More than half of the workers at the eight Frito Lay worksites in the Dominican Republic who have received official verification of their new union at the end of a process that began in April.
When the 621 sales, distribution and production workers joined the National Union of Workers of Dominican Frito Lay (Sintralaydo), the process was delayed by factory management, which questioned the eligibility status of dozens of workers.
According to Sintralaydo General Secretary Ramon Mosquea, obtaining union recognition from the international snack food company involved proving that people worked there and preventing the company’s attempt to disqualify them from the count.
It has taken a long time for the union to be recognized since the first attempt in 2012, when according to Sintralaydo leaders, management derailed the process by presenting a list of hundreds of workers the union says were sub-contracted, thereby reducing support for the union to less than 50%. Dominican law requires that more than 50% of eligible workers must support a union at a worksite before it can receive official recognition.
http://www.alternet.org/labor/dominican-frito-lay-workers-win-union
