El Milagro in Chicago threatened workers for speaking out: NLRB

Federal labor officials have found evidence that Chicago tortilla manufacturer El Milagro has threatened workers with dismissal and other reprisals for organizing to complain about working conditions.

Staff of the National Labor Relations Board in Chicago said the company violated employees’ rights in 2021 and 2022 when some cooperated with the workers’ rights group Arise Chicago to call attention to grievances. Workers previously said the effort that included a brief strike brought higher wages and better schedules but that dangerously high production speeds persisted.

The NLRB complaint was issued March 22 and signed by Regional Director Angie Cowan Hamada. It said a hearing on the charges was scheduled for July 17 before an administrative law judge. The company was given until April 5 to file a response.

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The agency cited several cases of workers allegedly being warned of firing, plant closures and a loss of vacation or other benefits if the organizing continued. It said some threats were conveyed to the largely Latino staff by an immigration attorney working for El Milagro who told them further contact with Arise Chicago would be “futile.”

The complaint also said the company used surveillance and increased security to intimidate workers.

A spokeswoman for El Milagro said the charges are false but had no further comment, citing an open regulatory matter. El Milagro operates from several sites in Chicago, including 3050 W. 26^th St. and 2919 S. Western Ave., where much of the alleged intimidation occurred.

Alfredo Benedetti, a worker in quality control, said many problems at El Milagro have improved as a result of worker activism. But he said other problems have emerged as the company has targeted leaders of the campaign.

“If we make any small mistake or have to miss work for any reason, they punish us,” said Benedetti, whose remarks in Spanish were translated by an Arise staff member. He said workers are often removed from the schedule for extended periods as punishment.

He recalled that a female colleague was injured at work and couldn’t get back on a shift for two months after completing therapy and fully recovering.

Benedetti said most workers support Arise. “We’re trying to make the company better and we’re going to keep going. The struggle continues,” he said.

El Milagro could be ordered to publicly advise workers of their right to engage in what labor law calls “concerted activity,” or organizing to advocate for better terms and conditions of employment.

The company, which has described Arise Chicago as “outside agitators,” is known to be worried that the activism could lead to union organizing, but so far no such effort has been publicized. In a statement last year, the company said improvements in wages and working conditions came not from Arise’s pressure but from its own outreach to crews.

“The workers have responded to the unlawful and unsafe working conditions at the El Milagro plants by organizing internally and taking collective action,” said the Rev. C.J. Hawking, executive director of Arise, a 32-year-old group backed by unions and religious organizations. “Workers each gained nearly $5,000 over 18 months in wage increases and the company no longer forces workers to work seven days in a row, which they did for years.”

El Milagro turned up in a report issued Wednesday about U.S. companies that spent the most on anti-union consultants in 2021. Drawing on reports filed with the U.S. Labor Department, the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute said El Milagro spent $863,000 on such consultants in 2021.

The company cited for spending the most in the group’s analysis was Amazon, with a 2021 outlay of $4.26 million to oppose union drives and employee activism at several facilities.

El Milagro does not say how many people it employs, but workers have estimated the number at 500. Arise Chicago has said that at past rallies more than 100 workers have signed petitions complaining about the company, but it is not known how many support the activism or unionizing.

The NLRB charges focus on company statements allegedly made during mandatory meetings called for employees during working hours. In April 2022, the general counsel of the NLRB said such “captive audience” meetings should be ruled unlawful, but the agency’s board has taken no action on the matter.