Boycott of Instar-owned mushroom farm endorsed by Oregon AFL-CIO
October 16, 2025
In early September, the Oregon AFL-CIO, representing “over 300,000 working people across 300 unions in the state,”endorsed the boycott of Instar-owned Windmill Farms at their biennial convention. The mushroom farm in Sunnyside, Washington has been the focus of a growing labor dispute, which has been endorsed by civic, religious, and labor organizations in 2025. This comes on the heels of a May endorsement of the boycott by the Washington State Labor Council, “the largest labor organization in Washington State.”
“The Oregon Labor Movement will always stand in solidarity with farm workers facing exploitation and intimidation from employers who prioritize corporate greed over fair and safe working conditions,” Oregon AFL-CIO President Graham Trainor said. “By endorsing a boycott of Windmill Farms mushroom products, we’re imploring working class Oregonians to use their power by withholding support to influence Windmill Farms to do the right thing and recognize their employees’ union.”
Windmill Farms, owned by Canadian private equity firm Instar Asset Management, has seen accusations of labor abuse from the United Farm Workers, as well as state and federal enforcement agencies over the past three years.
An October 2024, letter from the UFW and PESP to the Principles of Responsible Investment (PRI) notes how Windmill Farms has faced legal challenges from various government agencies, private lawsuits, and public criticism in the media, dating back to 2022. Workers at the farm have joined the United Farm Workers, sought union recognition, and publicly complained of abusive working conditions, retaliatory firings, low wages, and discrimination, before launching the boycott in late 2024.
In July 2025, PESP research documented how the Instar fund that holds Windmill Farms is creating poor returns for investors, noting that the Texas Municipal Retirement System’s most recent financial report indicates that the two investment vehicles Instar is managing show a -7.62 and a 2.08 percent return on investment since inception, respectively.
For more information on Instar’s poor performance and the connection to Windmill Farms, see this July 2025 blog.
As the boycott continues to spread across Windmill Farms’ geographic market in the Northwest United States, negative headlines continue in local and regional outlets. One local outlet that covered a protest outside of Windmill in May, noted that:
“Gloria Solis, who has farmed for several producers including Windmill Farms since 1998, was fired from Windmill in 2023 and continues to organize with the workers at the company. UFW believes she was fired in retaliation for her organizing efforts. ‘We want better treatment at the farm. We want people to realize what’s going on, to help us, . . And for those like me, who have already been fired, we really are doing this so that the workers who are still there have better treatment than we did.’”
The growth of the boycott and negative publicity, could create an investment risk for Instar and its investors, which include the Texas Municipal Retirement System and the Manitoba Civil Service Superannuation Board.
Instar investors should communicate with the private equity firm and request additional information about the working conditions at this farm as they consider any current and future Instar investments.
