10/18: Mass Call-in day to Hannaford Supermarket

We recently wrapped up a month of action picketing Hannaford Supermarkets. With pressure mounting on Hannaford, we are asking supporters to call the company headquarters and urge them to meet with farmworkers. Throughout the campaign, thousands of people have called the office of Hannaford President Mike Vail to show their solidarity. Today, October 18th, take a minute to make a call: tell Hannaford that you want Milk with Dignity!

If you missed our photo-reports from the Month of Action, be sure to check them out!

Week 1: Cristian Santos told Hannaford:

I recently got sick. My body ached and I didn't feel able to work. But I didn’t have the option to stay at home; I was forced to go into the barn to work my shift. If my farm had belonged to Milk with Dignity, I would have had the right to paid sick leave and I could have recovered at home. But instead of listening to the workers milking the cows for their store-brand Milk, Hannaford has decided to shut us out and create false “solutions” of their own. To [Hannaford President] Milk Vail, I say: your failure to join Milk with Dignity results in the violation of the human rights of farmworkers in your supply chain.

Week 2: Olga Cruz told Hannaford:

While you keep waiting and time passes, the injustices in the dairy industry, and in your supply chain don’t stop. While workers suffer you keep spreading awards and funds everywhere except to the essential workers who matter. It’s time you stop creating false programs where workers’ voices aren’t heard, programs where workers are afraid to participate due to retaliation, and when they do nothing gets done.

Week 3: Don Jesús told Hannaford:

The accident that took my foot was completely preventable. I warned the farm three times that day, but they didn’t listen. And the same thing could happen again, because workers’ voices are still being ignored. For the past four years, you have turned your back on workers. You continue to profit from our suffering – the long hours, low pay, and lack of protections – as we put our health and safety on the line every day. You might think that you can outlast us, but we are here to show you that we are more stubborn than you are. We will persevere and we know that sooner or later, Hannaford will join Milk with Dignity!

Week 4: Don Hilario told Hannaford:

I have worked on dairy farms for the past nine years. I have worked on farms where they yell at you, where they fire you without any reason, where they throw you out of your house in the middle of the night. I’ve seen how bosses intimidate workers, how they threaten to call police or immigration, how they make workers scared to speak up.

On the farm I’m at now, three of us share one room. There is no dignity, no privacy, no way to get proper rest. During the day the cockroaches eat our food, and at night the bed bugs suck our blood. This is how I’ve lived these last two years.

I want to ask Hannaford President Mike Vail: would you live like this? It’s past time for you to listen to workers and to take responsibility. It’s time to join Milk with Dignity.