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Mushroom workers

From Earl Gilman <giltapia@IGC.APC.ORG>
21 November 1997

In Chile there is currently a conflict between 500 workers who work in mushrooms and their employer "Nature's Farm Products (Chile)S.A." Their employer is an American citizen Deniis Choi. Since September 1996 no funds have gone into the pension or health fund. The union has not received dues from the employer since November 1996. And the employer didn't bother to pay the workers in December and January.

(Note: Chilean labor law has not improved under "democracy". It is the same labor law as under the Pinochet dictatorship.)

Nature's Farm mushrooms are sold in the United States and Asia. We'd like to know what chains are buying them. Also the mushroom workers in Chile would like to communicate with mushroom workers union in the U.S. and other countries. Does anyone have addresses for these other unions?

Earl Gilman
The U.S. Committee to Support Trade Unionism in Chile