the atmosphere in the office Wednesday resembled that of many social media forums — lots of debate. Most of the employees plan to return to work Thursday, hopeful change will follow their footsteps.
Click Here: Cheap QLD Maroons Jersey
