Today, Stronger Together launched a new, pragmatic, multi-stakeholder effort to stimulate a responsible recruitment marketplace for farmworker employment in the US produce industry. The program seeks to create demand for responsible recruitment, increase the supply of ethically sourced labor, and improve the recruitment and employment experience for migrant workers...  Migrant workers are vulnerable to exploitation and are at risk of forced labor due to poor recruitment, contracting, and management practices by unscrupulous or uninformed labor brokers and employers.  A systemic lack of transparency and oversight across the industry makes it difficult for farmers to identify these problems.

... The 2-year program, made possible by an $870,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation, will engage and equip the US produce industry to foster widespread responsible recruitment and a reduction in forced labor risks by:

• Launching stakeholder forums and support networks to build awareness, dialogue, joint advocacy, and cooperation among stakeholders...
• Partnering with migrant worker organizations to conduct baseline research...
• Supporting businesses to embed responsible recruitment in their supply chains...
• Supporting farm labor contractors to deter, detect, and deal with forced labor, labor trafficking, and other hidden third-party exploitation of workers...
• Piloting Clearview, a social compliance certification scheme, enabling labor providers to demonstrate through independent verification their commitment to responsible recruitment.