‘ ¡Si se puede!’ has been used as a rallying cry for everything from pro-immigration marches to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. Its original usage, however, was as the motto for the United Farm Workers of America labor union. In this spirit, union organizer Arturo Sepulveda led a group of dairy workers in a march last Friday, March 5, to demand fair working conditions from their employers at the Ruby Ridge dairy in Pasco, Wash., who have fired a number of workers in the past for attempting to unionize.

The Ruby Ridge employees were joined outside the dairy in Pasco by a dozen Whitman students who came to march with the workers, learn more about their struggles and support their demands for justice and respect.

“We’re here because everyone should have basic human rights,” said sophomore Maggie Allen, who was among the group of Whitman students marching with the farm workers.

Over the course of the rally, many Ruby Ridge employees shared stories of their experiences at the dairy.

“We’ve never had any benefits,” said Jesus Perez, who has worked at the dairy for about two years.

Perez and several former employees explained that workers at Ruby Ridge typically work between eight and 12 hours per day, six days a week. The work, mostly involving milking cows, is fast-paced and continuous. Breaks for food, water or going to the bathroom are not allowed.

“We worked . . . 10 hours, 12 hours, without breaks, without lunch,” said Margarito Martinez, who worked for Ruby Ridge for five years.

When several workers attempted to combat these conditions by starting a union, their effort was met with resistance from the dairy’s owners, Dick and Ruby Bengen.

“They fired me for supporting the union,” said Alberto Montoya, a former Ruby Ridge employee. Montoya worked at the dairy for a year and nine months before losing his job. He is one of 14 employees who have been fired for attempting to unionize.

“[The new workers] are friends and family of the supervisors,” said Sepulveda. He said that the Bengens deliberately hired new workers who would not be sympathetic to a union.

Perez, who was one of the few workers at the march who has not been fired, said that among 50 dairy employees, only 10 or 15 currently support unionization.

“They’re afraid more than anything else,” he said.

Although almost all other union supporters have been fired, Perez said he was not afraid to attend the march.

“I’m just here standing up for my rights,” he said. “The only thing they can do is fire me.”

Other Ruby Ridge employees are not as fearless. One of Perez’s co-workers stopped by the march to talk to other workers, but left after a few minutes because he was afraid to be seen there.

In spite of the setbacks they have encountered, Sepulveda and the United Farm Workers of America are continuing their efforts to unionize the dairy.

“It’s the union’s hope to negotiate a contract,” said Sepulveda. “The company has a policy, but it favors the company. When you have a contract, it’s something different that supports the workers.”

The United Farm Workers of America is also taking the dairy owners to court over alleged violations of both state and federal labor laws. Sepulveda said that although Ruby Ridge pays its workers $10 per hour, which is above minimum wage, employees are required to purchase all of their own equipment, including syringes for the cows and protective gloves. According to him, this violates labor laws. The court case argues 28 demands for Ruby Ridge workers.

“The court case is to ask for justice for the workers,” said Sepulveda.

Many community members showed up to support the workers, including pastors from several Tri-Cities churches and the head of the Benton County Democrats. Sepulveda is hoping that community members will put pressure on the Seattle-based dairy cooperative Darigold, Inc., which buys all of the milk produced at Ruby Ridge. He thanked everyone for their support of the workers, and urged them to call and write to  Darigold.

Whitman students in the Global Food System class are hoping to help spread this message on campus and to the greater Walla Walla community.

“We want to promote awareness and get as many students involved in activism as possible,” said sophomore Katie Radosevic, who attended the march.

Radosevic and six other students in the class have chosen to focus on the Ruby Ridge workers for a group project. The students hope to work with Walla Walla Community College and Walla Walla University to organize a boycott of Darigold products.

Allen believes that the workers’ struggle highlights the importance of informed consumers.

“It’s important when consumers see things like Darigold that they know what’s behind it,” she said.

For Sepulveda, the important thing is to keep fighting.

“They think that because we’re Latinos, we’re going to stay quiet,” he said. Instead, he will keep working “for dignity, and for respect.”