Migrant Justice pressures Hannaford Supermarkets to adopt the Milk with Dignity Program and protect farm laborers from low wages and unsafe conditions.
A coordinated series of rallies swept across Vermont’s Lamoille, Addison, and Chittenden counties as farmworkers and advocates from the organization Migrant Justice intensified their public campaign. The singular focus of the rallies was to pressure major Northeast retailer, Hannaford Supermarkets, into joining the established Milk with Dignity program. Supporters argue that Hannaford’s participation is a critical step necessary to significantly improve the working conditions and fundamental protections offered to dairy workers on participating farms supplying the grocery chain.
The Milk with Dignity program was specifically designed to establish essential labor standards across the Northeast dairy industry. These fundamental standards include provisions for fair wages, guaranteed paid time off, and crucial access to safe, adequately heated housing. Advocates highlight the current grim reality for many farmworkers outside the program, who reportedly endure excessively long shifts, often working 12- to 14-hour days without basic benefits like sick leave, and in some documented cases, living in housing environments that lack essential heating.
Speaking in Spanish at the rally, dairy worker Cristian Santos underscored the program’s importance to the vulnerable immigrant community in Vermont. Santos framed the campaign as more than just a labor negotiation, calling it an “opportunity for Vermonters who want to support the immigrant community.” He stressed the grassroots origin and enduring commitment behind the initiative, noting that Milk with Dignity is a program that the workers “created ourselves, and have been fighting for for years,” cementing its status as an essential path toward basic human dignity in the workplace.
The core conflict pits the pursuit of high-volume dairy production against the welfare of the labor force essential to that supply. Migrant Justice argues that the inclusion of major corporate purchasers like Hannaford is necessary to establish financial accountability and incentivize farms to comply with higher labor standards. The program essentially requires corporate buyers to pay a premium that is then passed down to ensure farm owners can afford to meet the dignity standards for pay, hours, and housing.
Advocates have publicly declared their unwavering commitment to the cause, stating clearly that they plan to continue holding rallies across the region until all dairy workers achieve what they define as safe and dignified working conditions. This ongoing, high-visibility campaign signals a sustained effort to bring one of the region’s largest retailers into the framework of the Milk with Dignity Program, setting a precedent for improved labor standards across the entire Northeast dairy supply chain for producers, manufacturers, and retailers alike.
Source: Find the complete news report on the farmworker rallies from MyNBC5.
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