A local farming company is accused of firing employees who expressed concerns about the deadly coronavirus outbreak at work.
On Monday, the United Farm Workers union announced it is filing charges with the National Labor Relations Board against Primex Farms in Wasco. The organization said the company fired employees who complained that the company was failing to properly protect employees from COVID-19.
The UFW said that recently an employee died from COVID-19 and another is not expected to survive. Nearly 100 workers at the pistachio processing company have been infected, the UFW claimed.
Primex said the number of its positive cases is actually higher, with 150 employees infected. However, the company said more than half of the employees have returned to work.
Jesse Rojas, who works in public relations for Primex, called the accusations “completely false” and said the UFW is using the crisis to boost its membership.
