In May 2025, the National Council of the Agriculture Union voted to provide both financial and awareness-raising support to the Association for the Rights of Household and Farm Workers, also known by its French acronym DTMF. This support includes a two-year grant totaling $30,000, aimed at strengthening the organization’s advocacy and campaign efforts.
Originally formed in 1977, the DTMF is a grassroots organization that defends the rights of some of the most marginalized workers in Canada—many of whom are migrant workers in domestic and agricultural sectors. These workers often face systemic barriers, precarious employment, and limited access to labour protections.
The Agriculture Union recently visited the Montreal offices of DTMF to meet their team and learn more about the organization. Housed inside the presbytery of the Saint-Stanislas-de-Kostka church in Montreal’s iconic and hip Plateau neighborhood, it might seem like a funny location for an organization largely involved in supporting farm workers. However, upon meeting them it becomes quickly evident that they are deeply rooted in the communities they support. Take for example Gabriel Allahdua, one of DTMF’s Education and Mobilization Officers. He came to Canada from St-Lucia in 2012 to work under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program in Leamington, Ontario. For three years he worked under extremely difficult and precarious conditions, before finally obtaining his Canadian permanent residency in 2015.
“In Canada, migrant farm workers have to work for variable piece rates, whereas in my home country, I was accustomed to a fixed piece rate,” Allahdua tells us. “What this means is that Canada can keep moving the goal posts. For example, as a harvesting worker, I would harvest 2000 pounds of tomatoes in one week and find myself at the top of the chart in green. The next week, the rate could change, and I would harvest 2500 pounds of tomatoes and still not be in the green. As a result, I would often have to forgo washroom breaks, cut my lunch breaks in half, or use energy drinks just to keep up.”
While many workers in Canada have recourses to deal with abusive employers, migrant workers are often afraid to speak up for fear of losing their jobs and being deported back to their home countries.
Allahdua would go on to write a book about his farm work experiences, “Harvesting Freedom”, which was published by Between the Lines press in 2023.
The Agriculture Union’s support will help to bolster DTMF’s “End Migrant Worker Unfreedom” campaign, which seeks to challenge the structural conditions that keep migrant workers in cycles of dependency and vulnerability.
In 2024, DTMF launched a constitutional class action to bring about important societal change and, at the same time, obtain fair compensation for the individuals whose constitutional rights have been violated in Canada.
The action aims to end Canadian measures that bind workers to specific employers and to obtain compensation for the harms done by limiting the rights of workers protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Aaron Swerdlyk, the 4th National Executive Vice-President of the Agriculture Union, first met Gabriel Allahdua at a National Farmers Union convention several years ago. That meeting left a lasting impression.
“I was deeply inspired by Gabriel’s story and his tireless work,” said Swerdlyk. “Temporary migrant farm workers often work side by side with our members, yet their struggles remain invisible. Supporting DTMF is a way for us to recognize that shared reality and act in solidarity.”
This partnership reflects the Agriculture Union’s broader commitment to justice, equity, and solidarity across sectors of the labour movement and the agriculture industry. By supporting DTMF, the Union is helping to amplify the voices of workers who are too often excluded from traditional union structures.
If you want to support the work of DTMF, you can use their simple tool to write a letter to your MP to demand an end to closed work permits for migrant workers. You can also consider joining the DTMF as a member here. And finally, you can visit their website to learn more about the organization here.