Portland Alliance article about A.J. Bos and Threemile Canyon Farm

ThePortlandAlliance.org/2005/sept/troublefarm.htm

Trouble down on the “farm”

By Shirley Wentworth

Sweating beneath a 100-degree eastern Oregon sun, a group of dairy workers took to the Hermiston streets to call attention to what they call poor working conditions at Threemile Canyon Farms.

Threemile Canyon, a 55,000 cow factory farm, a few miles from the Columbia River near Boardman, about 30 miles from Hermiston, is reportedly the largest dairy in the world.

The dairy seems to have flown under the radar into sparsely-populated Morrow County, where the farm sits on a bone-dry monotonous stretch of landscape, invisible to Interstate-84 travelers.

Initially, according to early newspaper reports, the farm came into Morrow County taking about a 5,000- to 10,000 herd with capacity to grow to 20,000 cows. The herd has now grown to about 55,000 and is permitted to allow 90,000-plus cows.  more…

The United Farm Workers document their battles with Threemile Canyon Farms and A.J. Bos.

UFW.org Key Campaign: Threemile
February 2003: Sixty-nine workers initiate legal action against Threemile Canyon Farms for failure to pay minimum wage, illegal deductions from their paychecks, and retaliation for organizing activities (First letter advising dairy of claims for wages).

September 16, 2003: Twenty-two workers file suit against Threemile Canyon Farms for failing to pay minimum wage, illegal deductions from their paychecks and retaliation. (Alvaro Caldera Flores et. al vs. Columbia River Dairy LLC No. 030910188 Multnomah County Circuit Court, filed in Portland, Oregon).

February 24, 2004: Dairy workers complain they are told to milk cows with infected udders, use front loader tractors to both distribute feed to the cows and use the same loaders to dispose of cow carcasses. (Oregonian, “Dairy workers cite poor conditions,” Feb. 24, 2004.)

March 2004: Oregon Department of Environmental Quality asks Threemile to voluntarily cease spreading manure made from dead cows on food crops grown on the farm. (Oregonian, “Mad Cow scare delay disposal of dead cattle,” March 14, 2004.)

April 18, 2005: Threemile files report with the Environmental Protection Agency documenting it is releasing 5.6 million pounds of ammonia into the atmosphere each year. According to an EPA database, Threemile the third largest polluter of ammonia in the United States. (April 18, 2005 EPA filing CR-ERNS 754198)

July 13, 2005: The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) agrees to conduct a review of the risk Threemile workers face being exposed to gasses emitted by the farm. (Tri City Herald, “Agency to Probe allegations about dairy,” July 13, 2005.)

July 29, 2005: A front page article in the Oregonian newspaper identifies Threemile Canyon Farms as one of two likely sources of contamination that is causing acid rain in the Columbia Gorge. (Oregonian, “Tracking acid in gorge,” July 29 2005.)

Nov. 10, 2005: Three women workers file a second lawsuit against the farm over sexual discrimination. As part of that action, attorneys file sworn affidavits from 12 current Threemile Canyon Farms employees that reveal dairy co-owner A.J. Bos said, “I don’t want women at the farm-they are only good for the bed.” (Estrada v. Columbia River Dairy Multnomah County Circuit Court Case No. 0511-11801 filed in Portland, Oregon).
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