Wayfair Accused Of Selling Furniture To Detention Centers

BOSTON — Employees of Boston-based Wayfair accused the company of selling furniture to contractors that furnish detention facilities for children seeking asylum along the U.S.-Mexico border and made it clear they're not happy about it. After urging the company to stop selling to such contractors, the employees announced they planned to walk out to put a fine point on it.

Wayfair did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Patch.

More than 500 employees signed a letter letting the company know it did not think supplying beds that made their way to the southern border was ethical, according to an unverified Twitter user called @wayfairwalkout. They also asked the company to establish a code of ethics.

In response to the letter, the company's leadership team thanked them for their passion and commitment, but said it would continue to sell to anyone not breaking the law.

"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. We believe all of our stakeholders, employees, customers, investors and suppliers included, are best served by our commitment to fulfill all orders. This does not indicate support for the opinions or actions of the groups or individuals who purchase from us," reads a note signed by the company's leadership team obtained by Patch.

So, workers at the company’s Boston headquarters said over Twitter they would walk off the job at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. The plan is to head from the Back Bay location to Copley Square to protest, according to @wayfairwalkout. The account, which is only a day old, tweeted that 547 employees signed the letter to the company’s management:

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Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).