Free speech denied?

Wayne Barron does not realize just how right he is about the censorship.

I work at the Winfield location of Ok Tree Fruit Co-op. The next day after Mr. Bryde was fired from his job in Kelowna, all employees were called into a meeting where we were all told about it and warned that if we speak out against the company we need to make sure we speak only the “TRUTH” as we will be disciplined.

Workers then questioned this and we were warned that what the company deems the truth is just that, and any variation from that will result in disciplinary action being taken. I thought this was Canada where we have rights.

This company is not only walking all over its workers rights, they are wasting the growers money hiring more managers and office workers than were needed to run the plant with the previous management.

We had a plant foreman and a plant supervisor and a shipper now we have a plant supervisor, an assistant supervisor, 2 production supervisors a receiving supervisor and a shipping supervisor as well as 3 other office workers that I have no ideas what their titles are.

This is a company that can't afford to pay the growers more than 12 cents per pound for apples and freezes the wages of its employees. They have contracted out the truck driving saying it will save money for the growers. Are these professional truck drivers being paid any less than our drivers were being paid?

I seriously doubt it, as the companies need their share as well as the drivers and dispatchers do.

Are we the only ones that can see where this is taking us? They are trying to sell off most of their properties saying that it will save the growers money. They plan to close two of the remaining packing houses by 2014, merging everyone and all the fruit into the remaining two locations.

Don’t worry about a little fruit being brought in from the USA and “accidentally” being re-labelled as “Canadian”.

This management is going to financially ruin the Okanagan Tree Fruit Co-op and take out all of the farmers in the process.

How many lives in B.C. are going to be affected in the end?

Mac Sanders