Post by crudo on Oct 25, 2005 12:41:39 GMT -5
Foster Farms workers go on strike
By CHRIS COLLINS
MERCED SUN-STAR
Last Updated: October 25, 2005, 10:33:51 AM PDT
LIVINGSTON - Foster Farms workers went on strike today, coming through on a threat that failed to materialize this summer when a walkout was guaranteed.
About 250 demonstrators camped out at the corner of the plant's main entrance early Tuesday morning, waving signs, yelling on bullhorns and jeering at cars and trucks that crossed picket lines.
It is the first strike Merced County's largest private employer has seen in eight years.
About a dozen Livingston police officers and a handful of Merced County Sheriffs deputies kept the crowd contained to the sidewalks. There appeared to be no violence and police said the protest was relatively mild.
"We're here for the same cause," said striker Juanita Santiago, who works in the packaging department for Foster Farms and has been with the company for 19 years. "We're looking for respect. They don't treat you like human beings, they treat you like a machine. If it doesn't work, then they replace you."
As protesters slowly walked across crosswalks in large groups, blocking traffic at times, they chanted and yelled at workers who went into and left the plant. A 10-foot inflatable rat was set up on one corner, a symbol of the company's heartlessness, union leaders said.
"We can do it!" shouted Pedro Mendez, a business representative for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which has spearheaded the strike.
Mendez spoke on a bullhorn in Spanish: "How do toads get killed? They're squashed!"
Tim Walsh, Foster Farms' vice president for human resources, said that judging from the turnout and the number of cars in the company parking lot, most workers did not choose to strike.
"The plant is running with company employees," he said.
Reporter Chris Collins can be reached at 385-2431 or ccollins@mercedsun-star.com.
By CHRIS COLLINS
MERCED SUN-STAR
Last Updated: October 25, 2005, 10:33:51 AM PDT
LIVINGSTON - Foster Farms workers went on strike today, coming through on a threat that failed to materialize this summer when a walkout was guaranteed.
About 250 demonstrators camped out at the corner of the plant's main entrance early Tuesday morning, waving signs, yelling on bullhorns and jeering at cars and trucks that crossed picket lines.
It is the first strike Merced County's largest private employer has seen in eight years.
About a dozen Livingston police officers and a handful of Merced County Sheriffs deputies kept the crowd contained to the sidewalks. There appeared to be no violence and police said the protest was relatively mild.
"We're here for the same cause," said striker Juanita Santiago, who works in the packaging department for Foster Farms and has been with the company for 19 years. "We're looking for respect. They don't treat you like human beings, they treat you like a machine. If it doesn't work, then they replace you."
As protesters slowly walked across crosswalks in large groups, blocking traffic at times, they chanted and yelled at workers who went into and left the plant. A 10-foot inflatable rat was set up on one corner, a symbol of the company's heartlessness, union leaders said.
"We can do it!" shouted Pedro Mendez, a business representative for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which has spearheaded the strike.
Mendez spoke on a bullhorn in Spanish: "How do toads get killed? They're squashed!"
Tim Walsh, Foster Farms' vice president for human resources, said that judging from the turnout and the number of cars in the company parking lot, most workers did not choose to strike.
"The plant is running with company employees," he said.
Reporter Chris Collins can be reached at 385-2431 or ccollins@mercedsun-star.com.