I scream, you scream, we all scream for fair ice cream!

Posted Fri, 04/07/2017 - 7:39pm

This Tuesday April 4th, thousands of customers waiting in line outside Ben & Jerry's scoop shops during the company's famed Free Cone Day got their ice cream with a bitter dose of truth.

At more than 10 scoop shops around the country -- from Nashville, to Naples, to New York -- dairy workers and supporters pulled the mask off the corporation's socially responsible marketing to expose the conditions faced by workers putting the cream in Ben & Jerry's ice cream.

Enrique Balcazar, recently freed from prison after being targeted by deportation agents for his outspoken leadership, spoke at the factory store in Waterbury:

I have worked on dairy farms across the state, just like my mother and father before me, and I know better than anyone the conditions that we workers face.  I would work from 3am through the day and night, oftentimes without 8 hours of consecutive rest, seven days a week.  Nearly half of us don't even make minimum wage! That is why we are here today, calling on Ben & Jerry's to make good on its commitment to join the Milk with Dignity program, ensuring respect for the human rights of the workers who milk their cows.

Wilmar Santiz, a dairy worker and member of Migrant Justice's Farmworker Coordinating Committee, told customers in Burlington, VT: "We are here today demanding that Ben & Jerry's join the Milk with Dignity program. We invite everyone to unite with us -- because the time to sign is now!"

Released from Jail, Dairy Worker Leaders Take Action at Ben& Jerry's Harvard Square, Next up, Scoop Shops everywhere on Tuesday, April 4!

Posted Sun, 04/02/2017 - 6:31pm

Springing into action upon their release from prison, after an ICE crackdown on farmworker rights leaders, Enrique Balcazar, Zully Palacios and Migrant Justice are calling for a national day of action on April 4th at Ben & Jerry's scoops to educate and activate consumers, while they wait for free ice cream, to tell Ben & Jerry's that dairy worker's human rights cannot wait. The dairy worker leaders call to action comes just days after hundreds of supporters flooded Ben & Jerry's phone lines, marking Cesar Chavez day on Friday 3/31, demanding Ben & Jerry's join and implement the worker-led Milk with Dignity Program as promised dairy workers nearly two years ago.

Click here to take action on April 4th!

Farmworker Rights Leaders Enrique “Kike” Balcazar and Zully Palacios Released from ICE Custody; Presented César Chávez Human and Civil Rights Award by Nation’s Largest Union

Posted Tue, 03/28/2017 - 3:11pm

La Lucha continues to #FreeAlex and Call on Ben & Jerry’s to Commit to the Milk with Dignity Program

Download the April 4th #MilkWithDignity Free Cone Day Action Pack by clicking here.

Monday’s freezing rain across Northern New England could not chill the spirits of a people hungry for justice.  The public space in front of the cold stone federal building where Boston's Immigration Court sits was alive with colorful banners, chants, songs, a brass band, roving picket lines, and compelling words from faith leaders and community members. Hundreds of people, including Cosecha members and allies, the ACLU of Massachusetts, many union workers, and a bus full of friends and family from Vermont, came together to support the call for freedom for Migrant Justice leaders Enrique Balcazar, Zully Palacios and  Alex Carrillo who were inside the JFK Federal building with their fate in the hands of our nation’s inhumane and brutal immigration system.

Updated Press Release on Recent ICE detentions

Posted Mon, 03/20/2017 - 3:53pm

Thousands show support for detained human rights leaders in Vermont

Immigrant leaders of Migrant Justice targeted by ICE for arrest

Burlington, VT. Agents with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have arrested three immigrant members of the Vermont-based human rights organization Migrant Justice within the past week.

Jose Enrique “Kike” Balcazar Sanchez, 24, and Zully Palacios Rodriguez, 23, were surrounded by four undercover ICE vehicles soon after leaving the Migrant Justice office in Burlington on Friday afternoon. Migrant Justice organizers arrived on the site of the arrest in time to see the two being loaded into separate vans and driven away.

“They are targeting our community’s leaders,” said Migrant Justice organizer Abel Luna.

The detention came two days after agents arrested dairy worker Cesar Alexis Carrillo Sanchez, 23, outside the Chittenden County courthouse Wednesday morning. At the time, Mr. Carrillo, known as Alex, was accompanied by his wife, Lymarie Deida, a U.S. citizen.  The two have a four-year-old daughter together.

Said Ms. Deida of her husband’s arrest: “When they arrested Alex, they took away a father, a husband, a human being.”

VT Dairy Workers Announce Northeast Milk with Dignity Speaking Tour!

Posted Thu, 03/16/2017 - 2:56pm

“Hey...Ben & Jerry’s: On Human Rights, Actions Speak Louder than Words"

 

“It’s been nearly two years since Ben & Jerry’s promised to source its milk in compliance with our human rights and we’re fed up with their endless delays and excuses. For many of us workers that means two years of working 12 or more hour shifts with no breaks, two years without a raise, two years of parents without a single day off to spend with their kids, and two years without a real voice--while B&J’s milk and profits keeps flowing. Enough is enough--¡ya basta! Join us on this speaking tour culminating in a big May Day “March for Dignity” in Burlington VT, the birthplace of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, to demand Ben & Jerry’s follow through on their promise to protect the human rights of farmworkers by joining the MD Program now!" --Migrant Justice Farmworker Coordinating Committee

                  Join and share the Burlington, VT May Day March for Dignity action here! 

 

"The only wall we should be building...

Posted Wed, 03/15/2017 - 8:53am

...is the wall between the police and Trump’s deportation machine.”

Vermonters who support immigrant rights are making their voices heard. Last week, a dozen towns across the state voted to approve sanctuary resolutions declaring their solidarity with immigrants and refugees. And politicians are paying attention.

Just yesterday, the Vermont House of Representatives voted preliminary approval of Governor Scott’s immigration bill (S.79), legislation already unanimously passed by the Senate. Though backed by a worthy sentiment, the bill is more symbol than substance. It focuses on potential actions that the Trump administration could take but does nothing to stop Vermont police practices of colluding with federal authorities to deport immigrants living and working in the state.

 

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