on line 4 with some of the heaviest products: cabbage, potatoes, watermelons, coconuts, big squash,” said José Pacheco who has worked at company for 12 years. They began distributing leaflets to agitate their co-workers on pay, the subpar health insurance plan, management harassment, and unsafe line speeds. They were working six to seven days a week and were barely eking out a living despite working for the company for decades. “We have a union, and I’m making almost $1 above the minimum wage.”įrom these conversations, workers generated a list of shop floor demands-including a raise. “I have 23 years working at the company,” said Vargas, who was earning $17.20 an hour. The workers began organizing last fall, holding meetings of 40 people weekly at the home of fellow worker Juan Vargas every Saturday to discuss their labor and immigrant rights. “The company can have all the money in the world, but without workers, they are nothing,” said Angelica Campa, who started working at the company in 2013 and earns $15.40 an hour. The baseball caps nestled over their hairnets sent management a clear message in February: “Workers United,” or “Trabajadores Unidos,” in their native Spanish. “We are a big crafty family,” said Brenda Hernandez, the daughter of one of the Teamsters retaliated against for leafleting, and a former worker at the company. When Latino Teamsters in Local 703 needed to take collective action to build unity and confidence after the company banned them from distributing union leaflets, they created baseball caps-emblazoned with an equestrian Teamster logo and the Chicago city colors (blue, white, and red). Luckily, there was a crafty person on the organizing team. But they are allowed to wear hats over their hairnets. They couldn’t do a red T-shirt day the temperatures are frigid in the warehouse, and workers must cover themselves in layers to keep warm. Workers couldn’t wear a sticker or button, because what if it fell into the fruits and vegetables they packaged for the Anthony Marano Company, a major distributor of produce in Chicago and the greater Midwest for restaurants and grocery chains including Aldi’s, Sysco, and Pete’s Fresh Market?
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