Frito-Lay workers win big -- and a special guest

Episode 32 with Bernie Sanders

Jul 28, 2021

Last Saturday, Frito-Lay workers ended a three-week strike by ratifying a contract for a safer workplace. The exploitation that they have faced on the job — ranging from seven-day, twelve-hour work weeks to forced overtime, workplace injuries, and even death — led to a powerful campaign that has now won a weekly day off and an end to “suicide shifts.” (In her article on the Frito-Lay strike, Alex Press describes these shifts as “shifts in which [the workers] come in for eight hours, are forced to work four more hours, and then are called in four hours early, leaving them only eight hours off between shifts.”)

More Perfect Union @MorePerfectUS

Frito-Lay workers say they're required to take “suicide shifts” — two 12-hour shifts in a row, with just 8 hours of rest in between. They told us they can't get decent sleep & they miss their kids. “You leave at 7PM and they want you back in here at 3 o’clock in the morning.”

In other words, Frito-Lay has pushed its workers to their mental and physical limits in order to benefit from as much of their labor as possible, placing them directly in harm’s way. In return, it’s left them without time off or good wages, collecting profits for management. The story is horrifying, and horrifyingly familiar. Through the power of union organization and their massive strike, Frito-Lay workers are taking back what’s theirs — more time off, more pay, and better working conditions. As long as they control the capital and benefit from workers’ exploitation, Frito-Lay execs won’t automatically give workers their fair share or recognize their rights on the job — but the workers have shown exactly how it’s possible to organize and demand these things, and to make the demand impossible to reject.

When it comes to labor and union power, we know exactly the person to talk to: Senator Bernie Sanders. We’re not bringing up Balenciaga or houseboats — we’re sticking to the topics that matter to working people, exactly the people that Bernie has fought for his entire life. What’s next with the PRO Act? How has Senator Sanders stepped into the role of budget chair, and how does he understand his relationship with the Biden administration? We’ll be discussing all of this and more on this week’s episode of Krystal Kyle & Friends. Make sure to subscribe for video access this Friday — we have a feeling you won’t want to miss this.