In June 2024, the General Central of Workers of Puerto Rico (CGT) went on strike in protest of the unjust practices of the Peruvian dairy giant, Grupo Gloria, which manages the dairy processing company, Suiza Dairy, in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
On June 28, Suiza Dairy announced what it called a “temporary partial closure” and laid off 483 workers.
For months, the Suiza Dairy workers have been demanding that Suiza Dairy increase its contribution to the workers' health plan, as the Puerto Rican health care system is in the hands of private health care providers, pharmaceutical companies, and private health insurance companies. The workers have also demanded that the company respect the agreement of sales commissions and salaries and the right of workers to exercise their democratic and constitutional right to strike, areas that the company has reportedly violated outright.
Negotiations between the dairy company's management and CGT representatives were eventually scheduled for July 17, 2024. Yet, instead of following through with a meeting to negotiate better living and working conditions for the workers, management, with the support of the government of Puerto Rico, sent riot police to an assembly of workers on the picket line outside the dairy processing plant. Riot police forcefully opened the gates of the company facilities and detained 17 labour activists on the picket line, including 15 workers from CGT and two members of the Teachers Federation of Puerto Rico (FMPR), partner of CoDev and the BCTF since 2017.
After several hours of detention, 16 workers were released with a hearing date set for July 24th. The last one to remain in custody was the former Vice-President of the FMPR, Edwin Morales, who had participated in an FMPR delegation to British Columbia to exchange with the BCTF in March 2023. Morales was held for several more hours before finally being released, largely due to the collective action and pressure exerted by civil society organizations gathered outside the San Juan Judicial Center demanding his release.
According to Mercedez Martinez, the president of FMPR, the repression against the Suiza Dairy workers "is what the government and business class in Puerto Rico want to do to other workers in the country." Martinez also released a public statement and a powerful call for solidarity with the workers and allied labour and community members, emphasizing the situation's urgency.
Victory for the Workers!
Following waves of repression, retaliation, and resistance, workers achieved a mediation meeting on July 23rd between Suiza Dairy and CGT. After an agreement was reached, the workers ended the strike. Suiza Dairy has stated that it will gradually reopen the closed facility and that all employees will be rehired within 7 months. During the interim period, salaries will be issued as normal. Furthermore, the workers, who had called for a monthly allowance of $125 USD to pay for their health insurance, pressed the company to agree to a $50 monthly allowance. Workers were also able to negotiate an improvement in benefits in accordance with their seniority.
CoDevelopment Canada stands in solidarity with the workers in Puerto Rico – dairy workers, teachers, and all labour - and echoes FMPR's rejection of the attacks against the working class and the violation of their legitimate right to strike for better working and living conditions.
"Your children are our students, and any attack against the working class is an attack against our students," declared Vice-President of the FMPR, Miguel Rivera González, to the workers of the Suiza Dairy company in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Tuesday, July 16, 2024.
Cross-sector labour solidarity and community support paved the way for Puerto Rican labour to overcome this latest attack on workers’ rights. Through international solidarity, we can share with one another lessons and strength across the Americas.