Employees at the Wayfair headquarters in Boston are staging a walkout over the treatment of immigrants at the border, but their protest may harm the group they’d like to help.
The #WayfairWalkout on Wednesday is meant to protest the home goods company’s decision to sell products for migrant detention centers, as recent reports have indicated that there really is a crisis at the border.
Many outlets have reported terrible conditions at migrant detention centers, especially for children. Per ABC:
In response, Wayfair employees are protesting the company for selling to a contractor that manages facilities for migrant children. The Boston Globe reports that the plan began last week:
But the walkout will do little to help migrant children at the border. Shouldn’t the employees be glad that their company is supplying centers that appear to be severely lacking in resources? Wayfair thinks so.
“As a retailer, it is standard practice to fulfill orders for all customers, and we believe it is our business to sell to any customer who is acting within the laws of the countries within which we operate,” company leadership said in a statement to employees. “We believe all of our stakeholders, employees, customers, investors, and suppliers included are best served by our commitment to fulfill our orders.”
Predictably, however, Democratic leaders were quick to support the walkout. Elizabeth Warren said the employees were fighting for the “well-being of immigrant children,” and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called the move “brave.”
I stand with the hundreds of @Wayfair employees who are planning to stage a walkout at their Boston headquarters tomorrow. The safety and well-being of immigrant children is always worth fighting for. https://t.co/L3hqbazX4l
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) June 25, 2019
Wayfair workers couldn’t stomach they were making beds to cage children.
They asked the company to stop. CEO said no.
Tomorrow, they‘re walking out.
This is what solidarity looks like – a reminder that everyday people have real power, as long as we’re brave enough to use it. https://t.co/667abeLDTG
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 25, 2019
But migrant detention centers, especially those that house children, desperately need resources. So protesting a company’s decision to provide furniture for them seems illogical.
If employees want to aid migrants awaiting immigration and asylum hearings, they might consider helping their company provide them with the resources they desperately need. Otherwise, they’re just making immigrants sleep on the floor to own the cons.
