Ed Quinn has always supported Fair Trade. But it wasn't until just recently that he fully realized the impact made on the lives of others by the simple act of buying a bar of chocolate or pound of coffee.

"Supporting Fair Trade is not only (about) monetary support, but cultural and societal support," said Quinn, the United University Professions membership development officer, who's based at SUNY Stony Brook. "It allows children to go to schools. It allows families to stay together. It allows for improving the health of people. It allows for traditions to continue. It allows for communities to build."

Quinn, during April's spring break, was part of a small delegation of NYSUT and state Labor-Religion Coalition members taking part in a fact-finding mission examining Fair Trade's impact on the lives of cacao farmers in the Dominican Republic.

"These are all people who are already committed to Fair Trade," said Maureen Casey, international project director for the Labor-Religion Coalition. "But for them to actually see the impact that one's purchasing decisions really make, exponentially brings the issue to a whole new level."

The delegation's trip came at the invitation of the New England-based Fair Trade company and LRC partner, Equal Exchange. In the Dominican, members visited with CONCADO, a cacao farm cooperative that over the past 20 years has grown from 700 members to more than 9,500.

"As unionists, we stand for human rights and workers' rights in America and around the world," said NYSUT President Dick Iannuzzi, who co-chairs the Labor-Religion Coalition. "On a practical level that means doing everything we can so important projects like this one can flourish."

Founded in 1985 to study ways to improve cacao fermentation techniques, the co-op proved that a higher-quality product could increase income to small farmers leading to explosive growth in the cacao market and a better quality of life for growers.

With more than 40 percent of CONCADO's cacao now sold on the Fair Trade market, premiums are distributed throughout the communities served by the co-op for things such as school supplies, scholarship funding, school-building upgrades, road improvements, water chlorination, medicine and eco-tourism.

Linda Vila-Passione, a member the United Federation of Teachers, NYSUT's affiliate in New York City, found the mission "reaffirming."

"I saw the benefits of working in a cooperative manner and working in a democratic process," she said. "I was able to see the progress in the schools and infrastructure. It was exhilarating. You were able to see what could happen when labor gets involved."

Having also been part of a past Labor-Religion delegation that examined conditions along the U.S.-Mexico border, Vila-Passione said the difference between the two experiences was vast.

In Mexico, American industries take advantage of cheap labor and send all profits back to the states, she said. But in the Dominican, the farmers work together, care for each other's well-being and invest in their communities.

The delegation met with Dominican farmers, visited a plant where cacao is processed, and saw, firsthand, the impact of the co-op's social programs. Particularly notable was the co-op's purchase of school uniforms for children of families too poor to afford them. While public education is free, children are required to have uniforms to attend school.

The delegation stayed with local families, which Quinn said allowed the group to learn about the country and its people from a non-tourist point of view. Though living conditions were described as being "poor," or "rustic" — with many homes lacking running water — members said they were struck by the Dominicans' sense of pride and community.

"There was a real air of generosity amongst them. It was, 'whatever we have on the table, we'll gladly share with you,'" said Vila-Passione.

Quinn and Vila-Passione said they hope to use their experience in the Dominican to educate others about the importance of buying Fair Trade products. They are working to expand the availability of the Fair Trade merchandise in their communities.

"What we do here," said Quinn, "even just paying a little bit more for chocolate — has a big impact on what happens in the Dominican Republic and other similar countries."

— Matt Smith