Workers Stage Protest as Compost Pile Burns

As firefighters worked to contain a smoldering compost pile at PictSweet Mushroom Farms, dozens of pickers locked in a long-standing labor dispute protested Friday outside company headquarters. Meanwhile, county regulators said the company could face fines of $1,000 to $50,000 per day for creating a public nuisance.

Laborers said managers failed to alert them to the safety precautions they should take as the fire burned hundreds of feet from the buildings where they work.

And, since the blaze began over the weekend, they say they have been expected to work full days even as they breathed in irritating smoke.

Harry Stang, a Los Angeles attorney for PictSweet, said the allegations were propaganda brought by a minority of employees and fueled by union politics. He said the company received assurances from county public health officials and Cal/OSHA that working conditions were safe for all employees other than those with respiratory conditions.