City councilors rally for terminated fish house workers

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NEW BEDFORD — Immigrants, labor advocates, and local political figures demonstrated Thursday outside Marder Seafood, Inc., after the company let go dozens of workers.

Among the 29 workers terminated were two of the five plaintiffs who sued the company Oct. 24. A news release from the Centro Comunitario de Trabajadores, which organized the demonstration along with other labor groups, said the two plaintiffs’ Oct. 29 job losses were retaliatory firings.

“Last week I worked each day as usual until Wednesday afternoon, when I got a text message from Workforce telling me that my name was on a list of workers that Marder no longer wanted,” said Adriana Velásquez Morales, one of the named plaintiffs in the case, in the release. “It felt like a slap in the face. I got no notice, no warning, and no reason, but I know it’s because I’ve demanded my rights.”

All five of the plaintiffs still worked at the plant when the suit was filed. Two of those were among the 29 let go, while three remain employed there, according to a statement from Marder.

In its statement to The Light, Marder said the workers’ job losses were layoffs due to seasonal trends in the industry.

“At Marder, we increased production — and therefore staffing — earlier this fall to prepare frozen orders for the Thanksgiving–Christmas–New Year holiday period,” the statement said. “When that production run ended, staffing needs decreased by 29 positions. This adjustment was predictable, anticipated, and planned well in advance. 

“Decisions about which employees to retain or release were made by immediate supervisors, based on job performance without involvement from senior management.” The company said it also laid off workers last fall under similar circumstances.

The civil suit, filed on Oct. 24 in U.S. District Court Massachusetts, names Marder, former plant manager Francisco Ixcotoyac Dionicio, the staffing agency Workforce Unlimited, and its owner, Andrew Wilke, as defendants.

The plaintiffs claimed they were forced to pay Ixcotoyac Dionicio $100 cash weekly as a condition of employment. In addition, the suit alleges that workers living in Rhode Island were required to use transit, provided and owned by Ixcotoyac Dionicio, to go to work for $60 weekly. They claimed both Workforce and Marder benefited from the arrangement.

In a previous statement to The Light, Marder said it fired Ixcotoyac Dionicio on May 27, shortly after charges of rape and assault and battery were filed against him in New Bedford District Court. Though the rape charges were dropped, he still faces the assault and battery charges.

Jason A. Dixon-Acosta, Ixcotoyac Dionicio’s lawyer, previously told The Light that his client denied all charges. Workforce Unlimited Inc., a temporary staffing agency based in Johnston, Rhode Island, did not respond to requests for comment. 

According to the complaint, Velásquez and the other named plaintiffs, Maximiliano Diaz Perez, Lorenzo Suar Panjoj, Maria Lucrecia Tzampop Gomez, and Yohangly Mishell Garcia Mendez, worked at Marder for between one and five years. The complaint also included a sub-class of all employees who worked at the plant from Jan. 1, 2021, to May 27, 2025.

Activists accompanied six recently unemployed workers as they attempted to hand management at the fish house a letter demanding their reinstatement and back pay. Management did not come to the locked door. Ward 1 City Councilor Leo Choquette was among those who accompanied the workers to the door.

“I wanted to see if they would accept the letter,” he told The Light. “I also took the megaphone and asked as a member of the City Council if they would accept the letter and they did not.”

Afterward, Velásquez addressed the gathering in Spanish to express gratitude for their support.

“We were victims of wage theft while working with dignity,” she said. “We were the victims of extortion and today we are demanding our rights as workers. And it is because we were organizing that we were fired from our jobs.”

Demonstration

Centro Comiunitario de Trabajadores, which helped workers file the suit, organized the demonstration after the employees lost their jobs. 

“Today workers and their allies delivered a letter to make their voices heard and stand up against Marder’s unjust and immoral treatment,” said Adrian Ventura, CCT executive director, in a news release. “Current employees who witnessed the unjust retaliation are joining with their now fired co-workers to demand justice. Workers understand that solidarity is the fastest way to improve working conditions for everyone.”

Alongside Choquette, At-large Councilor Ian Abreu and Ward 6 Councilor Ryan Pereira also came out in support of the workers. 

Pereira compared the allegations to labor conditions in the U.S. during the early 20th century.

“So last I checked on the calendar, the year was 2025, not 1920,” he told the gathering, which was streamed on Facebook. ”What are we doing?

“It’s time to hold companies that steal wages accountable,” Pereira continued. “Enough is enough!”

“I wish I was here under other circumstances,” Abreu told the gathering. “You have the full weight and support of the City Council here.”

Choquette told The Light he planned to speak with the City Council lawyer to explore options to bring Marder management before the council to answer questions about their labor practices.

“As a member of the City Council, I was elected to represent all the people in this city,” he said. “When the wages of one person are endangered, the wages of all of us are threatened.”

“The issue here is a lot of people are being manipulated because of their marginalized immigration status,” he said. 

Choquette, who recently came under fire for supporting a motion that would require all New Bedford police to be U.S. citizens, said this case was different.

“You don’t have to be a citizen to work in these places,” he said. “All that matters to me is they’re treated with the respect you or I would want if we worked there and they’re paid what they’re owed.”

Editor’s note: This story was updated on Nov. 10, 2025, to remove a paraphrased statement attributed to Choquette about the Trump administration’s deportation campaign.  Choquette was referring to the workers’ immigration status, not changes under Trump. 

Kevin G. Andrade can be reached at kandrade@newbedfordlight.org.