The workers and about 20 supporters marched through blowing snow to the office of Lamell Lumber and tried to speak to the company’s owner, Ronald Lamell Jr. “We want the boss to show his face!” workers yelled outside the office.
Office staff locked the door and Lamell — who was visible through a window sitting inside — refused to meet with the workers. Workers and their supporters, meantime, banged drums, shouted slogans and expressed dismay at how they say they have been treated by the company.
“We’re here to raise our voices so that he can see that we do have rights,” said Nerio Jimenez, who led the protest with the support of the Burlington-based advocacy group Migrant Justice.
Jimenez is from Mexico and has worked at Lamell for about three years, he said through an interpreter. He mostly worked as a stacker, loading and unloading the lumber milled on the site, much of which is used for home construction.
The family-owned sawmill produces about 5 million board feet of lumber per year, according to industry profiles of the company.
Jimenez said he was one of 10 migrant workers the company hired through Rochester, N.Y. -based contractor Agri-Placement Services, which specializes in hiring workers for dairies.
Jimenez said he and other workers initially made $13 per hour, and after about a year-long training period their pay was increased to $16 per hour. The owner promised higher wages at a future date, but workers haven’t had a wage increase in two years, Jimenez said. The workers tried to meet with Lamell to discuss wages and other issues several times, but he refused, Jimenez said.
On Sunday, workers told a supervisor they would not report to work Monday unless Lamell agreed to discuss their concerns. He declined again, and workers didn’t show up to work Monday morning.
The workers live for free in two company-owned single family homes adjacent to the lumberyard. Monday morning, Lamell went to the homes,
When they declined, he told them they were fired and had to leave the house by Friday. A few days later, Jimenez said, the workers asked for their jobs back, but Lamell offered to rehire them at a lower salary of $14.50.
“That’s humiliating,” he said.
Salary wasn’t the only issue the workers raised. The company officials restrict workers from having guests in the homes, don’t respect their privacy, and won’t allow workers to park their cars in the garages, Jimenez said.
A few minutes into the protest, three Essex police officers arrived and began speaking with Migrant Justice officials, who translated for workers.
“It’s not fair for people to lose their jobs simply for speaking up and demanding what’s right,” Jimenez said.
Officer Damir Karadza told the workers they had the right to protest, but not on the lumberyard itself, which is private property. The owner has the right to keep out trespassers, he said.
Lamell declined an interview request from Seven Days.
It’s the second time in recent months that a Vermont company in the building trades has faced publicity over treatment of migrant workers. Colchester contractor The Vermont Construction Company came under fire in December for housing migrant workers in crowded, unfinished industrial spaces.
The construction company was fined by the state Division of Fire Safety for operating unsafe dormitory-style housing in commercial buildings at Fort Ethan Allen. The company signed an agreement last month with a Minnesota nonprofit to set standards for its business practices and worker housing.