Once Philip Morris Workers, Now They Clamp Down On Uruguay's Smokers
Once Philip Morris Workers, Now They Clamp Down On Uruguay's Smokers
May 08, 2015 4:38 AM ET
Lourdes Garcia-Navarro
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Daniel Gomez (from left), Lister Sena and Ricardo Alvarez were laid off after working for years with Philip Morris in Uruguay. They are now inspectors enforcing the country's tough anti-smoking laws.
Lourdes Garcia-Navarro/NPR
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The tiny nation of Uruguay is fighting a big opponent – the tobacco giant Philip Morris. Their legal battle is over tough anti-smoking legislation enacted in Uruguay which Philip Morris is trying to overturn.
But Uruguay has found some unlikely allies – a group of former Philip Morris workers.
Daniel Gomez, a 56-year-old with a salt-and-pepper mustache, recounts the day in 2011 he was fired from the job he'd had for 27 years. It started off the same as any other. He arrived at the Philip Morris factory where he did quality control and went to work. Just before his shift ended, though, everyone was called into the cafeteria.
"They gathered us all, and officially and without any previous warning, tell us that management had decided to close the factory down," he says.
The reason they gave was the excessive regulation of smoking in Uruguay.
More:
http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2015/05/08/404557478/once-philip-morris-workers-now-they-clamp-down-on-uruguays-smokers