12 noon-1 p.m. Monday, December 12, in San Francisco
Holiday protest takes sex bias fight against huge
Oregon dairy to Bank of the West S.F. HQ
‘[Women workers are] only good for the bed,’ dairy owner says.
Farm workers and church leaders from Oregon on Monday join Bay Area supporters for a holiday season protest at Bank of the West’s U.S. headquarters in San Francisco urging the bank’s CEO to help end blatant sex discrimination against women workers by one of the his biggest customers, a giant dairy in rural eastern Oregon.
Threemile Canyon Farms heavily relies on a $101 million line of credit from Bank of the West. Since September 2004, women farm workers have filed two sexual bias lawsuits against the dairy. The first suit was settled out of court in September 2005 for just under $200,000 and a pledge by the farm to hire female employees. Since the settlement, no women have been hired.
Dairy owner A.J. Bos, who lives in Bakersfield, said, “I don’t want women at the farm—they are only good for the bed,” according to sworn declarations from 12 current Threemile Canyon farm workers.
With 480 branches in 16 states, Bank of the West counts among its major customers U.S. religious institutions. Top church groups—including the National Council of Churches and state associations of churches in California, Oregon, Washington state and Wisconsin—have urged Bank of the West President & CEO Don McGrath to pressure the dairy to end sex bias and resolve its dispute with the United Farm Workers, which has organized most of the dairy’s workers.
Who: Current and former Threemile Canyon dairy workers—including lawsuit plaintiffs—plus religious and labor activists from the Pacific Northwest and California.
What: Urging Bank of the West to help end sex bias by its client, the huge Oregon dairy.
When: 12 noon-1 p.m., Monday, Dec. 12, 2005.
Where: Bank of the West U.S. HQ, 180 Montgomery St., San Francisco 94101.
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