But this isn't all about the union, it' s about us having fresh air to breathe and getting to live. The workers are currently awaiting a date for their union election. Not all the plants in the Empowerment Zone are as blatantly offensive. At Gonzales Design, workers also complain of ventilation problems and forced overtime. Steelworkers organizer Pete Vargas says that mandatory overtime is often announced half an hour before the shift ends and sometimes extends to six days a week.
Wages remain at less than half the industry norm.
Similar conditions prevail at Piston Packaging, which produces paper pallets, corrugated boxes, and set-up boxes for the auto industry. Vinnie Johnson, former Detroit Pistons star, is the principal owner. Workers complain that there are no working water fountains. If they want to drink water, the employees have to bring it from home and hope it doesn't run out. That is the only raise workers that have been there for two and a half years have ever seen.