Howdy. From 4:34 to 5:20, I've included a clip from striker Edubiges Martinez. The translation (which I suspect is pretty attenuated; regrettably my Spanish also sucks) follows at the end of the script below. If you leave out Edubiges, the story runs around 4:20, including my que out (of which I include three versions; use whichever works best for you w/Free Speech).

ANNOUNCER LEAD-IN: Azteca Tortilla workers have been on strike in suburban Chicago since September 30, in an effort to force management to recognize their union, the United Electrical Workers, and to bargain in good faith. Chris Geovanis of WINS/Chicago Indymedia reports.

MARIA MONTEZ CLIP

CAG 50 secs: Maria Montes has worked as a packer for Azteca Tortillas in south suburban Chicago for seventeen years. She makes nine dollars an hour, the average wage for most workers, many of whom have worked for the company for decades in conditions workers charge are often difficult and dangerous. For years, Azteca employees had sought to pressure the company union -- controlled by the Duff family, close allies of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and a local political force which for years has been linked to the mob -- to push for better benefits for the workers. This April, workers voted three to one to be represented instead by U.E. - the United Electrical Workers. Five weeks ago, Maria and more than sixty other mostly Latino employees - two thirds of Azteca's workforce -- struck the company for failing to bargain in good faith. Strikers include several families in which both husband and wife are employed by Azteca. Leah Fried is a U.E. organizer who works closely with Azteca employees.

LEAH FRIED CLIP

CAG 40 secs: Velazquez wields considerable clout in local political circles, and sits on a number of prominent corporate boards, including LaSalle Bank. His offer to workers? A massive increase in health care costs, no raise in the first year, and a nickel an hour raise - roughly a hundred dollars per year -- for the second year. Last month, U.E. launched a national boycott of Azteca tortillas, which rakes in more than thirty million dollars a year in sales. Thousands of people have written to the company pledging support for the boycott, and local groups that include Jobs With Justice are stepping up pressure on big retail outlets that sell Azteca products. Leah Fried.

LEAH FRIED CLIP

CAG 20 secs: Azteca workers have received strong support from other labor unions, including truckers with UPS, who have refused to make deliveries to the plant. One local - Teamsters local 743, a union that has also been plagued for years with charges of mob influence - has not honored their picket line. Maria Montes has a message for those drivers and their leadership.

THREE OUT QUES:
* For the Workers Independent News Service, I'm Chris Geovanis in Chicago.
* This is Chris Geovanis of Chicago Indymedia for Free Speech Radio News.
* This is Chris Geovanis of the Workers Independent News Service for Free Speech Radio News.

FROM AROUND 4:28 THROUGH END OF CLIP: quote from Edubiges Martinez.

TRANSLATION: (This is via Leah, and may be pretty attenuated, as was the headline translation. My Spanish also sucks...) We hope that everyone out there will support us. This has been a really hard strike. We've been out for five weeks. Art Velazquez is a difficult man to negotiate with, and so we ask them not to buy Azteca tortillas, we're asking the truck drivers not to come and pick up product, and we're asking people out there to come out and support us in our struggle.