The struggles at Palermo’s has been going on for over a year now – what’s the latest on this local struggle? People’s World profiled the workers and their strike last month, offering outsiders a glimpse into how this all began.
“Palermo’s factory workers are often recent immigrants, but despite their vulnerable position they banded together and presented their employer with a petition, signed by 150 workers, stating their intent to unionize so they could effectively discuss issues of safety, health and wages. The company responded, not by pulling up a chair to the negotiating table, but rather by calling for an “immigration audit” that would require workers to produce additional documents to verify their legal status.”