THETFORD — Farmworkers and organizers with the nonprofit Migrant Justice will stop on its October speaking tour at the First Congregational Church in Thetford on Friday evening as part of a campaign to pressure Hannaford to improve immigrant dairy workers’ labor conditions by paying more for milk products.

The Upper Valley Affinity Group, a group of local residents concerned about climate change, organized the Thetford stop as part of Migrant Justice’s “Milk with Dignity” tour.

“We rely on these people’s work and will have to more and more as food becomes more scarce and there are more climate refugees into Vermont,” said Ulrike Moltke, a member of the group. “We will need to focus much more on local food and producing local and helping each other out in local communities. It behooves us to treat (farmworkers) decently.”

The Burlington-based nonprofit’s began its three-week speaking tour Oct. 2, aiming to raise awareness of its Milk with Dignity program. The 25 in-person events range from New York to Maine.

Milk with Dignity advocates first targeted Ben & Jerry’s in 2015. The company signed a legally binding agreement in 2017 that “defines the program as an enforceable contract under the law.” The campaign has focused its energy on Hannaford since 2019.

Supporters of Milk with Dignity argue that it aligns the interests of farmers and farmworkers because economic pressure on farms in turn hurts wages and working conditions. Farmers who participate in the Milk with Dignity program agree to a “farmworker-authored code of conduct,” which includes rights such as the state minimum wage and eight consecutive hours off in every 24-hour period. A third-party group, the Milk with Dignity Standards Council, monitors farms and receives workers’ concerns. Participating corporations pay a premium to dairy farms to help cover the costs of meeting the code of conduct.

Hannaford spokeswoman Ericka Dodge said via email that the supermarket chain works to ensure “the products we sell are produced sustainably and responsibly, with concern for the environment, the public health and worker and human rights.”

She wrote that all of Hannaford’s suppliers sign a code of conduct, “a contractual document that explicitly outlines our expectations: Labor laws are to be followed stringently, and workers to be treated fairly and humanely.”

Migrant Justice estimates that there are over 1,200 immigrant workers on Vermont’s dairy farms. A 2014 survey of almost 200 dairy workers in the state showed that 40% worked for less than the minimum wage and had no days off; 15% lived in overcrowded housing and had inadequate heat. A 2019 report from the nonprofit showed that the program generated $1 million for wages and bonuses as well as improvements to labor and housing conditions over the program’s first two years.

“It is frequent that dairy workers in Vermont who are symptomatic (of COVID-19) or even tested positive are told by employers that they have to continue working,” said Will Lambek, a Migrant Justice spokesperson.

Within the Milk with Dignity program, workers have a right to sick leave, protection against retaliation for infection, and “unjust firing,” he said.

The nonprofit identified Hannaford as a “key player” in supply chains in the Northeast, Lambek said. With about 200 stores in New York and New England, it is one of the largest buyers in the region. It also puts its own label on many of the dairy products that it sells. Hannaford’s parent company, Dutch supermarket giant Ahold Delhaize, has also joined similar programs in other industries, Lambek said.

Dairy workers on farms that participate in Milk with Dignity as well as workers on farms outside the program will likely speak at the event in Thetford, although the exact details are not finalized.

The Thetford event on Friday is at 7:30 p.m., with parking available at the First Congregational Church in Thetford at 2596 Route 113. Attendees can also park at the Latham Library or at Thetford Hill Elementary School, Moltke said. She advised bringing a flashlight because the walk from the parking areas to the church is not well-lit. All attendees are asked to be vaccinated and to wear masks.

On Oct. 24, the “Dignity Tour” will return to the Upper Valley with a stop at Dartmouth College. La Casa, an immersive Spanish living community at the college, will host the event.

Claire Potter is a Report for America corps member. She can be reached at cpotter@vnews.com or 603-727- 3242.