Progress Told in 2-Month Egg City Strike

Negotiators trying to settle the 2-month-old strike at the Egg City chicken ranch in Ventura County said Friday that they have reached a preliminary agreement on a pay cut and cleared away most of the other major obstacles in their talks.

But representatives of the United Farm Workers, which represents the 240 workers who walked out on June 24, said several key points remain unresolved. Chief among them is the issue of how many of the workers will be allowed to return.

UFW negotiators said they have reached agreement with management on wage cuts of roughly 15%, or about $1 a hour, along with new work rules and a restoration of some health and pension benefits.

Egg City, the world’s largest chicken ranch, cut workers’ wages by $2 an hour in June, arguing that the reduction was essential for the ranch to survive. The move came one month after the ranch filed for protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of the U. S. Bankruptcy Code.

Contract bargaining is scheduled to resume between Egg City and the UFW next Friday.

Despite the progress in the contract talks, Egg City on Friday sued the union in U. S. District Court in Los Angeles for $345,000 in damages. The ranch, which is near Moorpark, accused the UFW of threatening to take unspecified economic actions against various restaurants, including the McDonald’s chain, unless they stopped buying the ranch’s eggs.

McDonald’s quit buying Egg City’s products in July but company officials insisted the decision wasn’t related to the strike.