OLATHE — Alejandro Soria appreciates the favorable conditions he experiences here in Colorado. For the past eight years, this Mexican native has been coming to the Western Slope of Colorado to work at the Tuxedo Corn Company, picking and sorting produce.
Soria highlighted the stark difference in working conditions between the United States and Mexico. He mentioned that laborers receive regular breaks and have easy access to water whenever they need it.
Unenforced Labor
JS’s three-part report sheds light on the mistreatment of foreign workers in Colorado’s agricultural supply chain, along with the lack of action from state and federal regulators.
Read more from this series here.
“We developed a family here,” Soria expressed in November while working on sorting onions for distribution to grocery stores across the state. “It changed my life.”
The workers at Tuxedo Corn Company come to the U.S. annually as part of the federal agricultural work program. The H-2A visa allows American growers to hire seasonal employees from abroad for work that domestic laborers cannot fulfill.
While the working conditions in this program are often inconsistent and prone to abuse, Tuxedo Corn’s employees are part of a movement in Colorado known as the Fair Food Program. This program aims to enhance accountability and worker protections within the food supply chain.
David Harold, who operates Tuxedo Corn with his father, made the decision to join the Fair Food Program in response to a contentious agriculture bill passed by the state legislature in 2021. Harold and other Colorado growers felt that the bill portrayed farmers negatively, despite their efforts to treat their workers well.
In the final part of a series on seasonal migrant workers, The Post details how the Fair Food Program, leveraging consumer demand, has effectively eradicated workplace abuses in agricultural fields.
The program operates by having all players in the food supply chain commit to following specific working conditions for laborers. Participating buyers must cease purchasing from growers who fail to comply with the code of conduct.
Growers in the program receive preference from buyers, who pay an additional premium that benefits workers.
Workers benefit from improved working conditions, including a 24/7 complaint hotline, regular Fair Food audits, and education on their rights.
“Ideally, the government should be handling this,” stated Derek Brinks, associate director at the Fair Food Standards Council. “But the reality is they aren’t.”
History of the Fair Food Program
The Fair Food Program originated in the troubled Florida tomato industry.
Workers in Florida had endured decades of harsh conditions that were likened to “modern slavery” by a U.S. Department of Justice official. These laborers, primarily from the Caribbean and Central and South America, faced involuntary servitude, including inadequate housing, wage theft, lack of amenities, and rampant sexual harassment.
In 1993, a group of workers initiated a movement that grew into a nationwide worker revolution, including hunger strikes and marches. This led to the formation of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, which secured substantial wage increases and numerous protections for farmworkers.
Major buyers of Florida tomatoes, such as Taco Bell and McDonald’s, were pressured to only source from growers who respected human rights. They agreed to pay an extra penny per pound of tomatoes to improve farmworker wages.
Subsequently, Burger King, Walmart, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and Chipotle Mexican Grill joined the program, committing to a code of conduct covering various labor standards.
Since its establishment in 2011, the Fair Food Program has expanded to include growers in 23 states and five countries, receiving widespread acclaim for its impact on worker conditions.
The program has been lauded by experts, with Harvard Business Review calling it one of the most significant social-impact success stories in recent history.
Susan Marquis, a visiting professor at Princeton University, described the Fair Food Program as the most effective human rights initiative currently in operation.
“In Fair Food Program fields, abuse long endemic to our nation’s large-scale agricultural operations is now effectively eliminated,” she wrote.
Instances of modern-day slavery, forced labor, violence, and harassment have drastically reduced in Fair Food Program fields. Wage theft and mistreatment have become less prevalent, with worker pay rising significantly.
On the other hand, corporate social responsibility and multi-stakeholder initiatives, often promoted as solutions to worker exploitation in global supply chains, have proven to be ineffective or even detrimental, as per a report by Susan Marquis.
Worker-driven social responsibility organizations like the Fair Food Program have been the only model successful in improving worker conditions.
“It’s not just talk; it’s not just a facade,” Marquis affirmed. “It actually delivers results.”
The program’s impact on worker conditions is evident from the statistics. Since its inception, Fair Food investigators have received close to 4,000 complaints from workers at participating growers, none of which led to legal action. No growers have been suspended or put on probation for serious offenses.
According to the latest annual report, 83% of participating farms reported no incidents of sexual harassment, a stark contrast to the high rates of harassment reported by farmworking women in other studies.
“It leads to happier workers”
Gwen Cameron, co-owner of Rancho Durazno in Palisade, involved her seasonal laborers in the decision to join the Fair Food Program after learning about it in 2022. The workers unanimously voted to join, making Rancho Durazno the first Colorado company to adopt the program’s strict code of conduct.
Although joining the program introduced additional administrative tasks, Cameron believes it’s worth it for the support it offers workers and the increased market access it provides.
After Rancho Durazno joined the Fair Food Program, Whole Foods significantly boosted its purchases of organic peaches, apricots, and melons from the farm. Whole Foods pays a premium on each pound of produce, with 85% of the extra money going to workers.
Harold, the owner of Tuxedo Corn, likened joining the Fair Food Program to hiring a human resources department. Despite the added costs for audits and compliance, he emphasized the positive impact on worker morale.
Soria, the seasonal worker, expressed satisfaction with his pay and the program’s facilitation of better communication about workers’ needs, ultimately contributing to their well-being on the job.
Since Rancho Durazno’s enrollment in 2022, nine other Colorado farms have followed suit, benefiting onion, sweet corn, peach, and melon pickers. By 2025, the program anticipates at least 16 Colorado growers to be part of the initiative, making it the most prominent state participant.
Brinks from the Fair Food Standards Council emphasized that the program’s focus on Colorado was opportunistic rather than targeted. He noted the inadequacies in states and federal enforcement of worker protections, emphasizing the importance of robust safeguards for workers.
With enhanced protection, workers feel more empowered to voice concerns about workplace issues, contrary to the prevalent fear of retaliation in the H-2A program. Unlike American workers, H-2A employees can only work for one employer under their visa, limiting their ability to seek better working conditions elsewhere.
“My workers can voice concerns about water availability without fearing dismissal,” Harold affirmed. “Fair Food offers them protection from arbitrary actions.”
While some Colorado farmers remain skeptical about the program, others, like Bruce Talbott of Talbott’s Mountain Gold farm, believe it is unnecessary due to their existing worker treatment standards. However, Talbott’s farm was found in violation of federal labor laws in 2011, illustrating the need for continuous monitoring.
For Rosa Culbertson, another grower outside Delta, the program represents an additional administrative burden. Despite already adhering to many worker protections, she is hesitant to voluntarily sign up for more requirements.
Cameron from Rancho Durazno hopes that more Colorado growers will join the Fair Food Program, encouraging a shift towards improved worker conditions in the agricultural sector. She believes that market incentives could drive farms with inadequate worker treatment to adopt the program, similar to the success seen in the Florida tomato industry.
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