Migrant Justice Justicia Migrante

The reelection of Donald Trump will have a grave impact on Migrant Justice’s community and will shape our work in the coming years. Over the past two weeks, we have held many conversations on farms and around kitchen tables about what this election means for our organization. 

Migrant Justice spokesperson Rossy Alfaro recently participated in a roundtable of farmworker leaders from around the country, interviewed by online newsmagazine truthout. In her interview, Rossy channeled the message of our members:

The election will of course impact our community and our work. But at the same time, we’ve faced criminalization and discrimination before.… There were a lot of people in our community who were deported during the first Trump administration, but many of us weren’t. We remain here today, and we’re going to continue fighting to remain.

Read more to see more of Rossy’s interview and learn how to support Migrant Justice’s work in the coming years.

The Milk with Dignity Month of Action has wrapped up! Throughout October, farmworkers and allies held fifteen actions at Hannaford Supermarkets in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont to connect with customers and build support for Milk with Dignity.

In the final week, farmworkers held pickets around Vermont in Bennington, Brattleboro, and Burlington, and across the Connecticut River in West Lebanon, New Hampshire. Students and youth swelled the ranks of the picketers, with participation from college students from Dartmouth and Bennington Colleges, high schoolers from the Putney School in southern Vermont, and even elementary school students from the Sustainability Academy in Burlington.

Read more to see the full photo-report and support the campaign for Milk with Dignity!

The Milk with Dignity Month of Action has reached its final week! Unseasonably warm temperatures and sunny days have kept the actions going, as farmworkers and allies continue to picket Hannaford Supermarkets around the region. At each action, workers are connecting with consumers to build support for the campaign and increase the pressure on Hannaford to join the Milk with Dignity Program.

The third week of the Month of Action brought Migrant Justice to Maine – with energetic pickets in Portland and Belfast – then back to Vermont for a consumer education event in Williston. During the pickets, farmworkers from Maine and Vermont stood side-by-side and called on potential Hannaford customers to show support by not crossing the picket line. Many would-be shoppers turned around after hearing workers’ messages.

Read more to see the full photo-report and get information about upcoming actions!

The Milk with Dignity Month of Action has reached the halfway point. Even as temperatures drop and the days get shorter, farmworkers and allies have continued picketing Hannaford Supermarkets around the region to build support for Milk with Dignity and encourage potential customers to not cross the picket line.

In the second week of the Month of Action, events took place throughout Vermont – in Morrisville, South Burlington, and Middlebury – and in Portland, ME. In South Burlington and Portland, allies led consumer education events to raise awareness about the campaign and pass out consumer pledges, while in Morrisville and Middlebury, farmworkers held large pickets and marches to turn away would-be Hannaford shoppers.

Read more to see the full photo-report and get information about upcoming actions!

The Milk with Dignity Month of Action kicked off with a bang! Farmworkers and allies rallied at Hannaford Supermarkets around the region, connecting with customers and spreading the message: don’t cross the picket line!

The first week saw events take place at stores in South Burlington, St. Albans, Barre, and Brandon. At each action, potential Hannaford customers turned around and drove away without shopping at the store. Consumers are demonstrating that they are willing to show their solidarity with farmworkers by withholding their purchases.

Read more to see the full photo-report and get information about upcoming actions!

Migrant Justice celebrates the seven-year anniversary of the Milk with Dignity Program! On October 3rd, 2017, farmworkers stood side-by-side with the CEO of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream to sign the first Milk with Dignity agreement and launch this transformational program.

In the seven years since Milk with Dignity’s founding, the Program has brought unprecedented improvements to the living and working conditions of hundreds of farmworkers in Vermont and New York. Over 50 participating farms have benefited from the millions of dollars in Milk with Dignity premium and other program supports. Milk with Dignity’s farmworker-authored standards and strong enforcement mechanisms have turned workers into frontline defenders of their own human rights on the farm.

Read more to learn about Milk with Dignity’s accomplishments and find the full Program report

The Milk with Dignity Month of Action has begun. In the coming weeks, farmworkers will lead pickets of Hannaford Supermarkets demanding that the company stop abuses in its dairy supply chain by joining the Milk with Dignity Program. Workers are urging customers to respect the picket line and to refrain from shopping at Hannaford while workers and allies are picketing.

The Month of Action follows a successful one-day boycott of a Hannaford store in the spring, when hundreds of potential customers turned away in solidarity with farmworkers. After years of calling on consumers to engage with the grocery chain – and being met with excuses and distractions from company executives – workers are turning up the heat on Hannaford by demonstrating that customers are willing to withhold their purchasing power when asked.

Read more to see the full map of actions and to sign the consumer pledge for Milk with Dignity!

Migrant Justice recently shared the results from this year's farmworker-to-farmworker survey on dairy labor conditions. If you found yourself moved to action, there's something you can do!

Call Hannaford Supermarket today and urge the company to join Milk with Dignity, the only proven solution to protect workers' rights in the dairy industry! Join with thousands of allies who have called Hannaford's headquarters to show their support for Milk with Dignity. Make your call today!

And if you haven’t seen the latest survey results, keep scrolling to see the next post!

End-of-day update: 240 confirmed calls!

Migrant Justice is excited to publish preliminary results from our latest survey of labor and housing conditions of immigrant dairy workers in Vermont. The survey results demonstrate the dire conditions in the dairy industry – including in Hannaford Supermarket's dairy supply chain – and emphasize the need for companies to join the Milk with Dignity Program.

The survey of over 200 immigrant dairy workers on non-Milk with Dignity farms in Vermont has some shocking results: 87% receive less than Vermont’s minimum wage of $13.67/hour, with the median worker making just $11.67/hour; 77% have suffered work-related health problems; 82% report issues with employer-provided housing; and 53% report discriminatory treatment. One out of every two survey respondents works at least 12 hours a day, with 95% working 6-7 days per week.

Read more to see more survey results!

Migrant Justice has announced a Month of Action for the Milk with Dignity campaign for this fall. Throughout October, farmworkers and allies will hold protests in front of Hannaford Supermarkets and urge customers not to cross the picket line and not to shop at the store. This is a major step in the campaign and will show Hannaford executives that consumers stand with farmworkers demanding Milk with Dignity – and are willing to withhold their purchasing power when asked!

Ten pickets are planned for the month of action at Hannaford stores around New England. Details about each action can be found on our interactive map. As campaign allies volunteer to organize consumer education events at their local Hannaford, we will add those events to the map to allow others to join in. 

Click “Read More” to get more information and see the interactive map!