4-6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2000
Ventura mushroom workers take demands
for UFW contract to busy East L.A.
intersection, talk about boycott
Dozens of workers from Ventura County’s largest mushroom ranch will take their case to East Los Angeles with a "human billboard" line demanding a United Farm Workers contract. The workers voted last week to call for a boycott of Picksweet Mushroom Farms products if the company continues resisting a union agreement.
Mushroom workers will stretch out along the intersection of Ave. Cesar Chavez and Soto St. with huge versions of the UFW’s distinctive red flag with a black eagle and signs reading "We want a contract!" in both English and Spanish.
More than 350 workers at Picksweet earn up to 15% less than mushroom workers employed at other California fresh mushroom ranches where there are UFW contracts. Most have not seen a pay raise in four years. Picksweet workers also want an end to on-the-job favoritism and a better medical plan.
Negotiations have gone on for months with Picksweet refusing to respond to the workers’ basic demands, the UFW states.
Who: Dozens of Picksweet Mushroom Farms workers and UFW Vice President Irv Hershenbaum.
What: "Human billboard" line urging Picksweet to bargain in good faith for a UFW contract.
When: 4-6 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2000.
Where: Intersection of Ave. Cesar Chavez and Soto in East L.A.
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