Producers Dairy Drivers File Class Action Lawsuit

On January 19, four Route Drivers at Producers Dairy facilities in Ceres, CA and San Leandro, CA filed a class action lawsuit against the company alleging that Producers Dairy unfairly
withheld overtime pay when they worked more than 8 or 12 hours in a day or 40
hours in a week. The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the
Northern District of California, San Francisco/Oakland District.

The lawsuit alleges that Producers Dairy violated the Fair Labor Standards
Act and state law by not paying appropriate overtime (time and a half) for
work more than eight hours in a day or 40 hours in a week; or double time for
more than 12 hours in a day. The drivers allege that Producers Dairy knew
that they were responsible for paying the overtime wages, but willfully
refused to do so. They are seeking payment of the back wages, attorney fees,
and any other damages as appropriate.

Three of the drivers, Joe Romero, Lawrence Heffington and Lauren Portillo,
have or continue to work at Producers Dairy's San Leandro facility. The
fourth, Raymond Jeanes, worked at the Ceres facility in Stanislaus County.
The lawsuit is being filed as a Class Action on behalf of all of Producers
Dairy's Route Drivers who have been denied full payment of their overtime
wages.

It wasn't until the drivers at the Ceres facility approached the Teamsters
to represent them, that the union learned of the company's practice not to pay
overtime. The San Leandro employees voted for union representation in 2003,
but to date, the company and union have not been able to reach agreement on a
first contract.

In addition to San Leandro and Ceres, the company operates offices and
depots in Anderson, Chico, Sacramento, Ceres, Castroville, Fresno, Tulare and
San Luis Obispo. Producers Dairy processes, warehouses and distributes dairy
and related products to retail outlets throughout the state. Its largest
customers are Target and Costco.

Michael Nelson, an attorney from the firm of Beeson, Tayer & Bodine, APC
is representing the drivers. Teamsters Local 853, based in San Leandro, fully
supports the drivers as they pursue this matter in regards to collecting the
wages that are owed. With a total membership of 5,500 in a variety of
industries, this Teamsters local represents dairy workers at Foster Farms,
Berkeley Farms, Safeway, Crystal and Challenge Dairy.