The boycott began in January 2022.
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Vegan food justice organizations have been conducting this boycott for over two years, so this is a pretty big deal for people who have been actively refusing to put Amy's Kitchen plant-based foods in their shopping carts. Read on to learn more about the latest updates on the Amy's Kitchen boycott and what the company has done to win back FEP and its fans.
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Why did the boycott against Amy's Kitchen happen?
FEP called for a boycott in January 2022, demanding that Amy's improve working conditions for employees, including higher wages, more health insurance options, and stronger workplace safety measures.
According to a statement on FEP's website, the organization played a major role in facilitating these changes, with the team spending eight months facilitating negotiations between food line workers and Amy's Kitchen leadership.
FEP was founded over 10 years ago by Lauren Ornelas (first name intentionally lowercase) and has been working on behalf of farmworkers, animals, and many others ever since. This labor dispute with Amy's Kitchen is just one of the many causes the organization has championed (and supported) over the years since its founding.
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The boycott of Amy's Kitchen is over.
FEP detailed the background to the boycott, sharing how hundreds of customers, advocates, labor unions, and grocery store associations have come together to rally behind the decision to not buy any Amy's products until workers' demands are met, including a thank you to the workers who lost their jobs without notice when the San Jose plant closed.
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The closure of that kitchen was particularly problematic for some, and Amy's Kitchen president Paul Schieffer addressed the issue in a statement published in part on the FEP website.
Schieffer said the circumstances surrounding the plant's closure two years after it opened had been difficult on all fronts and he regretted the distress caused to employees and their families.
In addition to accommodating the closed premises, Amy's Kitchen has agreed to the following conditions:
- No need for labor relations consultants
- Providing bilingual employee service representatives to promote a better working environment for Amy's employees
- Increased focus on employee safety and health
- Performance-based pay increases to be introduced in 2024
- Ongoing contact with FEP to ensure these commitments are being implemented as agreed
But employees and their families aren't the only ones who benefit from this new arrangement: Amy's Kitchen has also agreed to increase its production of vegan foods, which will likely come as welcome news to shoppers who were hoping to see more variety in the plant-based grocery section.
