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NEW YORK—What began in August 2008
as a strike at the Stella D’Oro bakery in the
Bronx became an 11-month
protracted war and one of the great labor battles in recent New York history.
The Stella D’Oro workers became a national
symbol of resistance to a heartless economic system.
Stella
bosses had demanded slashing wages as much as 25 percent, making
insurance premiums unaffordable and eliminating holidays, vacation, and
sick pay. During the strike not one of the 136 strikers crossed the
line, a rare achievement.
After
78 years, on Oct. 8, Stella D’Oro’s owners, Brynwood Partners of Connecticut, closed its doors
and laid off all of its workers in an act of outright union busting. Brynwood sold the bakery Sept. 9 to Lance, Inc., a
non-union junk-food company, for an undisclosed amount, estimated at
$12 to $17 million. Lance is moving all production to its non-union
plant in Ashland, Ohio.
After
a Stella boss announced the closing, one worker, George Kahassi, shouted into his face, “The workers united
will never be defeated!”
About
90 workers chanted along with Kahassi for
several emotion-filled minutes. The workers then cleared out their
lockers and filed out, some in tears, but as labor heroes nonetheless.
In a personal tragedy, one Stella worker of 29 years lost his father
the day before he also lost his job.
The
Stella workforce is mostly Latino, but also Italian, Greek, Albanian,
West African, Eritrean, and Indian. They are represented by Local 50 of
the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers
International Union (BCTGM). About a week after the shutdown, workers
received contractual severance pay, although one estimate puts
outstanding compensation at 40 percent.
Typical
of the capitalists that have thrown millions into unemployment lines, Brynwood is a Wall Street hedge fund that boasts of
delivering high profits to wealthy investors—meaning, of course,
profits on the backs of working people!
The
investment firm of Goldman-Sachs, the largest recipient in federal
bailout funds ($12.9 billion), is a major investor in Brynwood Partners. Goldman-Sachs plans to
distribute $16 billion in employee bonuses in 2009.
Over
the years Brynwood received $425,000 in city
tax breaks to keep production and jobs in the Bronx. City officials claim that
there is no legal recourse under New York laws to prevent bosses from
absconding with machinery paid for, in part, by New York’s working class. Moreover,
capitalist law is so rigged that it is legally difficult to stop
companies from closing plants in retaliation for a union’s
unwillingness to accept concessions, although a Local 50 appeal is
pending.
What
is needed to stop company shutdowns and save jobs is mobilizing the
power of the labor movement to stop scabs in their tracks and shut down
production cold. Reliance on the boss-friendly court system is a trap
for workers.
On
June 30, in response to a union appeal, the National Labor Relations
Board ruled that Brynwood had “bargained in
bad faith” and ordered the company to take back the workers and
negotiate a contract. In an act of retaliation, the company announced
the day the workers returned on July 7 that it would close in 90 days.
Throughout, the local City Labor Council affiliate of the AFL-CIO did
nothing to mobilize workers.
Stella
workers assess their struggle
Emile
Dorsu, a Ghanian
immigrant and Stella packer, told Socialist Action, “I was
thinking it’s been a failure. But, after speaking to some people, they
say that we motivated them. We proved that we can stand up and fight.
That makes me feel like, ‘OK, even if we didn’t win now, we have set
some example for people to fight for what they believe in.’ She added,
“That makes me feel good.”
Shop
steward Mike Filippou said, “If we had 20,000
workers around Stella, the bosses couldn’t win. The labor movement is
so weak. When we wanted to sit-down to get what we earned, they said
they were afraid of lawsuits. The bosses take advantage of that, and
the laws are made for them.”
He
added, “Our Stella D’Oro Support Committee
was a great thing. We had many rallies. We had people from every corner
of the labor movement.” Filippou was
suspended during the final month in retaliation, although there may be
a negotiated deal on his status soon.
“I’m
very proud of my co-workers,” Filippou told Socialist
Action. “We stayed out and fought. But, it’s not over yet. We have
to convince the city to allow CITGO petroleum [owned by the Venezuelan
government] to make Brynwood sell it and make
it into a worker co-op, as they’ve said they’re still willing to do.”
Only
the physical Stella plant remains, owned by Brynwood.
Thus far, Brynwood has not responded to
CITGO. For a complete history of the Stella D’Oro
struggle go to www.stelladorostrike.com.
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