Many Alliance members are leaders in social justice certification programs, other “high road” standards-setting programs such as agreements between workers’ organizations and employers, and/or an organization that evaluates these programs. Click here to download the pdf with all the information provided below: Certifications and Standards Programs of Members of the Food Chain Workers Alliance.

Agricultural Justice Project

The Agricultural Justice Project (AJP) is a third-party certification program designed to create fairness and equity throughout the food system, including agriculture, food processing and production, and retail.   AJP’s social justice standards cover fair pricing for producers, labor rights and living wages, and health and safety.  Alliance member el Comité de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agrícolas (CATA – Farmworkers Support Committee) is a founding member of the AJP steering committee.   AJP accredits and trains certifiers and workers’ representatives to inspect farms and other food businesses.

Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ Campaign for Fair Food

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers, an Alliance member, has won numerous Codes of Conduct through its Campaign for Fair Food with growers such as the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange and major corporations such as Taco Bell, McDonald’s, Whole Foods, and Bon Appetit Management (a food service company) to improve the wages and working conditions of farmworkers in the tomato industry in Florida. The Codes of Conduct include direct, on-going payments to farmworkers to address substandard wages, zero-tolerance for slavery, workers’ health and safety committees, and workers’ participation in monitoring conditions in the fields.

Domestic Fair Trade Association

The Domestic Fair Trade Association (DFTA) is an association of farm and food workers, farmers, retailers, processors, businesses, and NGOs building a movement to transform our food system into one that is more healthy, sustainable, and just. The DFTA is building a movement based on the values and principles of international fair trade, but focused on the real needs of farmworkers, family-scale farmers, and other food businesses and workers in North America. Rather than create a new certification program, the DFTA will serve as a public watchdog of social justice and fair trade market claims through its evaluation and endorsement process, based on the Domestic Fair Trade Principles established by its multi-stakeholder membership.  The Alliance is a member of the DFTA, as are CATA (Farmworker Support Committee) and Just Harvest USA.

Restaurant Opportunities Center of New York & Restaurant Opportunities Centers United

In 2005 Alliance member the Restaurant Opportunities Center of New York organized the New York City Restaurant Industry (NYCRI) Roundtable, a regular convening of restaurant owners who take the ‘high-road’ to profitability. Members of the NYCRI sign onto a Code of Conduct to commit to respect, and to go above and beyond, the legal protections of restaurant workers. Each of the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United‘s affiliates has organized or is in the process of creating a Restaurant Industry Roundtable for their city.

United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1500

Alliance member UFCW Local 1500 represents 23,000 grocery store employees in the greater New York City area. The union with its members-led bargaining committees have negotiated contracts with supermarket chains to ensure fair wages, health insurance, pension contributions and other benefits for the workers.

For more information about certification programs, you can also check out the following resources:

•    International Labor Rights Forum
•    Free 2 Work – a website that helps consumers identify companies which do not have forced or child labor in their production