The Westside Health Authority and the South Austin Coalition (SAC) will conduct more protests of West Side employers that “receive [city-funded Tax Increment Financing] (TIF) support to provide jobs, and yet practice an employment model of blatant,” according to a joint statement.
The organizations are encouraging candidates running for city offices to state their positions on the issue. Last year, the two organizations staged protests at Ferrara Candy Company’s flagship Forest Park factory in opposition to the company’s practice of treating its full-time workers differently than its temporary workers.
The Westside Health Authority, which places temporary workers with employers throughout the city and suburbs, claimed at the time that there were disparities in the availability of work equipment provided. Workers also mounted other complaints: some were told by Ferrara supervisors to keep quiet about injuries received on the job or risk losing their temporary employment; were employed with the company for six months to a year without receiving a raise; were shorted on their pay; and were overlooked by the company in favor of Mexican immigrant workers.
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