Angelica Corporation is getting its dirty laundry aired. Angelica is a fast-growing company that provides laundry services to hospitals around the country and its employees nationwide are preparing to strike. Melissa Burbeles (BUR-buh-leez), an employee at the Batavia (buh-TAY-vee-uh) New York plant and a member of UNITE-HERE, says the company continually violates labor laws and threatens the health and safety of workers.

[Burbeles 1] "Say if a machine breaks down, they would actually take gray duct tape to tape it back up. And then when another worker goes on that same machine, he or she gets hurt."

Angelica workers handle laundry soiled with blood and feces and yet employees say Angelica often doesn't provide the necessary vaccinations required to protect employees from disease. OSHA has done numerous investigations at Angelica plants and the company faces penalties of up to half a million dollars.

Employees at the Batavia plant have been working without a contract since February 19th. Burbeles sums up her feelings about what she hopes the strike will accomplish:

[Burbeles 2] "The unfair labor that they practice has got to stop. And we want a fair contract."