A bittersweet report from a New Orleans sugar refinery: working conditions and labor-management relations deteriorate together.

At the invitation of the president of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local #1101, which represents workers at the Domino sugar refinery in Arabi, Louisiana, we met with several union members in the fall of 1998. Our purpose was to investigate workers perceptions of health and safety conditions in the plant and offer assistance in the amelioration of problems. We conducted in-person interviews, each lasting approximately 30 minutes, with the local union president and twelve members selected by the president.