A Canadian company recently purchased Ostrom Mushroom Farms, a major producer in the Pacific Northwest that’s still embroiled in a civil rights and discrimination lawsuit brought by state Attorney General Bob Ferguson.
Late last summer, state investigators found the Sunnyside-based company had systematically fired over 140 employees, mostly women, and replaced them with men who picked at faster rates. Investigators also found the company had discriminated against domestic workers by hiring foreign workers instead.
After first reaching out to United Farm Workers organizers in 2020, the Ostrom workers eventually voted last June to unionize.
After the purchase, announced on Feb. 15, Windmill Farms of Ashburn, Ontario, allegedly fired Ostrom’s remaining employees and rehired those who signed arbitration agreements for any labor disputes while offering them lower wages, United Farm Workers spokesperson Antonio De Loera-Brust said.
“We feel … this [was an] effort to push out the workers who have been organizing and demanding a contract to try to make a way for a more compliant and vulnerable workforce,” he said.
Windmill Farms CEO Clay Taylor said in an email the company extended offers to all former employees at “market-competitive wages,” but did not elaborate further. The company did not comment on the union’s allegations Friday after multiple requests.
In the email, Taylor said the company is committed to providing a safe workplace environment free from discrimination and will contribute to the local community.
The state Department of Labor and Industries is still reviewing the appeal previous owners made for an August citation after an inspector found safety violations in the work site.
The new ownership will be responsible for any fines that result from the citation, said L&I spokesperson Dina Lorraine.
The new leadership has not shown intent to support workers’ continued efforts to unionize, De Loera-Brust said.
The same underlying issue persists where the ownership refuses to bargain and recognize workers who want to be unionized, De Loera-Brust said.
“It’s remarkable that Ostrom would rather not exist than talk to us,” De Loera-Brust said of the sale. “This just shows the lengths with which companies will go to crush union activity.”
Workers have told union organizers that they’re “upset” and “scared” for what the change in leadership will mean for the efforts they’ve made in unionizing.
Last August, Ferguson’s office filed the lawsuit against Ostrom for alleged gender discrimination, among other infractions, following an investigation that uncovered how company officials systematically fired 80% of its employees, who were mostly women, and replaced them with mostly men who were hired under the H-2A visa, which grants workers fewer labor rights.
During a news conference held at the Centilia Cultural Center in Seattle on Aug. 18, Ferguson publicly stated the company’s conduct was “disturbing and unlawful,” emphasizing evidence of discrimination state investigators gathered.
In September, Ostrom responded to the lawsuit by denying claims of discrimination and retaliation against employees, and sought to dismiss the attorney general’s claims.
Previous Ostrom owners did not respond to multiple inquiries Friday.
The purchase does not impact the state’s claims made against the company in any way, said Brianna Aho, with the Attorney General’s Office.
The Yakima County Superior Court set the trial date for Jan. 8, 2024.
The worker’s committee remains active and plans to continue the push for union recognition in the meantime, De Loera-Brust said.
“They can change the name, they can change the owners as many times as they want, but the workers, they want a union and we’re going to keep going until they get one,” he said.
