Post by DAAA Collective on Oct 24, 2005 17:11:59 GMT -5
Union warns strike is coming
Foster Farms walkout could start very soon
By CHRIS COLLINS
MERCED SUN-STAR
Last Updated: October 24, 2005, 05:18:39 AM PDT
LIVINGSTON — Sunday afternoon was business as usual at the Foster Farms plant, but resounding applause coming from a hall downtown indicated that a strike is imminent.
Protest signs are printed and police barricades are lining the streets. The only thing needed is a signal from the union.
Ralph Meraz, head of one of two unions representing workers at Livingston Foster Farms, gave a vague warning to more than 1,000 employees gathered Sunday afternoon.
"One of these days very soon — it's not going to be weeks or months — if you see us out there, it has started," he said, holding a sign that read, "Foster Farms Unfair Labor Practices."
Employees are represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, a North American league with 700,000 members, and the Independent Workers of the San Joaquin Valley, which Meraz helped form last year to represent workers at the Livingston plant.
The unions say the company has harassed, demoted and suspended employees illegally over the years. Foster Farms denies the charges.
The machinists' union, which joined forces with the independent union a month ago, wants to bring the complaints to the table with Foster Farms. But the 10,000-employee chicken producer, with 2,400 workers at the Livingston plant, is shunning the machinists. It calls their affiliation with the independent union inappropriate and illegal.
Now the unions are pushing the issue, threatening to spearhead the first strike Merced County's largest private employer has seen in eight years.
Livingston police Cmdr. Dan Shambaugh said he heard late last week that the strike would start this morning. But based on the vague information the union gave Foster Farms workers Sunday, he's not sure now.
Police started working 12-hour shifts Sunday "to beef up manpower," Shambaugh said. Foster Farms also has hired extra security guards.
Tim Walsh, Foster Farms' vice president for human resources, said Friday that workers could strike as early as this morning. But he hasn't heard anything specific.
Foster Farms walkout could start very soon
By CHRIS COLLINS
MERCED SUN-STAR
Last Updated: October 24, 2005, 05:18:39 AM PDT
LIVINGSTON — Sunday afternoon was business as usual at the Foster Farms plant, but resounding applause coming from a hall downtown indicated that a strike is imminent.
Protest signs are printed and police barricades are lining the streets. The only thing needed is a signal from the union.
Ralph Meraz, head of one of two unions representing workers at Livingston Foster Farms, gave a vague warning to more than 1,000 employees gathered Sunday afternoon.
"One of these days very soon — it's not going to be weeks or months — if you see us out there, it has started," he said, holding a sign that read, "Foster Farms Unfair Labor Practices."
Employees are represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, a North American league with 700,000 members, and the Independent Workers of the San Joaquin Valley, which Meraz helped form last year to represent workers at the Livingston plant.
The unions say the company has harassed, demoted and suspended employees illegally over the years. Foster Farms denies the charges.
The machinists' union, which joined forces with the independent union a month ago, wants to bring the complaints to the table with Foster Farms. But the 10,000-employee chicken producer, with 2,400 workers at the Livingston plant, is shunning the machinists. It calls their affiliation with the independent union inappropriate and illegal.
Now the unions are pushing the issue, threatening to spearhead the first strike Merced County's largest private employer has seen in eight years.
Livingston police Cmdr. Dan Shambaugh said he heard late last week that the strike would start this morning. But based on the vague information the union gave Foster Farms workers Sunday, he's not sure now.
Police started working 12-hour shifts Sunday "to beef up manpower," Shambaugh said. Foster Farms also has hired extra security guards.
Tim Walsh, Foster Farms' vice president for human resources, said Friday that workers could strike as early as this morning. But he hasn't heard anything specific.