(AMARILLO, Texas) – Teamsters Local 577 members at Tyson Foods of Amarillo, the largest beef processing plant in the United States, have voted by a 98 percent margin to authorize a strike. The Teamsters represent 3,100 workers in slaughtering and processing at the facility who are demanding higher wages and improved benefits.
“We are bargaining with one of the most repulsively greedy and amoral corporations in the entire country. Last year, Tyson’s CEO made 525 times that of the median worker,” said Al Brito, President of Local 577. “This facility is essential to the beef supply chain, but if Tyson’s corporate leadership doesn’t start demonstrating some basic humanity, we will be forced to take action.”
The union has filed a number of unfair labor practice (ULP) charges against Tyson for violating labor law. In the past month, management has harassed union stewards, coerced injured employees into dropping claims, illegally interrogated union members, and falsely told workers at the facility that if they engaged in a ULP strike they would lose their jobs.
“We’re not just fighting for more money,” said Keisha Carey, a member of the Tyson Teamsters Negotiating Committee. “We’re tired of seeing people suffer. We’re tired of seeing people hurting. We’re tired of seeing the elites who run this company have no compassion for the workers who make them rich. We’re ready to strike this company if they don’t give us the deal we deserve.”
Teamsters Local 577 represents workers in a wide variety of industries throughout North Texas. For more information, go to teamsterslocalunion577.com.
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