11/02/2022
OSTROM MUSHROOM WORKERS NEED YOUR SUPPORT
SAVE THE DATE: SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2022
Mushroom farm workers at Ostrom Mushroom Farms in Sunnyside WA are demanding a workplace free from threats, excessive pressure, harassment and retaliation.
The workers will be coming to Seattle for a public action on Sunday, November 20, 2022 in the afternoon. PUBLIC support is crucial! Look for more details to come in this e-news and bring your friends and family.
Campaign background:
On June 22nd, 2022 workers and community members marched to the company to deliver a petition signed by over 200 workers demanding fair pay, safe working conditions, equal opportunities, and respect.
Workers want to take this petition national. Will you sign on?
https://act.seiu.org/a/ostrommushroompetition?ms=outreach
Jose Martinez has worked for Ostrom for more than 2 years. He was elected to the worker committee in May and led the worker march to deliver the petition. "We are fighting for a voice at work. We have come together to demand better working conditions. We will not stop fighting. We are just getting started, we demand to be treated like human beings."
On August 17, 2022 Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit against Ostrom for wage theft, gender discrimination and illegally displacing local workers.
Read about the lawsuit here
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/ostrom-mushroom-farms-faces-civil-rights-lawsuit-on-gender-other-discrimination/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=article_inset_1.1
Update 9/10/22: The Ostrom Mushroom committee has been leading a card drive and they now have a strong majority of current workers supporting the union! We also have the support of over 100 workers who were unjustly fired from the company and support of current workers is growing every day. The committee has been holding general meetings every week on Tuesday nights and consistently have between 60 and 80 workers attend each meeting.
The committee is preparing to begin a community petition drive with the support of Bishop Tyson at all of the Catholic churches in the Yakima Valley. Additionally, the Bishop is drafting a letter to the company in support of the worker’s effort to unionize. Read more
https://mcusercontent.com/d662768225804dedc8254ed20/files/0974b2d7-1d1b-5a7d-f11f-670f3ed09fb2/Ostrom_workers_update_Sept_10_2022.pdf
The workers have not received any communication from the company since the last negotiation meeting on August 3rd. The committee has sent several correspondences that have gone unanswered.
March on 9/17/22: The workers, UFW members and community supporters including Farm Worker Ministry Northwest marched to Ostrom company headquarters in Sunnyside on Saturday, September 17, 2022 to demand that the company respond to their proposal and meet with them. Read about the march here
https://www.yakimaherald.com/news/local/farmworkers-march-to-ostrom-mushroom-farms-announce-vote-for-unionization/article_a7e76158-3786-11ed-90ed-5336c4977bd8.html?utm_source=yakimaherald.com&utm_campaign=%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Ffarmworkers-march-to-ostrom-mushroom-farms-announce-vote-for-unionization%2Farticle-a7e76158-3786-11ed-90ed-5336c4977bd8.html%3Fmode%3Demail%26-dc%3D1663606202&utm_medium=auto%20alert%20email&utm_content=headline
Be sure to sign the workers' petition. Ostrom Mushroom Farms workers want the company to know that people nationally are paying attention to this issue. Stand with them in solidarity. Sign their petition today.
https://act.seiu.org/a/ostrommushroompetition?ms=outreach
While marching, workers at Ostrom Mushroom Farms demanded justice in the workplace. At the rally, a worker committee announced that a majority of the workers at Ostrom had voted in
