Boycott of Instar-owned mushroom farm endorsed by Washington State Labor Council

On May 16, 2025, the Washington State Labor Council, “the largest labor organization in Washington State,” joined a growing list of groups calling for a boycott of mushrooms produced at private equity-owned Windmill Farms in Sunnyside, Washington. The boycott was approved unanimously by the Executive Board after the Council reports that it reached out to Windmill Farms on multiple occasions about alleged labor abuses and anti-union discrimination, but received no response. 

This comes after almost three years of accusations of discrimination and labor abuses, going back to months before private equity firm Instar acquired the mushroom farm in February 2023. Since 2022, the farm has settled a lawsuit with the WA Attorney General that alleged discrimination against women and domestic farmworkers for $3.4 million; received a fine from the WA Department of Labor, “after an inspection found the company’s working conditions left employees susceptible to injuries that could hospitalize them or cause partial disabilities,” according to the Seattle Times; and paid over $134,000 in back wages and penalties after the US Department of Labor found that it violated federal law. 

The labor dispute may also affect the company’s ability to receive a permit seeking permission to discharge industrial wastewater to the Port of Sunnyside. The permit application was accepted by the state agency in March, but on June 5, Teresa Mosqueda, member of the Metropolitan King County Council, wrote to the Washington State Department of Ecology, asking them to deny the permit, in part because of “deeply concerning stories about intimidation, harassment, unsafe conditions, and environmental contamination issues” that she heard from Windmill workers. Mosqueda’s letter also said that “having untreated black wastewater from mushroom production put back into the watershed does not serve the interests of improving community or worker health.”

Read more about labor disputes, bankruptcies, and risks to investors created by private equity in agriculture in PESP’s recent report titled Betting the Farm: Private Equity Buyouts in US Agriculture. 

Regular efforts from farmworkers to unionize and meet with the company’s representatives have been rebuffed throughout 2024, causingworkersandsupporters to organize multiple rallies and public events to educate the public about these issues, ultimately leading to the December 2024 boycott announcement.

In March and April, farmworkers and their supporters held many protests across the state, some at Safeway grocery stores, publicizing the boycott and calling on consumers not to buy the mushrooms until the company changes its policies towards workers’ rights. In April, the Washington Education Association, a union of public school educators, endorsed the boycott publicly. 

To support the boycott, the UFW is telling consumers that:

 “The Windmill Mushroom label can be found at many grocery stores across the Pacific Northwest and has been identified by UFW activists at locations in Washington, Oregon, and Alaska. Additionally, Windmill also produces mushrooms for sale under generic store labels, which may not be easily identifiable as from Windmill. Any mushroom labeled as being from Sunnyside, Washington will be one produced by Windmill Farms Mushroom, as it is the only mushroom plant in the area. Don’t buy Windmill Mushrooms from Sunnyside, Washington!”

Now with the endorsement of the larger Washington labor movement through the Washington State Labor Council, the boycott continues to grow in a key market for Windmill Farms. This 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.