Dairy farmworkers and their families join Migrant Justice for a march on Thursday, asking Hannaford Supermarkets to join the Milk with Dignity campaign. —Terry Allen
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has joined a call for another company to be added to the Milk with Dignity program, an initiative launched by Vermont dairy farmworkers, farmers and supporters.
At a news conference on Thursday, Migrant Justice, a Vermont-based human rights organization, called on Hannaford Supermarkets to take responsibility for the rights of workers and be a part of the campaign. Migrant Justice, which was founded and led by immigrant farmworkers, has taken up a similar mantle held by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, which focuses on the rights of workers who pick vegetables for restaurant and grocery chains.
Migrant Justice leaders say they have reached out to Hannaford on a number of occasions in recent months but have not received a response. Dairy workers call on the company to take responsibility for the human rights of workers in its dairy supply chain by joining Milk with Dignity.
The Reverend Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the PC(USA), sent a letter to be included in Migrant Justice’s response.
“The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s two million members are part of a vast and growing population of consumers of conscience who are insisting that corporations take up their rightful responsibility to ensure humane conditions in their supply chains,” Nelson wrote. “Our faith demands that we not stay silent when people are exploited as part of bringing products to market.”
Nelson said there was adequate documentation that workers on dairy farms across the northeast, where Hannaford brand sources its milk, suffer severe human rights conditions and often work in dangerous conditions. He urged Hannaford to join the campaign because it is the only existing program proven to end abuses.
Marchers rally in front of a Hannaford Supermarket. —Terry Allen
“This is transforming conditions for workers in supply chains in different industries around the world,” wrote Nelson. “Indeed, several supermarket brands owned by your parent company, Ahold Delhaize, have already signed the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ Fair Food Program, committing to source their tomatoes from this internationally renowned human rights program.”
In a press release from Migrant Justice, farmers participating in Milk with Dignity say the program offers benefits to them as employers.
“The Milk with Dignity program allows us to pay the people that do these very important jobs an acceptable wage,” said Matt Maxwell, a Vermont farmer. “Since joining Milk with Dignity, our farm has maintained an 85 percent employee retention rate. Less turnover has led to higher morale and greater workplace continuity. The program has helped us make huge strides as employers.”
The news conference coincided with the second anniversary of Ben & Jerry’s commitment to source its northeast dairy supply chain from farms that comply with a comprehensive code of conduct.
The full letter is below.
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Office of the General Assembly
J. HERBERT NELSON, II
STATED CLERK of the General Assembly
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Mr. Mike Vail, CEO and President
Hannaford Supermarkets
145 Pleasant Hill Rd.
Scarborough, ME 04074
Dear Mr. Vail,
I write on behalf of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to urge Hannaford Supermarkets to join the Milk with Dignity Program and use your company’s purchasing power to expand this proven program that is guaranteeing critical rights and safety for dairy farmworkers, sustainability for small dairy farmers, and reflecting the highest level of corporate social responsibility.
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s two million members are part of a vast and growing population of consumers of conscience who are insisting that corporations take up their rightful responsibility to ensure humane conditions in their supply chains. Our faith demands that we not stay silent when people are exploited as part of bringing products to market.
There is more than adequate documentation that workers on dairy farms across the northeast, where Hannaford brand sources its milk, suffer severe human rights abuses, often working in dangerous conditions. Their compensation is too often below minimum wage standards and they are forced to live in substandard housing.
We urge you to join Milk with Dignity because it is the only program, thus far, that has proven to end those abuses. Milk with Dignity is modeled after the Fair Food Program, using a worker-driven approach to social responsibility, an approach long endorsed by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). This is transforming conditions for workers in supply chains in different industries around the world. Indeed, several supermarket brands owned by your parent company, Ahold Delhaize, have already signed the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ Fair Food Program, committing to source their tomatoes from this internationally renowned human rights program.
By joining Milk with Dignity, Hannaford would uphold Ahold Delahaize’s own commitment to responsible retailing and, critically, use Hannaford’s power to end human rights abuses that surely disturb your consciences as they do ours. We remind you, as added encouragement, that at the 2016 annual meeting in Amsterdam, Ahold’s CEO lauded this program by name.
It is disturbing that Hannaford has rebuffed the efforts of the leaders of Migrant Justice, as well as the faith community, to enter into dialogue regarding these injustices. We therefore join our voices with theirs in urging you, in the strongest terms, to begin this dialogue, to the end that justice is served and another step is taken to end dairy farmworker exploitation and to contribute to the sustainability of small farmers in the dairy industry. We respectfully request that you do the right thing.
In the Faith that we share,
/s/ The Reverend Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II
Stated Clerk of the General Assembly
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)