UPDATE: 1/29/03 —
Hyde Park Food Co-Op Board Votes
To Join the Nationwide Boycott Against Azteca
January 27 — Striking Azteca workers, members of UE
Local 1159, and community allies will hold a demonstration on Tuesday,
January 28th at 7pm at the Hyde Park Food Co-op, 1300 E. 47th
St, Chicago. They will be pressing to have Azteca Tortillas removed from
the food co-op's shelves in support of the ongoing boycott of Azteca Foods.
The workers have been on strike against Azteca Foods since September
30th. 2002.
The strikers will be on hand to speak to members of the food
co-op’s board of directors about the national boycott of Azteca Foods
products, which are currently sold at the co-op.
The Azteca strikers have been demanding that the Hyde Park
Food Co-op pull Azteca product off their shelves and support the national
consumer boycott against Azteca tortillas, tortilla shells, chips and Buena
Vida tortillas. The food co-op’s management has not responded to the
strikers’ request or been willing to speak to the workers about the
strike. The board of the food co-op will be meeting and the strikers will be
there to voice support for a resolution to be introduced at the meeting
supporting the boycott.
Azteca Foods is demanding the right to fire a worker for
having a union leaflet on company property, the right to fire immigrant
workers for lying on their job application, even if that worker is legally
in this country and cuts in pay and protections even though the company,
with revenues of up to $33 million a year, is profitable and growing.
Chicago-based Azteca is one of the nation’s largest and
most successful tortilla producers. Azteca's CEO Art Velasquez is a
prominent leader in the Chicago business and Latino communities.
