Interview: Labor Express Radio interviews Moises Zavala of UFCW Local 881 about workers at Raymundo’s Foods who walked over COVID-19 concerns, and organizing in the cannabis industry.

Labor Express Radio

Labor Express Radio Interview: Moises Zavala - UFCW Local 881, Raymundo's Food workers walk-out over COVID-19 concerns and organizing workers in the cannabis industry.

Jerry Mead-Lucero of Labor Express Radio interviews Moises Zavala, Director of Organizing for Local 881 United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) about the workers at Raymundo's Food Group in Bedford Park, Illinois, who walked out of their factory on Friday April 3rd and have remained out since. They took action after their bosses refused to address their safety concerns when two of their co-workers were diagnosed with COVID-19 but still were required to work for several days. The workers are self-quarantining and want guarantees their workplace will be sterilized before they return as well as hazard pay. The union stands behind the workers' demands, but they are still in negotiations with the company over a first contract and were not the organizers of the walk out. The demands and the walk out itself were organized by the rank-and-file in the kind of worker self-activity that we are seeing become quite common in the face of the coronavirus crisis at union and non-union workplaces alike. Moises also talks about UFCW’s efforts to organize workers in the burgeoning cannabis industry and recent success in this effort. And how the union has negotiated protections for grocery store workers during the COVID-19 crisis.

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