Tolvan
27-09-2008, 06:54
Commonwealth Press
www.commonwealthpress.tol
FREETOWN - The latest round of efforts to unionize some of Ascension Island's 1,257 plantations has failed. Workers at 419 plantations owned by General Foods Inc. went to the polls and voted 73% to 25% to reject the union charter offered by the United Farm Laborers Union. Organizers, including activist/singer Samuel Anderson, had committed considerable effort to promote the effort, much to the chagrin of General Foods management. Anderson was not available for a comment at the time CP contacted his office. UFLU Regional Vice President Willie Fish blamed the failure of the vote on "intimidation and misinformation" on the part of General Foods, as well as implying the possibility of vote tampering. General Foods released a statement praising the vote, saying "We at General Foods have always sought to ensure the best possible wages and working conditions for our employees and they have firmly stated that they do not need the services of corrupt union bosses to bargain for fair treatment."
The failure of this attempt is expected to drain momentum from similar UFLU unionization effort at 203 Commonwealth Coffee and Tea Co. plantations and 73 Tolvanic Sugar Corp. plantations. Both company's employees are slated to vote next week.
Jacob Ryan
OOC: Feel free to comment but any unreasonable posts (invasions, embargoes, etc.) will be ignored. This will be developed further in the days to come.
www.commonwealthpress.tol
FREETOWN - The latest round of efforts to unionize some of Ascension Island's 1,257 plantations has failed. Workers at 419 plantations owned by General Foods Inc. went to the polls and voted 73% to 25% to reject the union charter offered by the United Farm Laborers Union. Organizers, including activist/singer Samuel Anderson, had committed considerable effort to promote the effort, much to the chagrin of General Foods management. Anderson was not available for a comment at the time CP contacted his office. UFLU Regional Vice President Willie Fish blamed the failure of the vote on "intimidation and misinformation" on the part of General Foods, as well as implying the possibility of vote tampering. General Foods released a statement praising the vote, saying "We at General Foods have always sought to ensure the best possible wages and working conditions for our employees and they have firmly stated that they do not need the services of corrupt union bosses to bargain for fair treatment."
The failure of this attempt is expected to drain momentum from similar UFLU unionization effort at 203 Commonwealth Coffee and Tea Co. plantations and 73 Tolvanic Sugar Corp. plantations. Both company's employees are slated to vote next week.
Jacob Ryan
OOC: Feel free to comment but any unreasonable posts (invasions, embargoes, etc.) will be ignored. This will be developed further in the days to come.