Today we march for Diego, Alexia, and all farmworkers suffering abuse
Diego and his family worked on a farm producing Hannaford-brand milk. When Diego’s mother was beaten so severely by a supervisor that she lost consciousness, Diego confronted the supervisor. In response, he came to their house that evening with a machete and tried to break down the door.
When Diego called the cops to save his family’s life, their boss blamed him for the loss of her supervisor. Diego recalls: “The only thing she said was: ‘Who’s going to milk the cows in the morning?’” He and his family were fired and kicked out of their home. “The boss threw our paychecks in the trash and said ‘there’s your money.’ She said she never wanted to see us there again.”
Abuses like these – and Hannaford’s unwillingness to take any action to protect the rights and well-being of farmworkers in its supply chain – are why we are marching in Portland, Maine today.