Did A Sick Worker Make Your Frozen Pizza?
If you're going to unionize, we're going to essentially sic the Federal immigration agents on you — that's what workers at a Wisconsin frozen pizza factory say management is threatening because they have formed a union.
Workers at Palermo's Pizza of Milwaukee at 3301 South Canal street, near Miller Park, are now in their sixth day of a strike because management refuses to recognize their newly formed union as a legitimate bargaining unit. The company makes frozen pizzas that are shipped all over the country.
In the video that goes with this story Roberto Silva (left) and Daniel Mercado discuss their organizing efforts, with Christine Neumann-Ortiz of Voces de la Frontera translating and explaining her support for the workers.
The two say a new policy implemented by Palermo's last October prompted the union movement. Management declared if people missed three or four days of work they would be automatically fired. Silva says that has forced people to work on preparing pizzas and other foods while they are sick which raises the risk of contaminating the food. Workers say there are no paid sick days and their work weeks can sometimes be as long as 90 hours, leaving no time for a personal life.
We want to have a voice in the workplace because all of the policies they are passing is all in their interest, Silva said through an interpreter. He says management has listened to the complaints, but hasn't done anything to fix the problems. We want to be heard and that's why we want a union.
Union calls for consumer boycott against Palermos
Mercado is asking the public to boycott Palermo's. He says people should call the company and say they are not going to buy the company's pizzas if Palermo's doesn't recognize the union. He says the company's number is (414) 643-0919.
181 workers have signed a petition to join the independent union, Palermo's Workers Union, about 80 percent of workers at the Milwaukee location. Management has refused to recognize their union, though the National Labor Relations Act (signed in 1935) requires that employers recognize a union if more than 30 percent of the employees are in favor of unionizing.
Workers have submitted their case to the National Labor Relations Board to step in to require Palermo's to recognize their union.
Management at Palermo's has implemented several tactics to break the union organizing efforts, including physically blocking an exit at the factory so workers cannot join the strike, threatened termination of people participating, bringing in replacement workers as well as threatening to check workers legal immigration status through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) I-9 employment verification form.
According to the USCIS Web site: All U.S. employers must complete and retain a Form I-9 for each individual they hire for employment in the United States. This includes citizens and non-citizens. On the form, the employer must examine the employment eligibility and identity document(s) an employee presents to determine whether the document(s) reasonably appear to be genuine and relate to the individual and record the document information on the Form I-9.
Temp workers at the company have also joined in the efforts to unionize, facing another form of retaliation by the threat of being blacklisted if they join the strike effort.
The UpTake has contacted Palermo's for a statement, but so far it has not responded.
Palermo's Boycott National Day of Action
Palermo's Boycott National Day of Action from The UpTake. Like this? Watch the latest episode of The UpTake on Blip!
A national boycott of a pizza company that?s refusing to bargain with a newly formed union is gaining traction.
More than 150 people attended an informational picket outside of Costco in Grafton, WI on Saturday, August 25. Community members, Voces de la Frontera and MICAH (Milwaukee Inner City Alliance for Hope) joined Palermo?s workers to hand out fliers to Costco customers and make a visible and audible presence calling for the boycott of Palermo?s products.
Workers of frozen pizza maker Palermo?s Pizza, located in Milwaukee, have been on strike for nearly four months because Palermo?s management has refused to recognize their independently formed union, Palermo?s Workers Union, as a legitimate bargaining unit.
Worker?s called for a national boycott of Palermo?s products beginning on July 29. Since the start of the boycott, workers and their allies have been targeting Costco to stop purchasing Palermo?s products. Weekly informational pickets have been occurring outside of Costco stores since the call for a boycott.
Initially, the pickets were being held at a couple of stores in Wisconsin, including Middleton (Madison suburb) and Grafton (Milwaukee suburb). Saturday, August 25, was the first day of a nationally coordinated week of action of informational pickets outside of Costco stores.
More than 20 cities are participating in the informational pickets including stores in Wisconsin, California, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina and Texas.
Workers are targeting Costco because they are the largest distributor of Palermo?s products which includes pizza sold under the name of Kirkland Signature Pizza, which have yet to be pulled from Costco?s shelves.
Costco is also being targeted because of their business ethic standards that calls for the fair treatment of their employees as well as their vendor?s employees. Costco?s code of conduct states that vendors must comply with all labor and environmental laws.
Currently, Palermo?s Pizza is facing unfair labor practice charges filed by workers who feel they were unlawfully terminated due to union organizing activity (more than 75 employees were fired). The case is pending with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB.)
This is the second time since the strike began that workers have filed a petition with the NLRB. The first case filed was for union recognition, as management refused to recognize their union, though about 80 percent of workers in the Milwaukee factory were in favor of unionizing. The NLRB sided with the workers setting a ballot election for the union, that has since been pushed back because of the new complaint.
Support for the strikers and the boycott has gained national support beyond coordinated actions around the country, as the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) national, representing 12 million members, has endorsed the boycott.
Since the endorsement of the boycott, Palermo?s CEO Giacomo Fallucca sent a letter to AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka asking to meet and discuss the labor dispute. Falluca?s letter suggested that Costco had been in contact with Palermo?s about the dispute. Trumka has welcomed the meeting with Fallucca, that is set for August 31.
Workers and supporting allies are hopeful the meeting will begin real negotiations with Palermo?s management.
In the meantime, workers continue their strike and boycott efforts for their union to be recognized. The union organizing effort began due to workplace safety concerns, no paid sick days and a policy that if a worker missed more than three days of work in a six month period, even if they were sick with a doctors note, they would be fired.
A new concern has surfaced among many of the terminated employees, who are worried about the safety of the replacement workers that were brought in to fill their jobs.
Union organizers discuss their safety concerns and the response of Palermo?s management to accidents that occur at the factory. Workers say that management threatens to take away a worker?s bonus if they are involved in an accident, creating an environment where employees are afraid to report accidents.
Workers say an employee working on the assembly line cut his finger but was afraid to report the accident and face negative repercussions. The cut resulted in blood getting on the production line, going unnoticed until three pallets of pizza, containing about 550 pizzas, had been contaminated by the blood. Workers say the pizzas were taken to a decontamination area and from there they do not know what happened to the pizza.
Workers say they will continue their strike and boycott in the face of several hardships caused by the strike for justice in the work place. Daniel Caamano says ?the owners will remember us for the res
Ciclovia MKE August 29, 2015 --Milwaukee, WI along Cesar Chavez Drive
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8/16/16 Milwaukee Wisconsin: JUNEAU PARK
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