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Wilson Workers: Dosie
Wilson Workers: Dosie
Dosie Bryant
I worked for Smithfield for nearly three years, and I want a union because I want respect. One time, a supervisor went into my pocket because they thought I was carrying cell phone. Where I come from, you don’t put your hands on nobody. And it’s the way they talk to you, the tone. Instead of “could you please” we get disrespect. Having a union contract will let them know we won’t be intimidated by them.
Also, the point system is not fair. They know if you’re about to be fired, but you don’t. They don’t let you know, so you can’t take the steps to save your job.
When we started talking about the union, someone called my house and threatened me. They told my husband it’s because your wife is a union activist. We had to file a police report because of that.
At work, they told us if we voted for a union, “you all will be standing at the unemployment office,” so people who wanted a union started feeling afraid for their jobs. They did everything to make sure we voted no. They had meetings with all of us to show us anti-union films, they passed out negative handbills. They put out carts of food showing us what our dues money could buy. They took our union flyers off the bulletin board and off the lunch room tables and threw them in the trash.
