BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — The Vermont-based ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s and leaders of a group that promotes the rights of immigrant farm workers say they’ve reached an agreement to ensure the fair treatment of workers while paying more to the farmers who employ them.
The agreement signed Tuesday in Burlington between Ben & Jerry’s CEO Jostein Solheim and Migrant Justice Leader Enrique “Kike” Balcazar improves pay and working conditions of the workers on farms that provide milk to Ben & Jerry’s. They say it’s the first of its kind in the dairy industry.
Balcazar says some farm workers don’t get days off and live in substandard housing, issues that will be changed by the agreement.
