More than half of the workers have signed cards indicating they want the UFCW in the plant. A union representation election is scheduled for July 21. Four workers in the kill department quit under pressure from the company June 23 after management cut their wages and in some cases forced them to do jobs that were previously done by two people. We are talking to people about the need to stay in the plant and fight these abuses. Workers in the cut and kill department told the Militant that the top bosses have been organizing meetings with small groups of workers every day, repeating many of the same false statements about the union they have been saying since the start of the organizing drive, and trying to portray themselves as benevolent figures who can solve workers' problems if given a chance.
Workers report that a lawyer hired by the company was present at all the meetings.
Steve Cortinas, Dakota Premium's manager, was present at some of the company meetings with the mostly Spanish-speaking workforce. Issue number four of The Workers' Voice , the pro-union newsletter of the workers at Dakota Premium, answered on June 28 what the company had stated the previous day at these meetings. All workers have a right under the law to vote in a union election, regardless of citizenship or immigration status. The company then invited workers to a hotel after work that day. We know the company is paying that lawyer.