Name: Arlo Scherr
Social Justice Group: International Workers Rights
Date of Fieldwork: February 7, 2022
Name of Organization and person (people) with whom you met and their title(s):Jason Scherr, CEO and Founder of Think Coffee
Type of Fieldwork: Interview
What I did and what I learned about my topic, activism, social justice work or civil and human rights work from this fieldwork?[:: :
On Monday, February 8th our group met with Jason Scherr. Jason Scherr is the founder and CEO of Think Coffee, he was originally a corporate attorney. But after many years on the job, he realized the lack of human connection he encountered in his job and was faced with a difficult decision. Should he quit his job and risk making less money, or should he stay in a job he didn´t enjoy? He chose the first option and in 1996 he started a small coffee shop as a hobby, called Think Coffee. Eventually, his little shop turned into a coffee shop chain, with 11 locations in NYC and a franchised location in Korea.
Jason talked to us about the background checks he runs on coffee farmers, and the contracts he makes with them that sometimes force them to treat their workers better. Think Coffee actively goes to countries where their coffee is sourced and inspects the farms, to make sure the farmers and the children in the neighborhood have access to stable living conditions and are treated fairly on the farm. Oftentimes Jason will make deals with coffee farmers, build homes for farmworkers, and supply library books for children. He currently has two employees working in Nicaragua and meeting with farmers. One of his biggest issues is spreading the word of his sourcing practices to his customers, he told us that ¨Seeing a Fair-Trade certification is very straightforward, but telling our story to customers who really just want a caffeine buzz in the morning is very difficult.¨
He mentioned that he has not seen any forced labor firsthand on any coffee farms, but he has seen workers being mistreated and neglected. But he says the main problem is the harsh living conditions and lack of education children are given. We asked him about any child labor that goes on the coffee farms, and he said ¨It depends on your definition of child labor.¨ In the United States does my 15-year-old son working at my coffee shop count as child labor, I don´t know¨ Some kids on the coffee farms help out their parents during the harvest in Nicaragua, but it is not usually all year, and it doesn´t usually ruin their education. I learned a lot from our visit and I am looking forward to doing more fieldwork in the future.
