Coffee Worker Justice Initiative

The Central American coffee industry

• has wages and working conditions that are among the worst in the region 
• exports more than half of its coffee to the U.S.
• employs more workers than any other single sector in Central America
• periodically goes through economic crises of over-production and low prices, leading to more unemployment and hunger in the region that sparks immigration
• is largely owned and operated by Central American growers rather than U.S. coffee companies.  

USLEAP's initiative to support coffee workers has focused on the Starbucks Coffee Company.  Since 1994, USLEAP has urged Starbucks to take steps to ensure that coffee growers in Central America who supply Starbucks pay their coffee workers a fair wage and respect their basic rights.