Ostrom Mushroom sold; UFW blasts new anti-union owners

Greenwood Mushrooms — using label ‘Windmill Farms’ — requires arbitration agreements to quash union

The following is from the United Farm Workers (UFW):

SUNNYSIDE, Wash. (Feb. 24, 2023) — Even while facing a civil rights and discrimination lawsuit, Ostrom Mushroom announced a change in ownership on Feb. 14. Workers at Ostrom’s facility in the Yakima Valley were called into a Valentine’s Day all-team meeting and told that, effective at midnight, Ostrom would be taken over by Greenwood Mushrooms, as part of a “Windmill Farms” label owned by the Canadian investment firm Instar Asset Management. All Ostrom employees would be terminated at that time.

Workers were then given a letter offering “new” employment under the new management — but at lower wages, in less preferable jobs, and all under an arbitration agreement for any labor disputes. Additionally, workers were required to sign new I-9 forms, in a transparent attempt to use documentation status to intimidate workers who had been involved in labor organizing. Ostrom Mushrooms will now be known as Greenwood Mushrooms Sunnyside, with mushrooms from the farm expected to be sold under the Windmill Farms or Greenwood label.

“The owners may be different, but it is the same farm, the same mushrooms, the same workers — and the same struggle for justice,” said Teresa Romero, President of the United Farm Workers.

TAKE A STAND! — Given Ostrom Mushrooms’ negative publicity for refusing to recognize their employees’ choice to join together in a union, and particularly with the new ownership, UFW wants to ensure that the company doesn’t hide its labels to avoid being held accountable by consumers. They may still be sold under their label “Ostrom Mushroom Farms,” but they may simply be marked “produced in Sunnyside, WA” in small print on a sticker.

You can help the next time you go grocery shopping:

1. Check out the labeling on the mushrooms your store carries.

2. If they say “Ostrom Mushroom Farms” or “produced in Sunnyside, WA,” snap a photo and send it to ufw@ufw.org along with the store name, address and the day you see it.

Last year, Ostrom workers chose to unionize with the UFW after becoming fed up with unsafe production standards, discriminatory firings, and wage cuts. Ostrom workers have maintained their ongoing organizing efforts while facing discriminatory retaliation by management and the company’s refusal to recognize or negotiate with the union.

In August 2022, the Washington State Attorney General sued the farm, describing violations of civil rights, gender discrimination and displacement of local workforce with H-2A workers who have fewer protections. Washington AG Bob Ferguson cited clear evidence of discriminatory violations, saying, “Their conduct is disturbing and unlawful.”

The sale of Ostrom during the discovery phase of a civil rights lawsuit to a foreign company which promptly fired and then rehired the workers under an oppressive arbitration agreement is just the latest calculated attempt to break the workers’ resolve to obtain a union contract.

Whether under the label “Ostrom” or “Greenwood” or whether the owners are American or Canadian, the mushroom workers of Sunnyside, Wash., will not be intimidated, will not be silenced, and will not be ignored. Workers at Ostrom voted for a union, and those same workers are now the ones at Greenwood Mushrooms. The workers’ organizing committee remains active and will continue the fight for their union to be recognized.

PREVIOUSLY at The Stand:

Solidarity rally with Ostrom workers on Jan. 13 (Jan. 12, 2023)
Ostrom workers demand fair wages, respect (Sept. 19, 2022)
Sign petition for Ostrom Mushroom workers (July 6, 2022)