Brandworkers in the News

 

 

By Maia Efrem

Published August 04, 2010, issue of August 13, 2010

Workers who were fired by a Brooklyn kosher food producer after demanding overtime pay have been protesting outside the owner’s house and a supermarket this summer, and preparing for a return to the National Labor Relations Board this fall.

Flaum Appetizing, Inc., a producer of kosher salads, pickles, and smoked fish, has been embroiled in the dispute since it fired 17 immigrant workers in May 2008. The terminated workers had complained about working conditions and demanded to be paid overtime after working 60 to 80 hours a week. The NLRB ruled that Flaum had violated the workers’ rights, and ordered their reinstatement with back pay. Flaum has not complied, and a NLRB hearing is set for September 21.

“Our belief is that if you work, if you sweat and deliver a service, you’re entitled to have your legal rights protected, and that includes payment for your work,” said Daniel Gross, executive director of Brandworkers International, a not-for-profit organization that advocates workers’ rights and has taken up the cause along with the Industrial Workers of the World union.

 

July 25, 2010

Brooklyn, New York- Immigrant workers fired en masse from leading kosher food processor and wholesaler, Flaum Appetizing Corp., rallied alongside community and labor activists to call on the KRM Kollel supermarket to reassess the sale of Flaum products. Flaum is set to stand trial in federal court after denying workers overtime pay for years and launching a campaign of fierce retaliation when employees stood up for their legal rights. KRM is currently one of the largest retailers of Flaum products including hummus, pickles, and middle eastern salads.

For Immediate Release:
Brandworkers

February 1, 2010

Immigrant Workers Take a Stand for Minimum Wage and Overtime Pay

New York, NY- A non-profit workers' rights organization filed a class action lawsuit on Friday alleging that a Queens-based drink distributor, Beverage-Plus, is violating the rights of its immigrant workforce.

The lawsuit was filed in New York federal court on behalf of current and former delivery drivers and warehouse assistants who were allegedly denied minimum wage and overtime by Beverage-Plus, in addition to other rights violations. The case is an effort of the Brandworkers Focus on the Food Chain initiative which is exposing abuses in NYC's food processing sector and was brought in association with law firm Vladeck, Waldman, Elias & Engelhard, P.C.

"My co-workers and I work hard and now we are demanding to be paid according to the law," said Richard Merino, a member of Brandworkers who has been a driver at Beverage-Plus for six years. "Wage theft is very damaging and we have chosen to tackle the problem by organizing together and taking collective action."

For Immediate Release:

Brandworkers

January 20, 2010

Workers Reach Comprehensive Settlement with Prominent Seafood Company

For Immediate Release:
Brandworkers International

March 11, 2009

Contact: press (at) brandworkers.org

Statement of Brandworkers on Dismissal of Cintas RICO Lawsuit Against Labor Unions

"Brandworkers applauds the decision of federal district court Judge William Pauley III to dismiss all of Cintas's anti-speech legal claims against the labor unions UNITE-HERE and International Brotherhood of Teamsters as well as their labor federation, Change to Win.

Cintas, the giant uniform corporation, sought to use the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) to restrain peaceful and dignified First Amendment activity aimed at protecting workers' rights. Under Cintas's legal theory, much of the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement would have been misclassified as extortion and denied constitutional protection.

Brandworkers recently triumphed over a similarly meritless RICO lawsuit from seafood processor and retailer, Wild Edibles, Inc. We are hopeful that judges around the country will increasingly see through the misuse of RICO by low-road employers seeking to undermine efforts to win fairness and security at work.

Amid a devastating economic crisis, worker campaigns to safeguard income and job security need more, not less protection. Retail and food workers participating in or contemplating participation in broad-based workplace justice campaigns should be heartened by the strong rebuke of misplaced RICO litigation represented by Judge Pauley's opinion."

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Brandworkers International is a non-profit organization protecting and advancing the rights of retail and food employees. The Brandworkers "Focus on the Food Chain" initiative, which includes the workplace justice campaign at Wild Edibles, promotes a sustainable food system which incorporates respect for workers' human rights.

http://www.Brandworkers.org

February 25, 2009

"McDonald's must immediately stop shirking its legal obligation to compensate employee Nigel Haskett who was shot multiple times while defending a customer from violent assault. Mr. Haskett narrowly and miraculously survived the hail of bullets but must now contend with over $300,000 in medical bills because of McDonald's shameful evasion.

Becoming a victim of violent crime is a pervasive risk for retail and fast food workers. Employers have a legal obligation to take precautions to minimize the risk of violence on the job and to compensate employees who fall victim to violence. But instead of meeting its legal obligation and honoring the heroism of an employee who came to the aid of a customer in desperate need, McDonald's is concerned solely with its bottom line.

Nigel Haskett, at 22 years old, has undergone three abdominal surgeries and still carries part of a bullet in his back. McDonald's must immediately stop prolonging Mr. Haskett's suffering and compensate him in full."

Brandworkers International is a New York-based non-profit organization protecting and advancing the rights of retail and food employees.

www.Brandworkers.org

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Background:

1. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/2/21/202227/973/431/700300

2. http://www.arktimes.com/Articles/ArticleViewer.aspx?ArticleID=bc6732a3-9...

3. http://anti-union.blogspot.com/2009/02/sign-petition-for-mcdonalds-hero....

For Immediate Release:
Brandworkers International

New York, NY (02/03/2009) - Brandworkers, a non-profit for retail and food employees, announced today that several of its members from Wild Edibles, Inc. have been offered bribes to end a 16-month workplace accountability campaign directed at the company. While refusing to pay what is owed in ongoing federal court and Labor Board litigation, Wild Edibles owner Richard Martin and one of his lieutenants have been offering cash payments to workers if they revoke their membership in Brandworkers and repudiate a worker-led public education campaign regarding rights abuses at the seafood processor and retailer.

"We're not taking Richard Martin's dirty money," said Pedro Hernandez, a former Wild Edibles worker and plaintiff in the class action lawsuit against Wild Edibles over payment violations and retaliation. "After almost a year and a half, Wild Edibles still doesn't understand that our struggle is about dignity and compliance with the law."

January 29, 2009

"Citizens concerned about the right to join a union free of coercion will be deeply troubled by the retail industry war cry against the Employee Free Choice Act exposed in a leaked conference call.

The private call is refreshing for its candor in contrast to the public communications of the large chain retailers and their lobbying associations which claim to care about individual rights of workers. Consider the words of anti-union operative Rick Berman who spoke on the call after Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus called the bill the 'demise of a civilization':

'The biggest concern is everything that Bernie spoke about, it is compensation issues, it is in fact benefits, it is job descriptions...'

New York, NY (01/26/09)- Aquavit, a perennial winner of three stars from the New York Times, has stopped serving seafood from accused labor rights violator, Wild Edibles. Workers at Wild Edibles have been campaigning for almost a year and a half to reclaim unlawfully withheld overtime pay and win respect on the job. Aquavit joins over 50 other leading NYC eateries that have decided not to serve Wild Edibles seafood until the workers' human rights are honored there.

"I am pleased that in these tough economic times, Aquavit has heard our call for fairness and accountability from Wild Edibles," said Lino Martinez, a plaintiff in the class action overtime lawsuit against Wild Edibles.

New York, NY (12/01/08)- An advocacy group for retail and food chain employees has launched an online petition calling for a criminal investigation of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.