Last week Jacinta Castro said she left her job at the renowned Chicago tortilla factory El Milagro after working there for four decades.

She left mid-shift, she said, tired of what she believes is low pay and unsafe working conditions for her and her co-workers, mainly Latino immigrants. The lack of response from bosses after she voiced her concerns pushed her to quit, she said.

Castro said she was among a group of employees who signed and delivered several letters to management in the past month asking them to negotiate ways to improve their working conditions and pay.

On Thursday, dozens of employees from two of the production factories walked out and others joined to picket the headquarters in the Little Village neighborhood.

The company has not responded to requests for comment.

Employees said they began organizing after they learned the company was offering higher salaries to new employees after other employees left.

“Instead of attempting to keep us, they make us work harder and don’t compensate us for it,” said employee Armando Guzman.

He said that though he was worried about actions the company might take against him for participating in the picket, he has a right to voice concerns and demand better working conditions.

The workers and their family members were accompanied by organizers from Arise Chicago, a nonprofit workers’ rights organization that helped the employees draft letters to management.

Management did not respond or attempt to meet with the workers, said Jorge Mujica, an organizer at Arise who has been working closely with the workers for several years.

He alleges that workers are sometimes forced to work seven days a week and in extreme heat.

“Many workers are undocumented; (managers) take advantage of their situations and the fear that they feel because they know that many won’t speak up, fearing losing their job and not finding another one,” Castro added.

In the letters addressed to Raulinda Sierra, CEO of the company, and Jesus Lopez, secretary of the corporation, the workers announced their right to organize to improve working conditions. They attempted to deliver the letter on Thursday evening but the headquarters on West 26th Street was closed.

Though the group does not have the numbers to form a union yet, the committee that the employees have formed legally qualifies them as a labor organization, Mujica said

“All we want is better pay and dignified treatment to keep working,” said Guzman.

After 40 years of employment there, Castro said, she made $15.50 an hour after asking for several raises.

“Many of us simply can’t afford to leave, that’s why we stay there,” Castro said.

Graciela Hernandez was the partner of Roberto Escobar, an employee who died of COVID-19 last April. She said he was forced to work without proper personal protective equipment.

That same month, the company closed its tortilla plant on the city’s Lower West Side for two weeks to sanitize the facility after one worker died and others tested positive for the coronavirus.

El Milagro was founded by Raul Lopez, father to the current managers, in 1950, according to a 1993 Tribune article.

Lopez went from learning tortilla-making as a boy in Mexico to opening his own production company.

According to the article, Lopez named the tortilleria El Milagro — the miracle — to honor his migration to the United States and starting his own business.

Castro recalls working with Lopez.

“He cared about the immigrant workers because he knew they were the heart of the production of the tortilla that so many love,” she said.

The workers hope that the current owners agree to wage scales based on seniority and qualifications and to immediately hire more workers to reduce workloads.

However, employees and organizers said Thursday night that at least 14 workers who attempted to return to work at the plant at 2140 S. Western Ave. after picketing were not allowed back in.

Before the action the group had delivered a letter announcing their work stoppage, making the walkout a protected activity under the National Labor Relations Act, said Shelly Ruzicka, organizer with Arise.

“The company is choosing to lock them out, which is illegal,” Ruzicka said Thursday. But on Friday Ruzicka said all workers were allowed to go back to their jobs while they wait for a response to their letter and action by Sept. 29.

At a Friday news conference Laura Garza, an organizer with Arise, said the workers had to call police to help get back into the plant Thursday night to get personal items, and that once inside their manager called them into a meeting with human resources.

Even though workers are fearful of losing their jobs because some were locked out initially after picketing Thursday, more workers said they joined the walkouts during the night shift and on Friday morning.

Among them was Martin Salas, who said he has worked for the company for 10 years but walked out Friday morning, out of solidarity with co-workers, to attend the news conference.

Larodriguez@chicagotribune.com