EL MILAGRO EMPLOYEES WALK OFF JOB, CALL FOR FAIR WAGES
El Milagro employees walked off the job Thursday to picket outside one of the company’s tortilla production facilities in Little Village and call for fair wages and better working conditions.
Dozens of workers formed a picket line in front of the El Milagro Tortilleria and the company’s adjacent taqueria, 3050 W. 26th St., chanting in unison as passing vehicles blared their horns in support.
“Justicia, si! Abuso, no!” the workers cheered in Spanish, calling for justice and an end to the abuse they’ve allegedly endured.
As El Milagro continues to struggle to keep store shelves stocked with its popular tortilla products, an organizer scoffed at the shortage becoming a social media phenomenon.
Laura Garza, of the nonprofit workers rights group Arise Chicago, explained that El Milagro employees have been “working under harsh conditions for years” — conditions that she said have only worsened during the coronavirus pandemic.
She said the company ignored guidelines put forth by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and at least 85 workers contracted COVID-19 last year. Five of them died, she added.
“Clearly they cared more about their profits than they cared about people,” said Garza.
A series of workers then stepped to the podium and rattled off a list of serious allegations, with Garza reiterating their statements in English.
While the workers haven’t unionized, they’re organizing as the El Milagro Tortillas Workers Committee, with the help of Arise.
El Milagro didn’t immediately respond to emailed questions about the demonstration and its workers’ demands.