La Conexion Familiar

Federal labor officials on Monday accused Sprint Corp. of illegally shutting down a Spanish-language telemarketing company to thwart union organizing by its 235 employees. Sprint denied the accusation and said its sole reason for the shutdown, eight days before a scheduled union election, was that the San Francisco subsidiary was a money loser.

Federal labor officials on Monday accused Sprint Corp. of illegally shutting down a Spanish-language telemarketing company to thwart union organizing by its 235 employees. Sprint denied the accusation and said its sole reason for the shutdown, eight days before a scheduled union election, was that the San Francisco subsidiary was a money loser.

Labor Board Charges Sprint: The National Labor Relations Board will fine the long-distance company for the alleged illegal firing of 235 Latino workers who were seeking to form a union, the telephone workers union said. The Communications Workers of America said the board recommended a federal court injunction be sought to reinstate the workers. The union said the workers, all employees at Sprint Corp.'

Sprint Corp. must rehire and pay back wages and benefits to employees of a telemarketing operation closed more than two years ago during a union organizing drive, the government says. In a ruling last week, the National Labor Relations Board found Sprint and its San Francisco subsidiary intimidated pro-union employees and faked a letter to make it seem the office was being closed for business reasons. Sprint filed an appeal Monday with the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C.

Ana Hernandez immigrated legally to the United States from El Salvador, seeking the opportunity to make a decent living. She got a telemarketing job at a Sprint Corp. subsidiary in San Francisco called La Conexion Familiar (the Family Connection), selling long-distance service to the Spanish-speaking community, a lucrative sector of the industry.