14 Cities Take Action In Solidarity With VT Dairy Workers on June 20th for a National Day of Action Calling on Ben & Jerry’s to Join the Milk with Dignity Program!
Download our June 20th Action Toolkit for Organizers including how to organize an action, media advisory/press release, letter to deliver to Ben & Jerry’s, and a poster! http://bit.ly/J20ActionTools
On Saturday June 20th, farmworkers and community allies across the country are organizing actions at Ben & Jerry’s scoop shops to call on CEO Jostein Solheim to stand up for farmworkers’ rights by joining the Milk With Dignity Program!
Join us! If you are interested in organizing an action (outside of Vermont) in your town or city go here:http://bit.ly/MilkWithDignityAction
Or find one of the 16 actions already confirmed!
Burlington, VT; Times Square, New York; White Plains, NY; South Deerfield, Mass; Washington DC (on 21st); Hollywood, Fla; Naples, Florida; Nashville, TN; Athens, Georgia; San Francisco, CA; Portland, Maine; Kennenbunkport, Maine; Charlotte, North Carolina; Minneapolis, MN, Atlanta, Georgia, Boston,Mass
And other actions are likely in Worcester, Mass and Denver, Colorado!
On June 20th In Burlington, VT we will be meeting at 294 N. Winooski Ave at 11:30am to kick off our big march and rally for Milk with Dignity at 12noon!
Register here for VT event here: http://migrantjustice.net/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=15
And join and share the VT event on facebook here:https://www.facebook.com/events/1458100737819024/
Our Demand: Ben & Jerry’s must ensure farmworkers’ rights are respected in their supply chain by joining the Milk with Dignity Program
Why this action: For several years now Vermont dairy worker members of Migrant Justice have been educating Ben & Jerry’s about serious human rights violations in its supply chain. VT farmworkers have called on Ben & Jerry’s to join a new program to ensure farmworker’s rights are secured. In order to win this campaign we must demonstrate that there is a powerful movement of farmworkers and community allies across the country that are standing united to secure farmworkers’ rights in Ben & Jerry’s supply chain.
You can also contact us if you are interested in organizing an action in your city or town: info@migrantjustice.net or call 802-540-8370
More resources and campaign handouts here.
Background on Milk with Dignity Campaign
Milk with Dignity from Molly Stuart on Vimeo.
The challenges dairy workers face, established in a farmworker survey and after years of community dialogue, led farmworkers to launch the Milk with Dignity Campaign in the fall of 2014. The campaign builds a movement of farmworkers and allies to call on major food corporations to take responsibility for farmworker rights abuses in their supply chains. Farmworkers converted worker’s rights and housing violations into solutions in the creation of the Milk with Dignity Code of Conduct—defining the human rights essential to a dignified workplace and fair housing. Our members also noted that some dairy farms already had most of the Code of Conduct’s standards in place, demonstrating that it is both necessary and possible to raise the bar in the industry through this campaign.
To build the campaign farmworkers also engaged in a study of the dairy industry, recognizing that a corporate-controlled industry places downward pressure on farmers’ incomes, and profits rise for the few when milk prices are low for the many. Additionally, Migrant Justice farmworker leaders have been an ongoing dialogue with Florida farmworkers since August of 2014 to learn about their successful Campaign for Fair Food seeking to adapt the core concepts of their Fair Food Program to the VT dairy context. The development and design of the Milk with Dignity Program was done with strategic support and collaboration from both the CIW and the National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI).
In December 2014 farmworkers approached Ben & Jerry’s, inviting the company to take the lead in the industry by joining the Milk with Dignity Program– precisely because they are a corporation that has distinguished itself for its commitment to social justice and high standards for sourcing ingredients in its world famous ice cream. Farmworkers discovered, whereas Ben & Jerry’s has take action to ensure cows (No RGBH) and chickens (cage-free eggs) have more dignified lives and that many of the ingredients in their ice cream are sourced through ‘fair trade’ they have not as of yet taken action to ensure the farmworkers who put the cream in ice cream are treated with dignity and respect. Ben & Jerry’s is also important to farmworkers because it purchases 100% of its cream from St. Albans Cooperative farms where many (if not the majority) of Vermont’s 1,200 – 1,500 dairy farmworkers are employed.
Farmworkers invited Ben & Jerry’s to join the Milk with Dignity Program, adapted from the Coalition of Immokalee Worker’s (CIW) world-renowned Fair Food Program that has transformed the lives of tens of thousands of Florida farmworkers. The Program includes these 5 essential elements:
* Farmworker-Authored Code of Conduct: farmworkers’ definition of the human right to work with dignity and fair housing;
* Farmworker Education: Guarantees workers’ the right to receive education about their rights under the Code of Conduct;
* Third Party Monitoring Body: Monitors, enforces and audits farmer compliance with Code of Conduct; receives worker complaints and addresses grievances; creates improvement plans to address violations; enforces consequences for non-compliance
* Economic relief: Participating corporations restore economic justice in the supply chain paying an extra premiumdirectly to both farmworkers AND farmers
* Legally-binding Agreements: Participating Corporations (Ben & Jerry’s) sign a legally binding agreement that defines the program as an enforceable contract under the law
Farmworkers have decided the time has come to build a movement to call upon Ben & Jerry’s to commit to protecting the rights of the workers who put the CREAM in “Vermont’s Finest” ice cream.
Milk with Dignity Campaign Resources
Video: What is the Milk with Dignity Campaign? https://vimeo.com/128623142
Handout: What is the Milk with Dignity Campaign?http://migrantjustice.net/sites/default/files/MilkWithDignityCampaignMay…
TAKE ACTION: Sign, Share and Spread the Petition Calling on Ben & Jerry’s to Join the Milk with Dignity Program http://migrantjustice.net/civicrm/petition/sign?sid=8&reset=1
TAKE ACTION: Flyer Promoting June 20th National Day of Action at Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shops http://migrantjustice.net/sites/default/files/halfsheetflyer.pdf
TAKE ACTION: Pledge Your Organization’s Support to Call on Ben & Jerry’s to Join the Milk with Dignity Campaign Sign the Organizational Pledge: http://goo.gl/forms/ValKzbSGMiOr Contact info@migrantjustice.net to pledge your organization’s support for this campaign!
Handout: Milk With Dignity Program Description and Code of Conducthttp://migrantjustice.net/sites/default/files/MilkWDignityStandardsMay20…
Handout: Backgrounder on VT Dairy Workershttp://migrantjustice.net/sites/default/files/MILK%20WITH%20DIGNITY%20Gr…
Survey Results: Farmworker’s Document Abuse Propose Solution: Milk with Dignityhttp://migrantjustice.net/sites/default/files/FinalSurveyMay2015.pdf
Survey Results: Rights’ Abuse in Ben & Jerry’s Supply Chainhttp://migrantjustice.net/sites/default/files/B%26JPPT.pdf
Photo Slideshow Of Survey Results. Milk With Dignity Campaign http://goo.gl/whvOMe
Media: Milk with Dignity Campaign in the news
May, 2015: http://civileats.com/2015/05/11/will-ben-and-jerrys-help-improve-conditi…
May, 2015: http://digital.vpr.net/post/farm-worker-advocates-target-ben-jerrys
May, 2015: http://www.thenation.com/blog/208281/will-make-you-think-twice-about-dow…
