UFW mushroom boycott comes to Vancouver

The next action in the campaign to organize Windmill Mushrooms will be held Wednesday

VANCOUVER, WA (July 21, 2025) — For more than two years, workers at the Sunnyside mushroom facility now owned by Windmill Farms have been fighting for union recognition. Through ownership changes, firings, and intimidation tactics, the farmworkers at Windmill Farms remain committed to winning their union with the United Farm Workers. After years of stonewalling and intractability from the employer, the UFW launched a boycott in December.

Working conditions at Windmill are exploitative and often unsafe, according to current and former workers who have spoken up despite the risks. In May, workers traveled to Seattle to share the conditions and obstacles to organizing with lawmakers.

Each farmworker spoke of a quota system, requiring them to harvest dozens of pounds of mushrooms in an hour, even when they are assigned other tasks by management. If workers are tasked to spend hours cleaning planters, they are still expected to meet the harvest quota for all hours work, or face being fired. One worker spoke of having leave approved, only to return to her job and be told she had been fired. Another shared concerns about dirty water from processing the mushrooms, and the broad environmental impact of the company’s actions on the local watershed.

Washington labor law excludes farm workers from the right to organize, leaving no legal pathway to force the employer to recognize the union, despite support from the majority of the workforce. Because farm workers are deprived of these legal protections, community pressure on the employer to do right by the workers is essential.

The Washington State Labor Council, the largest labor organization in Washington state, has endorsed the boycott. In the words of WSLC President April Sims: “Washington is a union state, and over half a million union members statewide are putting our money where our mouths are. No Windmill Farms mushrooms until the workers’ demands are met.”

The United Farm Workers are calling all allies to join the workers at a demonstration at a Vancouver, WA Safeway, part of their ongoing effort to raise awareness about the boycott of Windmill Farms mushrooms with customers across Washington.

This action comes on the heels of demonstrations on July 1 at Safeway stores across Washington state, including in Seattle, Tacoma, Spokane, Yakima, Toppenish, Sunnyside, Grandview, Pasco, Kennewick, and Richland.

TAKE A STAND: join the United Farm Workers at the Safeway at 3707 Main St, Vancouver, WA on Wednesday, July 23rd at 12:00 p.m.