SCARBOROUGH, Maine —
Migrant farm workers and their supporters picketed outside the headquarters of Hannaford on Friday afternoon to press the supermarket chain to sign onto the Milk with Dignity Program.
Hannaford has 180 stores in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York, and sells its own brand of milk.
Scarborough police officers and private security guards kept the demonstrators off company property.
Most of the 100 people who spent two hours on the street in the 90-degree heat arrived on two charter buses that drove four hours from Vermont, New England's top dairy-producing state.
The chants and speeches alternated between English and Spanish, reflecting the native language of the farm workers, who are predominantly from Mexico.
Phoebe Dolan, of Maine Youth Power, said, "Around 40% of farm workers are paid less than minimum wage. Migrant workers need to be paid what they are owed. Leche con dignidad!"
Milk with Dignity wants Hannaford to pressure its suppliers to pay better wages and provide better housing for migrant workers.
The demonstrators delivered 1,200 postcards from the chain’s customers supporting the cause.
Will Lambek, the protest organizer from Vermont-based Migrant Justice, said, “Farm workers who are on those farms day in and day out, working seven days a week in dirty and dangerous conditions for low pay know what the conditions are, and they're calling on Hannaford to take responsibility join the program."
Jose Ignacio, 27, from Mexico, said he...
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