WHY ISN’T NEW YORK CITY LABOR DOING MORE FOR THE STRIKING STELLA D’ORO BAKERS???

[Omaha Steve]

http://gangbox.wordpress.com/2009/06/06/why-isnt-new-york-city-labor-doing-more-for-the-striking-stella-doro-bakers/

from the WORLD SOCIALIST WEB SITE:

Stella D’Oro strikers rally as New York unions continue to isolate strike
By A. Wood
6 June 2009

More than 700 people marched last weekend in the Bronx, New York to the scab-run Stella D’Oro cookie factory in what was advertised as a citywide rally to defend strikers who have been on the picket line for almost 10 months after refusing to accept wage and benefit concessions.



Eddie Marrero, who has worked at Stella D’Oro for 29 years, told the WSWS, “Today is a big day, a special day. This is the biggest rally we have had, and it shows that everyone is facing the same thing. Things are now turning into just rich and poor in this country. Can we stop this? I hope our strike is an inspiration to this work.”

The statement reflected the anger and determination of the Stella D’Oro workers, whose strike began before the financial meltdown last September and is continuing as many more people, in New York City and around the country, are facing the same situation of wage-cutting and job losses.



This was the biggest march and rally held by the 136 members of Local 50 of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM) International Union, AFL-CIO. Despite the solidarity shown by workers, however, it is clear that the labor bureaucracy continues to keep the strikers isolated.

The Stella D’Oro strike began on August 13, 2008 after the private equity firm Brynwood Partners, headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, walked out of negotiations demanding the workers accept concessions of $1 per hour each year of a five-year contract. The venture capital firm is demanding workers give up all 12 of their sick days, a week of vacation, four paid holidays and overtime. It is also attempting to make workers pay healthcare premiums.

Today the Stella D’Oro strikers are being told by the BCTGM and the AFL-CIO to wait for justice from the National Labor Relations Board after it issued a “refusal to bargain” complaint charging Brynwood with violating the law. Bitter experience has shown that waiting for a legal victory from the NLRB is a dead end. The union is also claiming that the Obama administration will come to the aid of the strikers.

FULL story at link.