Hundreds of Wayfair employees walked off the job Wednesday to protest the online retailer's decision to furnish a detention camp for migrant children at the U.S.-Mexico border.
The workers walked out from their Boston headquarters at 1:30 p.m. and headed to Copley Square, about a seven-minute walk away. Organizers called on employees who are based in the headquarters and remote workers to participate in the protest.
More than 500 employees signed a petition demanding the Boston-based e-commerce company cease all current and any future sales with contractors who work with detention camps. The petition directly addresses Wayfair co-founders Steve Conine and Niraj Shah.
CNBC reports organizers for the protest claim the company made $86,000 in profits made by selling mattresses for the detention camp. An anonymous employee told The Boston Globe that a $200,000 order was made on June 13 by Baptist Children's Family Services, a charity group that works as a government contractor that manages some of the centers.
The controversy was followed by the company's stock dropping by 5.3% Tuesday. Employees are demanding those proceeds be donated to RAICES, a non-profit agency that offers low-cost legal services to undocumented immigrants.
Politicians including 2020 contenders Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took to Twitter to voice their support for the walkout.
DoneGood, a Cambridge-based online retailer, also voiced its support for the walkout and vowed to donate 100% of the revenue they make Wednesday to Raices.
Wayfair did not return repeated requests for comment Tuesday, according to CNBC.