Standards for a fair workplace

At the core of AJP’s work are the standards of our Food Justice Certification program. FJC is a food label for fair labor and trade practices for farms, food businesses, and retailers. These businesses can be FJC certified for complying with the standards and providing fair working conditions to their employees and vendors.

The FJC standards also serve as a blueprint for fair labor policies. Workers have used the FJC standards as a resource, negotiating with their employers to put fair workplace policies in place even when the business doesn’t pursue certification. We regularly help employers implement the policies and practices defined in the standards, and we will gladly help your workplace, too.

However you use them, the FJC standards are a great resource for farm and food workers and serve as a model for what fairness looks like in practice. The standards were written by farmworkers, community-scale farmers, and other advocates for food justice, and these same stakeholders oversee the FJC certification program. If your employer says they are committed to social justice, consider sharing the FJC standards with them to see how their current labor policies measure up.

What’s in the standards?

For more information see the more detailed summary below as well as the full, current edition of the standards documents. Please contact us if you’d like to learn more about FJC or how we can help you improve your workplace.

Read the complete standards:

Filing grievances with AJP

If your employer is Food Justice Certified, they have agreed to respect all the rights and privileges defined in the FJC standards.

If you feel that your employer is not complying with provisions of the standards, or that you have been fired, suspended, or disciplined by your employer unfairly, AJP provides a Conflict Resolution Process (sometimes called a Grievance Process) you can follow to seek redress:

Step 1: Attempt to resolve the problem directly with your supervisor and/or employer, following the employee manual from your workplace. If you have a union or elected representative, you can ask for their help. You also have the right to ask anyone you want to go with you to speak to your employer.

Step 2: File a grievance with the AJP if you are not satisfied with the decision and cannot resolve the conflict through direct dialogue. To do this, contact CATA, the farmworker organization listed below. A committee of the AJP Advisory Council will review the matter and then assign an investigator.

Step 3: The AJP investigator will make a recommendation and the Committee will follow up with a next step. This may include trying once again to resolve the issue directly, or it may be for your employer to take corrective action. It might also be another option, such as to refer both you and your employer to a mediation service available in your area.

Step 4: If these steps do not resolve the issue, you can request a final appeal to an independent ombudsperson appointed by AJP and approved by both you and your employer.

To file a grievance with the AJP regarding a Food Justice Certified employer, contact:

CATA: Comité de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agrícolas / Farmworkers’ Support Committee
Jessica Culley or Jose Manuel Guzman
4 Delsea Dr. South, PO Box 510, Glassboro, NJ 08028
(856) 881-2507

You may request that your call be confidential.

Worker organizations & AJP

Grassroots worker organizations play key roles helping to write and revise the Food Justice Certification standards and also running the FJC certification program. AJP partners with worker organizations to support closer collaboration between workers and employers and build local capacity to support fair workplaces.

During the certification process a worker representative interviews employees of the business seeking certification, while a certifier inspector interviews management and inspects documents, workplace postings, etc.

Worker organizations are also key partners for employers whether they’re FJC certified or not. Worker organizations offer important services such as translation, mediation, and trainings on health and safety, worker rights, and the FJC standards.

Interested worker organizations can participate in the AJP certification process by attending an official inspectors training and connecting with an FJC certifier (currently OEFFA). If you represent a worker organization and would like to get involved in Food Justice Certification, please reach out to us at info@agriculturaljusticeproject.org.

Workers and employers looking for help making their workplaces more fair should reach out to the AJP or any of our worker organization partners.

Worker Organizations Participating in FJC

AJP Partner Worker Organizations

Each of these organizations is represented on our Board of Directors, Advisory Council, or Standards Committee.

Participate in AJP committees

The Agricultural Justice Project is committed to building the power and leadership of workers in the food system, and that includes in our own organizational decision-making. If you’re interested in serving on our Advisory Council or Standards Committee, please reach out to us at info@agriculturaljusticeproject.org. See our governance page for more information about these committees.