OXNARD : Union Asks State to Probe Nabisco Move

State officials are being asked to investigate allegations that Nabisco Foods sold off its Oxnard plant and is shifting key operations to the East Coast in retaliation for the filing of sex discrimination complaints against the company.

A spokesman for Teamsters Local 186 said an employee with the company filed the retaliation charges on behalf of other workers Thursday with the state Department of Fair Employment and Housing.

“Nabisco has threatened the workers and the community with the loss of hundreds of jobs,” said Craig Merrilees, a Teamsters spokesman in Washington. “The complaint essentially alleges that Nabisco has engaged in retaliation against employees who stood up for their dignity and their civil rights.”

Last year, more than 30 mostly seasonal employees at Nabisco’s Oxnard plant filed sex discrimination complaints against the company. In those complaints, the workers alleged that the company restricted the restroom privileges of its female employees, but allowed men to go to the bathroom whenever they needed to.

Nabisco officials deny those charges.

In September, Nabisco announced that it was selling its 3rd Street plant and its line of Ortega Mexican foods to a division of Nestle USA Inc., and that it would shift production of its A-1 Steak Sauce and Grey Poupon mustard from Oxnard to a plant in Cambridge, Md.

The production shift will result in the loss of about 100 jobs locally. And Nestle officials have said they are uncertain what kind of production, if any, will occur at the Oxnard facility, prompting fears that the remaining 450 jobs could also be lost.

Workers and their representatives contend that Nabisco’s move was prompted by the complaints, but company officials say those claims are groundless.

The retaliation complaints filed Thursday mirror charges filed two months ago by other workers with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In fact, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Fair Employment said it is likely that the state will not investigate the complaints if a federal investigation is already under way.