On Feb. 8, farmers markets workers at FRESHFARM, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, joined UFCW Local 400 for a better life.
FRESHFARM works to create a more resilient, equitable and sustainable food future and develops innovative ways to solve critical problems across the regional food system through farmers markets, hands-on education and food distribution programs. The 25 new members of our union family are responsible for staffing and operating 28 local farmers markets in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia.
A majority of the workers signed union authorization cards and filed for a union election last December and the vote was conducted by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Mail-in paper ballots were distributed to workers on January 18, and votes were tallied by NLRB officials on February 8.
The workers’ organizing committee released the following statement:
“We are excited to announce that FRESHFARM has unionized! With our union, we will have a greater voice in the workplace and the opportunity to collectively address our working conditions, pay and benefits. We look forward to negotiating our first union contract with the same energy, unity and camaraderie that made our union possible in the first place.”
