| For immediate release
November 16, 2005
For further information:
Anna Galovich, organizer for Latinos en Acción de CCI at
(515) 282-0484
Margret Meade, safety consultant for IOSHA at (515) 281-0896.
Des Moines,
IA –David Neil, the Iowa Labor Commissioner, signed
a two year alliance agreement on Tuesday, November 15th with a local
community organizing group, Latinos en Acción de CCI. The
purpose of the alliance is to educate workers, especially Hispanic
workers, on their right to a safe workplace and help them report
any hazardous conditions in which they work.
Signing for Latinos en Acción de
CCI was Chairperson Tomasa Fonseca who said, “Our alliance
has the potential to truly reform unsafe workplaces in Iowa. We
are so excited to be working with IOSHA. We are looking forward
to reaching out and helping more Hispanics have safe workplaces.”
The alliance was sparked by an October 2nd
meeting with Margret Meade, a Safety Consultant with the Iowa Occupational
Safety and Health Administration (IOSHA). The meeting was attended
by over 50 members of Latinos en Acción de CCI. In the meeting
workers got up and shared their testimonies regarding the working
conditions at Swift and Company in Marshalltown, Iowa. One worker
testified about the line speed. “The line goes too fast,”
she stated. “Workers don’t have time to sharpen their
knives and when workers work with dull knives accidents happen.”
Another worker testified that a coworker broke his foot in the plant
and had to work on it for 3 days. “My coworker went to the
nurses’ station when he broke his foot, and all they did was
give him ice and ibuprofen.”
Latinos en Acción de CCI, a Latino-led
chapter of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (CCI), has more
than 170 members in Marshalltown. CCI has over 3,000 members across
the state from all walks of life who talk, act and get things done
on issues that matter most to them. To learn more about CCI’s
efforts, visit www.iowacci.org.
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