Rally commemorates four years of ‘Milk with Dignity’
Huddled under tents and hiding from the rain, community members, their families, and organizational leaders met in support of the program “Milk with Dignity” or “Leche con Dignidad,” which ensures dignified working conditions in dairy supply chains for migrant farmworkers.
This rally also commemorated the four year anniversary of Ben and Jerry’s implementation of the program in their Vermont supply chain.
The ice cream company made a legally binding commitment to ensure adequate benefits for dairy farmworkers in 2017. These included safe working conditions, fair housing, education on worker’s rights, wage increases, and adequate time off and sick leave. Migrant workers are targeted when it comes to unsafe and abusive labor practices, according to Migrant Justice.
To complete the celebration, the community shared a meal after the rally but not before advocating for the expansion of protections for dairy farm workers beyond Vermont.
The attendees called on the supermarket chain Hannaford to join Ben and Jerry’s in the effort to mediate the human rights crisis in their dairy supply chain.
Allies, farmworkers, and others formed a 15 car long caravan and rolled out in front of the New North End Hannaford, honking, decked out with signs, and demanding “Milk with Dignity” be implemented in the supermarket’s local and out-of-state dairy supply chain.
Migrant Justice leader Abel Luna got out of the car, into the rain where he stood in the front of the supermarket, with a megaphone in hand.
“Two years ago, Hannaford workers who are milking cows here in the dairy industry in farms in Vermont gave you a solution,” Luna said in front of the store. He had the attention of everyone around him, customers and passersby alike.
“A solution to end the human rights abuses in your supply chain and that solution is called Milk with Dignity,” He said. “It's been two years since farmworkers in the dairy industry invited you to join the Milk with Dignity program, and to this day you have not responded.”
After this, he referred to Hannaford’s CEO Mike Veil as if he was there.
“The only thing that should be keeping you up at night is that in the farms that you are purchasing your milk from there are human rights violations. That we have waited two years, that it's been too long…” Luna said.
The caravan continued honking for a minute before leaving.
Migrant Justice and its community then went back to Leddy park to enjoy a celebratory meal in honor of what their program has already achieved and the prospect of future expansion.
This rally kicks off the Dignity Tour, a 3-week speaking tour across seven states which will spread the message of the “Milk with Dignity” program and advocate for the implementation of it in Hannaford’s supply chain. They will be reaching Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and multiple other locations in Vermont.
Hannaford spokesperson Ericka Dodge did not respond to requests for comment.
