More than a dozen senior Fresh Express workers protested Wednesday after they said they were forced off the job in Salinas, marking at least the second demonstration this summer.

On Tuesday, 15 loaders stopped working in an unofficial strike and were told to leave the facility's premises, said worker Matthew Bell. The loaders then protested outside the facility Wednesday and alleged that they were being retaliated against for the June 11 unsanctioned strike action.

Fresh Express employees are represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 5, which has offices in Salinas. Union representatives did not immediately respond for comment.

The loaders say they are protesting Fresh Express' compliance with their new contract, which was approved in June shortly after the first demonstration. They say they are not getting their mandated three weeks worth of vacation or requested days off by seniority.

The loaders also said they had asked for their days off Tuesday, saying they would work once they got the contract fixed. Instead, they allege, they were told to leave the premises and have not been allowed back since.

When they called their union Tuesday, they were told they had been de facto fired, they said. When they called back Wednesday, workers said, they were instead told they were suspended pending an investigation.

"We are (of) the standpoint that we are going to go back as a group, as loaders, not one at a time," said David Rangel, a loader who has worked for Fresh Express for 23 years. "We’re going to go back at the same time. All 15."

Herarclio Reyes said in the past year he had only been allowed to take nine of his 15 vacation days: three in December and six in June. He had hoped to use ten days to visit his family in Mexico in June but was denied a request for that time off as others who hadn't protested were approved, he said.

"¿Cómo puedo ir a Mexico en seis días, nada más?" he asked. ("How can I go to Mexico in only six days?")

The workers worried that they were going to lose their jobs in retaliation for their participation in the unsanctioned strike action in June.

Rangel has two kids in college and worried about how he was going to cover their tuition, he said. Benjamin Perez, who has 25 years with Fresh Express, said he worried about losing his only source of income.

Leonardo Lucio, who has been with the company for more than a decade, worried about his finances if he were to lose his job. His mother-in-law has cancer, he said, and he is responsible for the sole income in his house, as his wife is taking care of her mother.

Still, workers say, they are ready to return to work as soon as the company abides by the contract they signed in June.

"Fresh Express is abiding by all of the terms and conditions of the collective bargaining agreement and is working closely with union representatives," said spokesperson Barbara Hines. "Fresh Express respects and values all of our employees."

Thursday, workers said they had struggled to speak with their union representatives in person.

In June, hundreds of employees at the Salinas facility had previously walked out in protest amidst ongoing labor negotiations. Pete Maturino, agricultural director for UFCW Local 5, had said the walkout wasn't authorized by the union while a no-strike clause had been in effect.

More:Fresh Express announces contract renewal for Salinas employees

Still, Fresh Express and a UFCW organizer announced an agreement the next day but declined to discuss specifics.

“We value our entire Fresh Express workforce and are very pleased to have reached agreement on a new contract in Salinas,” Fresh Express President John P. Olivo had said in a June statement. “At Fresh Express, we believe it is of the utmost importance to treat all of our employees with fairness, honesty and respect at all times.”

At the time of the June walkout, Rangel told The Californian he walked out because of unfair and unsafe conditions at work. As a member of the community, he said he felt he has a responsibility to talk about what's going on.

“If they crucify me for this, it doesn’t matter,” Rangel said.

In 2017, Taylor Farms workers also walked off the job in an unsanctioned daylong strike for pay raises, as reported by The Salinas Californian.

"We want to work," said Jesus Hernandez, who was protesting outside Fresh Express Wednesday.

"Yes," added Rangel. "We want to work. We just want the contract fixed."

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