At Portland rally, dairy workers pressure Hannaford to improve farmworker protections

MAINE PUBLIC • November 9, 2021

More than one hundred people — including dozens of dairy workers — rallied outside a Hannaford supermarket and marched through Portland Monday, urging the company to adopt supply chain reforms aimed at protecting farmworkers. Migrant Justice leader Enrique Balcazar said the group is focusing on Hannaford because they believe the company would have a big impact on the lives of dairy workers in the region if it signed onto the program, due to its dairy purchasing power. Over the summer, a group of investors published a letter asking the company to join Milk with Dignity. Hannaford said it requires all its suppliers to sign a code of conduct assuring that labors laws are "followed stringently" and that workers are treated fairly and humanely.