This week: Migrant Justice in The Netherlands

This week, Migrant Justice will travel to The Netherlands to join a meeting of Ahold Delhaize – the multinational corporation that owns Hannaford Supermarkets – and call for Milk with Dignity. While corporate executives and company shareholders meet to celebrate $100 billion in annual sales, we will urge them to invest in a worker-led solution to human rights abuses in their supply chain.

We recently shared the exciting news of our upcoming transatlantic trip. If you missed the first announcement, read it here!

As a publicly traded corporation, Ahold Delhaize must hold “Annual General Meetings” open to shareholders in the company. During these meetings, the executive committee and Board of Directors present on the previous year’s activities and field questions from shareholders. Allied investor groups have provided Migrant Justice a number of “proxy” seats to join the meeting and directly engage Ahold’s leaders. While we have participated virtually in past years, this is the first time that Migrant Justice will have a presence in the room at the Annual General Meeting.

On Wednesday, Migrant Justice representatives will challenge Ahold Delhaize on Hannaford’s ongoing refusal to address human rights violations in its dairy supply chain. As Ahold seeks to tout its human rights commitments – including the implementation of new “Standards of Engagement” setting expectations for its suppliers – Migrant Justice will share the reality of workers’ experiences on farms producing Hannaford-brand milk.

While Ahold’s updated Standards prohibit discrimination and require suppliers to adopt appropriate grievance mechanisms with protections against retaliation, this lofty rhetoric matters little for farmworkers experiencing abuse. One worker submitted an anonymous complaint about farm conditions through Ahold’s “Speak Up Line” but received no relief. Instead, she says, months after that complaint:

“I’m still paid less than the men here, but I do the same work. I feel discriminated against for being a woman, and I don’t feel safe to ask for change because I can lose my job and housing.”

Just as the Migrant Justice delegation is in The Netherlands pressuring Ahold’s leadership at Wednesday’s shareholder meeting, farmworkers will take action at stores around the region, and customers will call Hannaford’s headquarters to demand Milk with Dignity. On the morning of 4/10 we will post information on how to make your call.

Volunteer during the day on April 10th to contact Migrant Justice supporters and ask them to call Hannaford. Sign up for your shift here!

p.s. don’t forget to mark your calendar for May 1st, International Workers’ Day. Migrant Justice is organizing a major action for the Milk with Dignity campaign. More details coming soon!