On June 8 and July 6, Local 853 brought its barbeque to Watsonville and Santa Cruz literally to serve the members! The Local held BBQs at Watsonville Hospital, where about 24 members came out; the HA Rider bottling plant, where they fed 50 members, and at Driscoll’s (Fruit & Vegetable Growers, Packers & Shippers), which had the largest turnout, with about 100 members.
The three groups of workers had been in Local 912, which merged with Local 853 in 2021.
“We wanted to acclimate our members to Local 853,” said Business Rep Steven Lua. “When we merged last year, with the pandemic still raging, we really didn’t get a chance to do membership appreciation for the companies in Santa Cruz and Watsonville.” Lua says his goal was to introduce the members to Local 853 and to let them know what the local is about. “This Local puts members first. We wanted to show the members our appreciation for their first year in Local 853.”
Lua also wanted to thank the Business Reps who attended the events and fired up the barbecue. This includes Steve Beck, Ray Torres, Ralph Campos, Santos Lerma, Mike Henneberry, Cesar Martinez, and Trustee Reggie Knighten.
