The union, which represents 1,400 workers at the Hunts Point Produce Market, opened champagne bottles as they celebrated the end of an almost week-long strike for increased pay in their next three-year contract.
The warehouse workers and managers that made up Teamsters Local 202 praised the ratification of the contract on Saturday. This took place after the vote was taken at 10:00 in a so-called neutral zone within the distribution center’s property. The contract was approved by 97% of union members.
Shortly after the ratification, members took a victory outside the strike zone that they picked up for almost a week when passing cars pulled their solidarity to the horn, and the crowd shouted ‘si’ puede ‘(‘ yes we can ‘) ) called. When members raise a glass in celebration, another member is seen holding up a toy replica of Mjolnir, the mythical hammer used by Marvel Comics’ Thor.
The ratification of the contract ends the strike that began on January 17 after the union’s negotiating team could not reach a consensus with the Hunts Point Cooperative Board. Trade unionists paid a $ 1 increase for their hourly pay and 0.60 cents more to cover their health insurance, emphasizing that workers continued to work throughout the pandemic. The company initially offered an hourly wage increase of 32 cents and an hourly increase of 60 cents in the direction of their health insurance coverage. The strike – the first since 1986 – has raised concerns about how disruptive it will be to the city’s food supply, where 60% of fruit and vegetables come from the massive market.
“Thirty-two cents when people risk their lives in a pandemic was not good enough,” said Charles Machadio, a union trustee. And they just did not understand it. You gave us less in this contract than we got in the last contract. ‘
According to Daniel Kane Jr., the Teamsters Local 202 president, the two parties returned to the table at the request of Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Under the conditions, workers will pay at least 70 cents more per hour in the first year, 50 cents more in the second year and 65 cents more in the third year. They will also receive a one-time bonus of $ 1300 in 2023. Workers will also receive the same health insurance coverage without having to pay an increase. Workers start returning to work on Sunday, when the contract takes effect. The transaction is not expected to be retroactive.
“It’s not often that workers take their fate into their own hands and decide to put their hands together to fight for a better tomorrow,” Kane Jr. said. Said at a news conference on Saturday. “And these people did it. And I hope it will resonate with workers across the country, because our members are essential and decent, hard-working family members.”
The extra payment was good news for Jeff Ratliff, a Bronx resident and employee who works in the “Potato House” downtown, who said the new contract is fair given the physical demands placed on the employees.
“You have to have dignity with yourself, you have to get respect where you work,” Ratliff said. ‘Sometimes you work for companies, and […] you are just like a machine to them. Nothing else. ‘
He added: ‘You [are] in this market more than you are at home […] Who wants to come to a house where your children have no respect? ‘
Councilman Rafael Salamanca Jr., who represents the Hunts Point area, said the job and the union mean a lot to his father.
“I remember my dad coming in at three in the morning. I remember how my dad came home and talked about the struggle and how tired he was. But he was proud,” Salamanca Jr. said. said during the protest. ‘You gave an uneducated Puerto Rican man, who is my father, an opportunity. And my father could take care of my family. We got health care, he brought food to the table. And here I am today; this young man from the South Bronx, as a New York City Councilor because of Local 202. ‘
Salamanca Jr. was among a string of lawmakers who threw their support behind the striking workers, along with Member of Parliament Amanda Septimo, and Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ritchie Torres.
During the six days where workers stood out in the cold and missed out on a daily allowance to claim the company’s wages, support for it increased, with local elected officials such as Ocasio-Cortez and Torres representing the workers’ concerns intensified in a letter to the US. Labor Department and National Labor Relations Council. Most members of the 24/7 industrial center earn between $ 18 and $ 21 per hour.
For many, the strike was a watershed moment for vital workers who did not stop doing their jobs during the pandemic, where they were praised for helping to keep the lights on throughout the crisis. The pandemic affected workers in the center, which remained open even when workers became ill or died.
“We lost six people during COVID’s death. They never made it home, some of them died in their wives,” said Leonardo Servedio, the union’s vice president. “We could not attend funerals because there were no funeral services.”
For Severdio, an employee who has been at the distribution center for more than 30 years, the pandemic has ignited a fire for a labor movement that he says will start nationally and appeal to young people.
“They need to know what the struggle of their ancestors and ancestors is, from whatever country they come from, who came to America and suffered. And they worked hard and built the American dream. Without struggle, there is no harvest. “That’s what they have to understand. These young people came here today (and) they are absorbing the knowledge. And now we are going to create a movement. It is called the new labor movement.”
About the company, Severdio said: “We fought hard.”
In a statement, Stephen Katzman, co-president of the Hunts Point Cooperative Board, which also owns S. Katzman Produce, said the resolution would enable the center to continue the city.
“We are very pleased to be able to negotiate a new contract over the next three years that will increase our employees’ hourly wages and fringe benefits by more than 10%,” Katzman said in the statement. less than three times the current cost of living rises, we believe it is a very fair and equitable agreement. ‘