Whole Foods / United Farm Workers Campaign

Si Se Puede at Beef Northwest

The Organic Consumers Association has suspended its Sweatshop 'Natural' Beef campaign pending successful proceedings at Beef Northwest.
The following is a joint statement from Beef Northwest and the UFW:

"Beef Northwest and the UFW are pleased to announce that we have reached a tentative agreement resolving our labor dispute. Our agreement is predicated on a mutually agreed upon process by which Beef Northwest employees will decide if they want union representation."

Beef Northwest, United Farm Workers reach agreement on election

by Richard Cockle, The Oregonian
Thursday November 06, 2008, 6:01 PM

A labor dispute was tentatively resolved Thursday between Beef Northwest, operators of three large northwest feedlots, and the California-based United Farm Workers Union, canceling a November 7-9 secret ballot election for feedlot workers.

The union announced that the tentative agreement was predicated on a mutually agreed-upon process by which 80 feedlot employees in Boardman, Nyssa and Quincy, Wash., would decide if they want union representation.

Country Natural Beef, a cooperative of 120 ranching families that "finish" about 47,000 cattle annually at the Boardman feedlot, had arranged for the secret ballet election today (editor: Friday, November 7), Saturday and Sunday.

The resolution of the labor dispute brought an end to plans for that election, said cattleman Stacy Davies , manager of the Roaring Springs Ranch near Frenchglen and a member of the cooperative.

Davies said the cooperative had no details on the settlement, "but we are hopeful that it represents the workers' desire. Our empathy has always been with the worker in this dispute."

Fair Trade Headlines

Show All

More Headlines