Nabisco Workers Fear for Their Jobs as Oxnard Plant Changes Owners : Business: Nestle will buy the firm’s local factory and Ortega foods division. With 100 positions already lost, the remaining 450 may be in danger.

Workers who already faced the loss of 100 jobs at an Oxnard food processing plant learned Monday that much of the operation had been sold, prompting fears that the remaining 450 jobs could also be in danger.

Officials at Nabisco Foods told workers that the company had agreed to sell its local factory and its line of Ortega Mexican foods to a division of Nestle USA Inc. The terms of the sale were not disclosed.

The 3rd Street facility makes salsa and chili pepper products for Ortega, but Nestle officials said Monday that the future of those product lines in Oxnard is uncertain.

Salsa production “probably will be moved and integrated into a Nestle manufacturing facility,” said Nestle spokeswoman Julie Thomas-Lowe. She said chili and jalapeno pepper processing operations could continue through the 1996 packing season, but even that is not certain.

News of the sale was preceded by Nabisco’s confirmation Monday that it would move production of its A-1 Steak Sauce and Grey Poupon mustard from Oxnard to a plant in Cambridge, Md. Last month, Nabisco announced plans to shift those operations to the East Coast, but had not settled on a new site.

Some workers and Teamsters union representatives contend that this move, which would occur by the middle of next year and result in the loss of 100 local jobs, is being made in retaliation for a lawsuit filed in March by current and former female employees who alleged they were denied adequate restroom privileges.

The sex-discrimination lawsuit accuses Nabisco of restricting bathroom visits so severely that some women resorted to wearing diapers on the job.

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And workers wonder whether the sale of the Nabisco plant and the Ortega product line is somehow related to the long-running labor dispute.

“There are a lot of people who are worried about their jobs,” said Jennie Vargas, a 27-year employee at the plant and one of three plaintiffs named in the lawsuit.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty,” she said. “It just seems wrong, after we sued, that they are shutting down parts of the plant.”

Nabisco officials said Monday that neither the move to Maryland nor the sale of the Oxnard plant and its Ortega division had anything to do with the labor dispute.

Whatever the rationale, Oxnard officials said they view the change in ownership as a positive step.

“I had visions of losing a lot more,” Mayor Manuel Lopez said. “If they come in and continue a similar operation, I think it will be fine. What we need is to keep those jobs. We can’t afford to lose them.”

Steve Kinney, who heads Oxnard’s nonprofit Economic Development Corp., said it makes little business sense for Nestle to purchase the 3rd Street factory, then move the product lines elsewhere.

“I just think that after they invested to buy the plant, they would give some attention to bringing it to peak operating ability,” Kinney said. “I take it as a potentially positive development.”

The sale of the Ortega product line is still subject to approval by the Federal Trade Commission, said Nestle’s Thomas-Lowe. Nestle Food Co.’s Culinary Division owns the Contadina brand of tomato products and sauces, Nestle Toll House Morsels, Carnation evaporated milk and Libby’s pumpkin products and canned meats.

Nestle plans to draft a plan to take over the processing of Ortega products at the Oxnard plant and at another Ortega facility in Wisconsin.

Whatever food manufacturing does take place in Oxnard, Thomas-Lowe said it will be done by Nabisco employees under contract with Nestle. In addition, production of Nabisco’s Regina brand vinegar will continue, though the company said it is also considering relocating that operation.

“It’s too early to tell. I don’t know what the future is going to bring,” she said. “I think our focus is on transition.”

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At the same time, Teamsters officials said they will continue their campaign to keep job losses at the 3rd Street factory to a minimum.

“This could be dismal news for our membership,” said Scott Dennison, chief executive of Teamsters Local 186. “You could potentially have a building out there with no workers. At this point, my concerns are what’s going to be done for those people who stand to lose their jobs.”