Amy’s Kitchen Accused of Mistreating Injured Workers

belasquez
belasquez

Abelena Belasquez, left, grabs frozen burritos on the assembly line at the Amy's Kitchen factory in Santa Rosa, Calif., Aug. 25, 2004.The thriving frozen-food company in California _ is being aggressively courted by Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski, who for a year has been trying to persuade organic and natural food businesses in the neighboring state of California to move north. Kulongoski has pointed out to Amy's Kitchen that in Oregon, it could save nearly $4 million on workers compensation costs, energy and taxes. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Sonoma County based Amy’s Kitchen is responding to reports of mistreatment of current and former workers. A story from NBC Bay Area highlighted four current employees and one former, all women, who say they were pressured to keep working after being injured on the job. The workers say increasing speeds on the production lines is the cause of their injuries, and that the working conditions leave them vulnerable to repetitive stress injuries. The owners of Amy’s Kitchen, Andy and Rachel Berliner, released a statement in response saying they are “deeply saddened” to hear about these experiences. They also say they are committed to listening to their employees and “turning their feedback into action.”