Smart & Final warehouse workers take to picket lines
Smart & Final warehouse workers are striking against their employer, marking the latest in a long run of labor actions in a variety of industries this past year.
Workers and the Teamsters Local 630 union are protesting the Commerce-based company to push for a contract that includes job protections and better wages.
Workers voted to join the Teamsters in May of this year, the union said.
Of particular concern to the warehouse workers is the company’s plan to close two warehouses in Commerce and Riverside.
About 600 workers from those facilities will be fired, then forced to reapply for their jobs at a Rancho Cucamonga warehouse that is expected to open next year, according to the Whittier Daily News.
The Teamsters say the company is trying to bust the nascent union, but the company says the new facility will help them grow distribution capacity by 50%, the News reported.
“We’re fighting for these guys’ jobs,” said Frank Afoa with Local 630.
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