NLRB Makes it Official for Farmer John Food Service Workers

January 2012

Food service workers at a Farmer John plant in Vernon voted in late August 2011 to join United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 770. On December 31, the NLRB certified those results and negotiations are expected to start in late February.

Workers in the plant described an atmosphere of disrespect and intimidation that required a union to remedy. Prior to organizing this particular plant, workers at the Farmer John plant literally across the street had fought for years for recognition and a contract. Once they were victorious, they walked across the street and helped out their fellow workers to do the same.

“We needed a union because there was no respect in our workplace,” said Maria Alonzo, who works in the pre-cooked sausage department at Farmer John Food Service. “All of us that believed and wanted a union stood strongly together although the company tried to intimidate us.”