NORTHEAST OHIO Workers strike at dairy farm

The workers have formed their own union.
MARSHALLVILLE, Ohio (AP) -- About 40 workers, mostly immigrants from Mexico, are on strike over the firing of a co-worker and poor treatment they say they've received at a northeast Ohio dairy farm.
They walked out this week to support Caesar Lopez, the eighth worker fired at Stoll Farms in less than two months, the workers said. Lopez was fired on his second day back after he broke his arm because he was unable to work fast enough.
"The supervisor kept telling me to work faster," he said through an interpreter, pointing to a jagged scar on his arm. "I said I was going as fast as I can. Then the supervisor told me I was fired."
Company officials would not comment on the strike Saturday.
The workers have formed their own union, United Dairy Workers of Ohio, Local 1. They plan to stand along rural Coal Bank Road outside the farm in Marshallville, about 15 miles southwest of Akron, until their demands are met.
Manager
Jeff Stewart, director of the Immigrant Workers Project of Canton, said Stoll Farms did not have a history of problems with immigrant workers until the hiring of a new manager six months ago.
Strikers blame the manager for their problems and many said they would not return to work until he was fired.
"There are several reasons the men went on strike," Stewart said. "They are sometimes told they must work a half-hour or an hour overtime without pay if the cows do not produce enough milk, which is not their fault. Second, they have money taken out of their paychecks for common workplace accidents, like being charged because a mirror cracks on a work truck."
Stewart said the company must establish a standard payscale with wage increases for years spent on the job. Another demand common to all the strikers was to be treated with dignity.
"The company, and the one supervisor in particular, don't understand that Spanish culture is built on respect. It's a matter of pride," said Bill Hammen, 33, one of the few non-Mexicans working at the farm. "He curses at us, screams at us and calls the men insulting names. We grew tired of it."
Taking a chance
The workers know they could lose their jobs, but are willing to take the chance, Stewart said.
"These men are doing hard jobs that no one else wants," he said. "They work hard and there are many farms around the state that would be happy to hire them. All these men want is some dignity and respect."
John Wargowsky, director of labor services for the Ohio Farm Federation, said that many Ohio farms employ foreign workers because local people will not work for the wages offered.
Lopez said he was happy for the work and the wages. Before he left Mexico a year ago, he was making $4 a day repairing machines in Vera Cruz.