TUSTIN : Drywallers Continue Protest at Work Site
With a contingent of police officers blocking the entrance, about 150 striking drywall workers protested at a construction site for the third consecutive day Thursday.
The protests at the corner of Heritage Way and Bryan Avenue started with a peaceful demonstration Tuesday, but police said that several protesters threw stones at construction workers Wednesday morning, shattering a truck’s windshield and two windows of a house. The drywall workers discontinued the protest Wednesday afternoon when police arrived.
The protesters returned about 10 a.m. Thursday and were met by more than 30 police officers who lined the street. Thursday’s protest was also relatively peaceful, although the drywall hangers shouted pleas to workers inside to leave their jobs and join the strike.
Thursday’s protest ended without incident about four hours later. There were no arrests or reports of violence.
Drywall workers across Southern California walked off their job nearly two months ago, demanding benefits, higher wages and a union. Despite frequent arrests and the threat of deportation of some workers found to be in the country illegally, the drywall hangers have vowed to continue demonstrating.
“We’ll be back,” striking worker Filipe Espinoza, 42, said after Thursday’s protest. “We’ll do what it takes to get a union.”
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