In July, the members of Local 115, who work at the Refresco bottling plant, won a fellow worker his job back after he was unjustly fired.

Ky-Mani Kitt, a member of Local 115, suffers from a chronic medical condition, which led to an incident for which the company fired him. The company also failed to conduct a proper investigation before terminating him. Local 115 members organized a petition to pressure the company into rehiring Kitt. After a majority of members signed the petition in three days, the company met with local leaders and subsequently agreed to give Kitt his job back.

“Thanks to the [local’s] intervention, Kitt was reinstated because the company had no justification for terminating him without following the progressive disciplinary process,” said Local 115 President Ivan Rios. “A strong union protects its members. Together, we are stronger.”