Teamsters Local 120 has organized a demonstration for 3 p.m., Friday, Jan. 18, at Novartis Nutrition Corp., Utica Ave. and Stephens Dr. in St. Louis Park. The union is protesting company actions that it says interfere with the right of Novartis employees to unionize.

Three years ago, Local 120 began an organizing drive that was interrupted when Novartis, a huge multinational corporation based in Switzerland, retaliated by firing a key committee member, the union said. After pursuing the case through the National Labor Relations Board and the courts, the worker was reinstated and the company was forced to pay back wages.

Another organizing effort has started, the union said, and Novartis workers hope to file soon for an election. "Once again, however, Novartis is demonstrating its lack of respect for the workers by repeatedly interfering with their right to organize," the union said. "We need to deliver a message to this corporation that we will not tolerate employer violations of the law."

Novartis Nutrition manufactures special nutritional foods, supplements and drinks.