Breakthrough week for Milk with Dignity campaign
Posted Wed, 04/16/2025 - 4:24pm
Migrant Justice has had a breakthrough week in the long-running campaign to bring Hannaford Supermarket into the Milk with Dignity Program. From the Hannaford headquarters in Maine, to the shareholder meeting of parent company Ahold Delhaize in the Netherlands, farmworkers have made their voices heard.
The escalation of pressure is having an impact. Responding to Migrant Justice’s campaign, the company has announced a comprehensive “Human Rights Impact Assessment” of the conditions in its dairy supply chain, which will include interviews with farmworkers and a review of the Milk with Dignity Program. And after five years encountering consistent refusals to meet, Migrant Justice had its first meeting with a company executive to begin a dialog about Milk with Dignity.
These steps are a recognition of the collective power of workers and consumers demanding justice, but now is not the time to let up the pressure! Assessments and meetings are just the first step; farmworkers aren’t celebrating until Hannaford joins the Program.
In a bold new step in the campaign, Migrant Justice filed an international human rights complaint with the Dutch government over the supermarket chain’s failure to remedy systemic human rights violations on the farms producing Hannaford-brand milk. The complaint has been submitted to the Dutch National Contact Point of the OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises for Responsible Business Conduct; it extensively documents Ahold’s violations of the guidelines. The Dutch body will now begin an investigation into the complaint and may bring Migrant Justice and Ahold together to find a resolution.
Migrant Justice announced the filing of the complaint from the Netherlands, at the annual meeting of Ahold Delhaize shareholders on April 9th. After speaking to supporters and press at a rally gathered outside, a delegation entered the meeting to engage directly with Ahold executives and board members. Migrant Justice was able to gain access to the closed-door meeting with proxy votes assigned by two allied investors: Domini Impact Investments and United Church Funds. While the company celebrated over $100 billion in sales by raising executive pay and increasing shareholder payouts, we brought the issue of farmworker rights to the fore.
After citing statistics from a recent survey of over 200 immigrant dairy workers, Migrant Justice representative Marita Canedo addressed Ahold’s executives:
The survey results clearly show systemic abuse and point toward the need for those at the top of the supply chain, including Ahold Delhaize, to take greater responsibility by working with farmworkers to join Milk with Dignity…. Due to the failure of Ahold to ensure respect for human rights in its supply chain, farmworkers have felt the need to submit a complaint through the Dutch National Contact Point…. It is our sincere hope that Ahold will avoid the unnecessary expense and reputational damage of a formal human rights investigation by engaging in good faith dialogue regarding Milk with Dignity.
Ahold Delhaize USA CEO JJ Fleeman responded to Migrant Justice’s questions by offering a meeting, the first time in the years-long campaign that the company has done so. He also announced to shareholders and the public the undertaking of a “Human Rights Impact Assessment” of the Northeast dairy supply chain and invited the participation of Migrant Justice. The assessment will be conducted by an independent organization, include interviews with dairy workers themselves, and result in recommendations to the company on how best to address rights violations in the supply chain. Fleeman ended his remarks by noting: “We look forward to continued dialogue and partnership.”
On the same day that the Migrant Justice delegation spoke out at Ahold’s shareholder meeting, dairy workers and allies rallied at the Hannaford Supermarket headquarters in Scarborough, Maine. Dozens held a press conference in front of the central offices, echoing the messages being shared with the parent company in Europe. Farmworker leaders presented testimony of abuses in Hannaford’s supply chain and announced to the U.S. press the filing of the international human rights complaint.
The following day, the Migrant Justice European delegation – accompanied by supporters from the Dutch Agroecology Network and environmental organization Milieudfensie – traveled to the Ahold Delhaize global headquarters in Zandaam, Netherlands. On the heels of the previous day’s intervention at the shareholder meeting, we brought thousands of postcards signed by Hannaford customers demanding Milk with Dignity. As the Dutch press looked on, company representatives brought out a dolly to accept the box containing thousands of postcards.
The trip to Europe included coalition-building with labor unions, migrant rights organizations, and civil society groups. In meetings throughout the week, the Migrant Justice delegation joined with organizations to build transnational solidarity, sharing our organizing model while learning from others. In one particularly inspiring event, held at the International Institute for Social Studies in The Hague, Migrant Justice spoke alongside Serbian farmworkers in the Netherlands about the comparative experiences of migrant workers.
Now back in Vermont, the Milk with Dignity campaign continues to press forward. Farmworkers are now gearing up for a major action on May 1st, International Workers’ Day, to maintain pressure on Hannaford and Ahold. Mark your calendars and save the date – more information to come soon!