A State Assemblyman has launched an investigation of the San Jose based company Marquez Brothers International, who has a cheese plant in Hanford.
Assemblyman Roger Hernandez, a Democrat representing the 48th District in Los Angeles County, held a new conference where he claimed a worker was fired for attending a hearing on workplace intimidation and union participation. "Today, I'm formally announcing the investigation of Marquez Brothers International, by the Committee of Labor and Employment. Retaliatory practices will not be tolerated," said Hernandez.
The company denies the claims, saying the worker was fired for violent behavior. "It's one employee who was terminated because she was violent against another employee. And she actually, the one who she felt threatened against, filed a police report," said David Silver, a spokesperson for the company.
The company says workers have never been punished for union activity and they say and its workers voted to be represented by the Teamsters just last year.