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Building and transforming collective agency and collective identity to address Latinx farmworkers’ needs and challenges in rural Vermont

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Abstract

Immigrant farmworkers from Latin America experience multiple challenges in rural Vermont. A large body of literature has shown the benefits that collective agency can represent for migrant farmworkers in the U.S. food system. These initiatives have mainly focused on the improvement of human and labor conditions by empowering farmworkers. However, little is known about what factors influence the creation and progress of these types of collaborative efforts to address challenges faced by immigrant farmworkers in rural areas. By analyzing work completed by the non-governmental organization, Migrant Justice in Vermont, this article explores why and how collective agency was formed outside the state power to facilitate resources for Latinx farmworkers on dairy farms. Collaborative work led by this non-governmental organization has resulted in multiple efforts and achievements that address immigrant farmworkers’ needs and challenges. Results from this research unveil the complicated role of the state and how specific aspects of collective identity influenced the formation and progress of collective agency. This study aims to enrich the existing literature and/or ongoing initiatives on food movements, food justice, fair food programs, and immigration in the U.S.

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Notes

  1. In this article, the gender-neutral term Latinx is used to describe people from Latin America living in the U.S.

  2. The film was produced and directed by Gustavo Terán, Brendan O’Neill, and Sam Mayfield [Migrant Justice (n.d.)]. See https://migrantjustice.net/node/72.

  3. Vermont became one of the first states to allow undocumented state residents to apply for a driver’s license regardless of their legal status.

  4. Since October 2019, members and allies of Migrant Justice have joined together to call on Hannaford supermarkets to join the Milk with Dignity program.

Abbreviations

MD:

Milk with Dignity

WSR:

Worker-driven social responsibility

CIW:

Coalition of Immokalee Workers

FCC:

Farmworker coordinating committee

MDSC:

Milk with dignity standards council

ESL:

English as a second language

DMV:

Vermont department of motor vehicles

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Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the members of Migrant Justice who voluntarily participated in this research. I would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers of Agriculture and Human Values who provided valuable comments and suggestions that improved this article.

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  1. Department of Sociology, Mississippi State University, 456 Hardy Road, PO Box C, Mail Stop 9562, Mississippi State, MS, 39762, USA

    Diego Thompson

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Thompson, D. Building and transforming collective agency and collective identity to address Latinx farmworkers’ needs and challenges in rural Vermont. Agric Hum Values 38, 129–143 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-020-10140-7

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