Carousel Linen contracts with restaurants and large outfits like Marshall Fields department store, the American Medical Association headquarters, and the Chicago Athletic Association, to repair, launder, and press table linens for special events, such as dinners and banquets.

Carousel cut wages, bringing most workers down to the minimum wage of $5.15 an hour. Since the strike began at the end of October, the company has brought in replacement workers to scab on the union struggle. Strike supporters have picketed in downtown Chicago, reaching out for support for their fight. Workers at V&V Supremo Foods, Inc., a cheese factory that had been struck by members of the Teamsters, and others have joined in these actions. The strikers have also joined other labor protests, including a rally in Chicago to support UNITE members fighting for a contract at Brylane Company in Indianapolis. Representatives of Carousel Linens are now meeting with UNITE officials.

Lisa Potash is a garment worker and member of UNITE in Chicago.  
 
 
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