"Amid simmering labor dispute, El Milagro workers file formal complaint alleging retaliation", 30 September 2021

El Milagro employees filed a formal labor complaint Thursday against the popular tortilla brand and later urged company leaders to address their claims of workplace sexual harassment and oppressive working conditions during a protest alongside elected officials in Little Village.

Organizers with Arise Chicago, a nonprofit workers rights group supporting the El Milagro employees, announced during the protest that an unfair labor practices charge has been filed with the National Labor Relations Board amid the simmering dispute...

The move comes after a group of El Milagro workers walked off the job last Thursday and held their first protest in front of the company’s tortilleria at 3048 W. 26thSt., where they called for fair wages and brought to light the allegations of harsh and unsafe working conditions and pervasive sexual harassment.

Some workers complained they were later locked out of one of the company’s tortilla production facilities and only let back inside to retrieve their belongings after they called Chicago police...

... While the workers haven’t unionized, organizers claimed the company hired “a union buster and a psychologist to intimidate the workers” and distributed letters this week to instill fear in them.

As a result, the labor charge was filed...

El Milagro didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment...