Striking poultry workers: “Change is coming”

[IndianaGreen]

Striking poultry workers: “Change is coming”

Author: Bruce Bostick
People's Weekly World Newspaper, 12/09/08 22:10

WINESBURG, Ohio — “We’re the poster child for the Employee Free Choice Act,” said Dario Renosa, an organizer with the United Food and Commercial Workers. He was part of a recent caravan that came from Columbus to support the strike by 450 workers at the Case Farms chicken processing plant here.

The strike began last May after the workers voted more than two-to-one for the UFCW to represent them. Under the Employee Free Choice Act, which is the top legislative priority for the labor movement, companies would be forced to negotiate contracts when a majority of workers sign cards requesting union recognition. Failure to reach agreement in a timely fashion would result in binding arbitration.

Case Farms is located in rural Holmes County, famous for its large Amish community. The familiar black horse and buggy outfits the Amish ride in are far more likely to be seen here than a union picket line, or, for that matter, even a union office. Despite the union vote by the plant’s largely Guatemalan immigrant workers, Case Farms has resorted to what is called “surface bargaining,” in which they pretend to bargain, but actually just waste time with low-ball offers and attempt to discourage the workers and undermine the union.

“First they offered a two-cent raise,” said union representative Tim Mullins, “then raised that, finally, to a nickel. They haven’t legitimately addressed any of our issues.”

Money is clearly one of the key union issues. “I’m making $8.10/hour now, after 20 years at this place, same as the new guys that just get hired in,” said striker Ken Brown. “How are you supposed to feed a family on that?”

He went on to highlight another issue of great concern to the workers: safety. “I’d had heart problems, high blood pressure and a heart attack, and I was having chest pains on the job,” he said. “So I went to the boss to ask to get help. He gave me two aspirins and told me to go back to work.”

http://www.pww.org/article/articleview/14121/