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Blue Diamond Almonds Unionizing Under ILWU in Sacramento

by sactoanarcho
The ILWU and Blue Diamond workers held a rally at 17th and C in Sacramento to present their demand to management for their right to unionize. Here is a story and some pictures
strike01.jpg
ILWU ORGANIZING BLUE DIAMOND ALMOND FACTORY WORKERS IN SACRAMENTO

There was a rally at Blue Diamond Almonds in Sacramento on 17th and C Streets Friday afternoon where around 100 workers in addition to organizers and community members tried to present a petition to management demanding their right to unionize. Blue Diamond workers have attempted to union several times in the past, both under the ILWU and the Teamsters, but every time, were brutally crushed by the management’s harsh anti-union stance and campaign.

The workers are demanding, above all, respect from management, who refuse to treat the workers with dignity and pay poverty level wages. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union has committed to organizing the shop of about 1000 seasonal workers, who are laid off every year and then re-hired the next almond season. Blue Diamond Growers is the largest tree nut processing and marketing company in the world, and a year ago, was named the #2 biggest polluter in the Sacramento Area by the Sacramento News and Review (see: http://www.newsreview.com/issues/sacto/2004-04-22/cover.asp)

One spectacular sight at the rally happened as a shift got off work, dozens of workers came out, removed their blue work shirts - revealing their yellow ILWU union shirts. They then proceeded to pick up signs and join the picket. It was a sight you would expect to see from an AFL/CIO promotional video.

Blue Diamond can absolutely afford to pay their workers both respect and a decent wage, and as we can see, the ILWU will make sure that they do.

Thank you to everyone who came out to picket and to show support for the struggling Blue Diamond Factory Workers in Sacramento.
§Workers march to the gate
by sactoanarcho
strike02.jpg
Workers attempted to present their demands to management, but were turned away by security, and were told by security that the letter would be delivered by them
§workers stopped by security
by sactoanarcho
strike03.jpg
§entrance to gift shop blocaded by management
by sactoanarcho
strike04.jpg
management was so afraid of the rally that they blocked the entrance to the gift shop with huge wood almond boxes and closed the shop for the day
§blocked 2
by sactoanarcho
strike05.jpg
an extra layer of protection from the companies own workers. what do they have to be afraid of, if theyre treating the workers as well as they claim?
§almond box barricade
by sactoanarcho
strike06.jpg
these boxes usually arent there. Management brought them out to protect themselves from what they know to be a very angry workforce. Workers without decent pay that dont recieve respect are obviously going to be angry, but as it turned out, the workers were 100% non-violent and the boxes were absolutely unneccesary.
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