Andrew Graham | The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa)
A worker for Amy’s Kitchen has filed a formal complaint with the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health seeking an intervention by regulators at the organic food behemoth’s Santa Rosa production plant.
The complaint is filed by employee Cecilia Luna Ojeda on behalf of all her co-workers at the plant on Northpoint Parkway.
The complaint cites nine prior Cal/OSHA violations at the plant on Northpoint Parkway. Regulators issued more than $100,000 in penalties from 2016 to 2019 after investigations into the facility.
The company’s Santa Rosa facility employees about 550 workers who cook, package, freeze and ship Amy’s Kitchen’s products, which are prized by health-conscious consumers across the country.
Ojeda’s complaint argues that prior Cal/OSHA actions have not led to change at the plant, and further intervention is required.
“Without immediate action, workers will continue to get injured and/or possibly killed,” the complaint states.
It was written for Ojeda by Tony Delario, an official with the Teamsters Local Union No. 665.
Delario’s involvement confirms that the company, which grew from folksy roots in Sonoma County into a large corporation that employs more than 2,800 people, is confronting a union drive, at least in Northern California.
“Amy’s Kitchen is nonunion, however, there is an active organizing campaign with Teamsters Local 665, in response to egregious working conditions, high rates of injuries and ongoing exploitation,” Delario wrote.
But worker safety is more urgent than a union drive, he wrote. “Hazards workers face require immediate attention from Cal/OSHA and continue to lead to injuries and possible fatalities every day.”
The complaint alleges hazards like the ergonomics of working on a burrito production line with fast-paced, repetitive motions that have led to back strain and chronic injuries. It also cites faulty machinery, blocked fire exits, chemical exposure and stress from quota pressures and shame directed at workers who ask for bathroom breaks.
Workers are expected to roll 10-12 burritos per minute or assemble as many as 72 plated dishes per minute, according to the complaint.
The complaint comes with testimony about injuries and hazards from Ojeda and six colleagues who are not named.
Sent to The Press Democrat by the union, it was filed Jan. 20, four days after NBC published accounts of injuries and workplace hardships from Ojeda and four other current or former Amy’s employees.
Executives from Amy’s have so far declined to address the specific allegations from the former employees while saying their experiences are not representative of the company’s treatment of workers. Amy’s officials did not immediately respond to a Press Democrat request for comment about the Cal/OSHA complaint Friday.
In a statement to The Press Democrat on Monday afternoon, Chief Executive Officer Andy Berliner said a core value of the company he and his wife launched 35 years ago was creating a workplace where people took care of one another ― caring for “the whole person.”
The NBC report “does not reflect who we are as a company and the values we uphold,” Berliner’s statement said. “When Rachel and I started Amy’s, we worked alongside our employees on the line and committed to them that Amy’s would always be a compassionate, people-first workplace. We want all Amy’s employees to feel like they are being taken care of, and we are deeply saddened to hear about the experiences these five employees have described.”
You can reach Staff Writer Andrew Graham at 707-526-8667 or andrew.graham@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @AndrewGraham88
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