Workers at two commercial laundries owned by Angelica Textile Services held one-day strikes in May to protest the company’s foot dragging in contract negotiations with the UNITE HERE union. Workers walked out at the company’s Batavia, New York, plant May 31 and its Wichita Falls, Texas, facility May 25. At the Texas plant the company responded by locking the workers out for a day following the walkout.

Angelica is the largest commercial laundry servicing the U.S. health-care industry. UNITE HERE is waging a campaign for improved conditions and to extend unionization to all of the company’s 35 facilities nationwide. Currently, 24 of the plants are unionized. Workers at seven plants in California, New York, and Texas were set to strike May 5, but did not walk out after union negotiators reported an improvement in the talks. The photo above is from a May 5 rally at the company’s Antioch, California, laundry.  
 
 
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