Paty Cordova, a Portillo’s employee for 21 years, speaks at a rally Thursday, Aug. 10 near the fast-food chain’s Addison food-production facility. Cordova said workers are tired of waiting for the company to negotiate their first union contract. (Arise Chicago photo)

Food production workers from Portillo’s Addison facility are demanding that the fast-food chain negotiate the workers’ first union contract.

Workers, joined by state elected officials, delivered a demand letter to the company on Thursday, Aug. 10.

Advocates for the workers said that after the workers won union representation, the company has filed multiple appeals to stall certification of the union despite having told the workers they would honor their vote.

State Reps. Diane Blair Sherlock, D-Villa Park, Marcus Evans, D-Chicago, and Edgar Gonzalez, D-Chicago, state Sen. Robert Peters, D-Chicago, and a representative from the office of state Rep. Norma Hernandez, D-Melrose Park, all spoke at a rally Thursday in support of the workers’ right to unionize and right to negotiate their first contract without delay.

Portillo’s worker Paty Cordova, who has worked 21 years for the company, said the workers are tired of waiting.

“We won our union and it’s time for a contract now,” Cordova said. “Having a union is the only way we can get Portillo’s to respect us. We are ready to negotiate now. We aren’t alone. We are here today with the community and our supporters to keep going until we win.”

The Rev. C.J. Hawkings, executive director of Arise Chicago, a workers rights group, said that every major faith tradition teaches the difference between right and wrong.

“We all grew up in households that taught us right from wrong,” Hawkings said. “What Portillo’s is doing is wrong, and these workers are righteous. We say to Portillo’s, if you value your customers, value your workers.”

Gonzalez said he heard from two workers who live in his district, and fully supports all the Portillo’s workers.

“Portillo’s has been spending thousands of dollars on attorneys fighting its own workers, when instead they could be putting that money into their workers,” Gonzalez said.

Blair Sherlock, who represents the district where the Addison food production plant is located, reminded the workers and the company that Illinois is a union state.

“We passed an amendment in Illinois to enshrine the right to organize,” Blair Sherlock said. “We have your back. We will send a message to Portillo’s that what they are doing is not OK.”

Evans, who chairs the state House Labor & Commerce Committee, said he traveled from his district on the city’s South Side to the Portillo’s Addison facility because the issue was important to him.

“I’m with you. My community is with you,” Evans said. “Language doesn’t matter, race doesn’t matter. We’re all working-class people. And we’re united. And when we fight, we win.”

Peters said he was in solidarity with the workers.

“You want a dignified workplace, and Portillo’s needs to respect that,” Peters said. “Portillo’s is expanding with new restaurants in other states. So, clearly, they have the money. They need to spend that money investing in you, their workers.”

Bobby Hernandez, a representative from the office of state Rep. Norma Hernandez, said, “We are here to give our support to the Portillo’s workers. It is an honor to be here supporting their struggle. Keep going in your fight.”

Brenda Bedolla from the Ironworkers Union, which represents the Portillo’s workers, joined workers, Arise Chicago, and the elected officials in walking into the factory and asking to speak with management. When no one from the company would receive the delegation, the workers and Blair Sherlock left their demand letter at the front desk.

On April 13, Portillo’s food production warehouse workers in Addison overwhelmingly voted for representation by Iron Workers Local 853.

On July 19, the National Labor Relations Board found no merit in Portillo’s election objections.

Just under the Aug. 2 deadline, Portillo’s management filed an appeal to the July 19 ruling further delaying the NLRB’s certification of the election results.

Portillo’s workers first approached Arise Chicago in 2021 reporting low wages, low staffing levels, double and triple workloads without wage increases, and unsafe conditions.

Arise supported the workers in a week-long work stoppage, which resulted in winning wage increases, according to the workers’ rights group.