Farmworker group Migrant Justice released its first biennial report documenting the progress the organization has made with its Milk with Dignity program improving conditions for migrant workers on dairy farms in Vermont and New York.
The 68-page report includes data that show improvements in labor and housing conditions under the program, as well as personal stories from farmworkers and owners.
One such story is about a farmworker named Adrian.
“I used to work on a farm outside the program, where we worked 12 hour days without breaks for food, and where ten of us lived in a trailer infested with bed bugs,” Adrian said. “Since I moved to a Milk with Dignity farm, there’s been a huge change. Everything is better: the pay, the hours, there’s enough space for all of us in the house and we aren’t cold in the winter.”
Milk with Dignity was launched in 2018 by an agreement between Migrant Justice and Ben & Jerry’s to implement the program in the ice cream company’s Northeast dairy supply chain. Ben & Jerry’s committed to buy all of its milk from farms that comply with the Milk with Dignity code of conduct, created by the workers themselves.
More than 260 workers on nearly 70 farms in Vermont and New York are covered by the Milk with Dignity program, accounting for more than 20% of Vermont’s dairy industry by volume.
Source: burlingtonfreepress.com
