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September 1, 2024

Hot Stuff: How the Fair Food Program is protecting farmworkers and holding companies accountable.

• Learn About the Alliance for Fair Food, a community for consumers, people of faith, and other allies.

• Donate directly to support the Fair Food Program or create a fundraiser to support their needs.

• Check whether your local grocer carries Fair Food Program-certified produce. If it’s a co-op or independent grocer, you can follow these steps to encourage them to join the movement.

• What other types of groceries do you buy? Choose something you enjoy most often and research the supply chain. Notice what organizations, policies and practices are used to protect workers’ rights in getting that product to you.

How the Fair Food Program is reimagining safety and dignity for farmworkers.

Extreme heat is killing more Americans than most other natural disasters combined, and farmworkers are bearing the brunt of this crisis. Farmworkers are 35 times more likely to die from heat-related issues than workers in other industries (Center for American Progress) and between 40 percent and 84 percent of agricultural workers experience heat-related illness at work (Modern Farmer). 

Recognizing this urgent issue, the non-profit Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) launched the Fair Food Program, a groundbreaking initiative designed to protect farmworkers from hazardous and unethical working conditions. This worker-driven organization has developed the most comprehensive policies and practices in the industry, creating systems of accountability where OSHA and the federal government have often fallen short.

The Fair Food Program asks companies to commit to paying fair wages, eliminating sexual harassment, and addressing other critical issues—including implementing stringent heat protections. In return, these companies earn the Fair Food Program certification for their products. Major retailers like McDonald’s, Whole Foods, and Walmart have joined the program, paying a premium for certified products to ensure the safety of farm workers (Washington Post). This partnership helps protect workers and allows these companies to promote their ethically sourced products to consumers who increasingly care about where their food comes from.

One of the program’s most significant achievements has been its impact on tomato farmers in Florida, where 90% of workers are now protected under the Fair Food Program. These protections include access to shade, water, and electrolytes, regular rest breaks, training on heat stress symptoms, and the power for workers to stop work and seek immediate medical help if needed.

This summer at TED, farmworker Gerardo Reyes Chávez and farm manager Jon Esformes highlighted the importance of these efforts and shared the program's success story. You can watch their powerful talk here.

Unfortunately, the lack of uniform heat protection laws leaves many farmworkers vulnerable. Currently, only five states—California, Colorado, Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington—have heat rules that apply to farmworkers (Center for American Progress). Efforts to establish similar protections in Texas and Florida have been blocked by lawmakers, further exposing workers to harm.

But the Fair Food Program’s reach extends beyond just heat protections. The initiative also fights against sexual harassment and abuse, wage theft, and modern-day slavery in the agricultural sector. I’ve linked to stories shared by farmworkers on each of these topics.

The success of the Fair Food Program is inspiring other industries to adopt worker-driven initiatives. The organization Migrant Justice launched the Milk for Dignity Program in Vermont to protect dairy farm workers. Ben & Jerry’s signed on as their first partner in 2017.

As consumers, you have the power to drive change. By choosing Fair Food Program-certified products and advocating for stronger worker protections at your local retailers, you can help this program thrive. Together, we can ensure that all workers, no matter their industry, are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.

As we’ve discussed in previous issues, a wide range of workers are disproportionately impacted by the heat. Explore more stories directly from workers in various industries on how lack of heat protection affects them.

Right now, OSHA (the Occupational Safety and Health Administration) is accepting public comment on its proposed rule issuing a heat injury and illness prevention standard for both outdoor and indoor workplaces. You can share your thoughts between now and December 30.

If you or someone you know intimately would benefit from this legislation, review the proposal and make a public comment in support of its implementation. HR Dive published a helpful recap.

Here are stories from communities that would benefit from stringent policies:

Hear directly from Dollar General workers and UPS drivers on how extreme heat affects their work lives. More Perfect Union has done great reporting on this issue and I highly recommend following their work.

His boss thought he was on drugs. But he was dying of heatstroke. It took 50 years and skyrocketing temperatures before the government proposed heat protections for workers. The rules might never take effect. E&E News >

‘Turn A/C off and drive them out,’ USPS says to force workers into heat. Internal records show the Postal Service trying to get workers out of air-conditioned offices and urging “digital observance” of “inactivity.” E&E News >

Why workers still swelter, weeks after new heat standards took effect for indoor worksites. Compliance with California's indoor heat standards varies by industry and workplace. Some workers continue to swelter. Yahoo >

A judge ruled that Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend caused her death, not the officers who shot her. “The judge concluded that Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, was responsible for her March 13, 2020, death because he fired a warning shot that hit an officer in the thigh. As a result, the injured officer and two other plainclothes officers returned fire for “self-protection,” the judge ruled — negating Walker’s constitutional rights as a legal gun owner, and his rights under the state’s Castle Doctrine, better known as the stand your ground law.” 

Police reform advocates stress that this is why legislation like the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act needs to be passed. It, among other things, urges for the end of qualified immunity, which makes it difficult to hold police officers accountable. But more radical advocates stress that this legislation is not enough to prevent the entire situation that caused Taylor’s death in the first place.

Related: read the ACLU’s recommendations for how a Harris administration could address abuse of the criminal legal system.

Pro-Palestine protests wrap up at DNC as organizers vow continued pressure on Biden-Harris. Organizers say they are proud of bringing together diverse groups of people calling for an end to U.S. military aid to Israel. Prism >

Baltimore’s sewer system buckled under extreme weather, and the city refuses to help residents with cleanup efforts. Advocates want city officials to expand a sewage cleanup program and invest in the sewer system as its infrastructure ages and climate stressors increase. Capital B News >

In CNN interview, Harris refuses to condition U.S. military support for Israel. Palestinian advocates warn that the Harris administration could be more dangerous than the Biden administration regarding the safety and dignity of Palestinian people. Democracy Now >

Lowe's and Ford announce rollbacks to DEI programs. The company would cease engagement with the Human Rights Campaign and shift corporate sponsorships after being targeted by conservative lawmakers. Fortune >

Anti-trans violence is coming for cisgender women of color, advocates say. Imane Khelif’s treatment at the Paris Olympics brought gender policing to a global stage. It’s not the first instance — or the last. 19th News >

What immigration policies do Americans actually want? Trump-style immigration restrictions have gone mainstream among 2024 voters. Vox >

Stories of change and transformation.

For Black archaeologists, the Atlantic Ocean is an ancestral graveyard. For Black maritime archeologists, the Atlantic Ocean presents an opportunity to excavate ancestral memory and pave the way for future possibilities. atmos >

The peacekeeper trying to break the cycle of violence in a rural California town. Delano has long recorded some of the highest gun violence rates in the state. Mercedies Escalante is trying to change that. The Guardian >

Illustrator Vic Liu wants to make the horrors of mass incarceration unmistakable. The visual artist behind an illustrated three-part examination of mass incarceration discusses the invisibilization of injustice that allows for our mass incarceration crisis to continue. them >

Healing the devastation of the land. In this Q&A with Prism, ethnobotanist Karen Hall discusses Sagebrush in Prisons, a project that relies on the labor of incarcerated people to restore ecosystems where native plant species have been decimated. Prism >

Mass Protest and the Missing Revolution. Andrew Friedman interviews Vincent Bevins, author of The Jakarta Method and If We Burn, which traces the “missing revolution” that followed years of mass protest in the 2010s. Forge >