Farmworkers and allies from Maine and throughout the Northeast will gather on the Back Cove Trail in Portland on Saturday, June 24 at 2pm to march on Hannaford Supermarket and demand that it pledge to source its milk from farms that respect workers’ rights. The farmworker-led organization Migrant Justice launched the “Milk with Dignity” campaign to pressure the Hannaford supermarket chain to source its store-brand milk from farms where workers' human rights are independently monitored and protected, and the long-term interests of farm owners are supported.
"Hannaford profits from labor abuses and human rights violations on the farms producing Hannaford-brand milk, then seeks to cover up those abuses with sham ‘social responsibility’ measures,’” the group wrote in a statement. “Join to show Hannaford that you aren't falling for their tricks: workers and consumers are united in demanding Milk with Dignity!”
Last week Maine AFL-CIO President Cynthia Phinney sent a letter to Hannaford urging the company to improve farmworker conditions and address long-standing abuses in the grocer’s dairy supply chain through the Milk With Dignity program.
“Hannaford’s dairy supply chain includes farms where workers are suffering from severe human rights abuses,” the letter reads. “This includes situations where immigrant farmworkers labor long hours in dangerous conditions for low pay and live in substandard housing.”
Milk with Dignity implements a farmworker-authored Code of Conduct setting standards for labor and housing conditions on dairy farms. Participating companies require dairy suppliers to enroll in the Program and pay a premium to cover raises and improvements. Workers are educated on their rights in the Program, and standards are enforced by an independent monitor.
Ben & Jerry’s became the first company to join Milk with Dignity in 2017, instituting the Program in the company’s northeast dairy supply chain. The program operates in New York and Vermont, protecting the rights of over 200 dairy workers. The Program has extensively documented the positive impact on farms and farmworkers and has been independently lauded for the effectiveness of its unique model.
Hannaford has resisted calls to join the Milk with Dignity Program since 2019, despite well-documented labor abuses and severe human rights violations on the farms producing Hannaford-brand milk. Migrant Justice’s campaign has received support from national faith organizations, labor and climate groups, agricultural organizations, legislators, and thousands of Hannaford customers who have sent emails, written postcards, made calls, and attended rallies.