Ten Thousand Bakers Going Out In Strike Today in New York

Union Shoots back last offer from Owners

Y. Fogel (translated by Boaz Willis)

Strike of retail bakery workers starting this evening; 6 Locals involved; Workers demanding raise and fringe benefits; Agreement expired 31st of January. 

Over 10 thousand New York bakery workers will go out in a general strike today, Shabbos evening. The strike affects retail workers employed by the following firms: Retail specialty owners of America, Gotham Wholesalers, Metropolitan guild, Empire State Association, and Manhattan Retailers. 

The strike involves the workers of compliant baker unions. The Bread baker Union Local 3 (conjoined with the now-closed End Confectionary Workers Union), the Cake Bakers Union Local 51 has joined with the American Bakery End Confectionary Workers Union from the United Workers movement, the Clerks Local 1111, the Sales Clerks Local 150, and the Teamster Baker Union Local 802.  

The agreement between these unions and the associations listed above ended on the 31st of January. The last 9 days have contained ongoing discussions between the union representative and owners, first in the “Steller Hotel” and then in the “New Yorker Hotel.” The agreement has been “extended” every day so that work wouldn’t cease in the stores. Often, negotiations are dragged out by those holding on to alternate outcomes, but as it looks now, all efforts have arrived at nothing. 

As delivered from the senior representatives from the Baker Unions, Frank Dota from the Bread Bakers Local 3, and from Natan Erlich, manager and president of the Cake Bakers Local 51, the demands put forth by the union seem very reasonable. The union explained, that they took into account the current conditions of the industry and set forth their demands accordingly. 

It seems, however, that the owners specifically wanted to push the Union into a costly strike. 

The union is demanding among others, a push for better working conditions, better fringe benefits, a reasonable raise in wages, and other technical benefits outlined in the contract…

Article source: http://jpress.org.il/Olive/APA/NLI/?action=tab&tab=browse&pub=FRW#panel=document