Workers picket Nestle plant in Schaumburg, call for boycott of DiGiorno Pizza products

Approximately 200 self-described longtime Latino workers at the Nestle-owned Nation Pizza and Foods facility in Schaumburg picketed Friday morning for what they called a racially-motivated effort to trim that workforce through the use of a new eligibility requirement.

They said with Nestle’s purchase of Nation Food and Pizza just over a year ago, temporary workers — including those with many years on the job — have been asked to re-verify their work status with the E-Verify I-9 Form.

This system had its roots in the post-9/11 era when the federal government was using it to assure there were no terrorists working in sensitive government facilities, but was subsequently taken up by private firms to squelch unionizing efforts, they said.

Representatives of the local Casa DuPage Workers Center said they’ve also seen E-Verify used as a cost-cutting mechanism to replace older workers with younger ones willing to accept lower wages. As a result, E-Verify is seen as problematic for its particular use against Latino workers with seniority.

“Latino workers have made DiGiorno Pizza into what it is, the number one frozen pizza,” said Cristobal Cavazos, executive director of Casa DuPage Workers Center, in a statement. “But with these threatened firings of loyal workers with seniority, ‘It’s not delivery, it DiGiorno,’ needs to be forever redacted, ‘It’s not justice, it’s DiGiorno!’”

A Nestle spokesperson released a statement regarding the employment situation at the Schaumburg facility.

“As we finalize the integration process of the Schaumburg Factory into Nestle’s operations and bring the factory in line with how the rest of our network operates, we are evolving the staffing model to be comprised of more direct hires,” the statement reads. “We aim to fill several full-time positions immediately by converting as many of the current temporary workers as possible and through direct hiring. This transition is not a workforce reduction or site closure.”

Cavazos said his organization is reaching out to Latino consumers and “consumers of conscience” to boycott DiGiorno Pizza and other Nestle products.

“We will be reaching out to Latino grocery stores in the area and beyond, to discontinue the sale of DiGiorno Pizzas and products, and we ask to community to join us,” he said in a statement.