Foodstuff Workers Industrial Union 460

All workers except agricultural and fishery workers, engaged in producing and processing food, beverages, and tobacco products.

NYC IWW LOOKS TO ORGANIZE “9 IN 90”

Posted Tue, 07/03/2007 - 8:34pm by x360279

The Industrial Workers of the World recently marched on HWH Trading Corp to demand fair pay and better working conditions for the company’s 15 warehouse employees. The July 1st march was the first public action of an ambitious organizing drive that the NYC IWW is undertaking this summer. Dubbed “9 in 90,” the IWW is hoping to organize nine new shops in the next 90 days. The IWW has already made waves in the NYC foodstuffs industry by organizing five of the most exploitative warehouses in the city.

The current organizing drive kicked off in mid-June, and organizers have already had talks with workers from four new shops. HWH, a produce distributor in Queens, is the first of the “9 in 90” whose workers have gone public with their IWW membership. At HWH, workers are not only expected to work extremely long hours, but routinely travel up and down the Eastern seaboard. Workers come into the warehouse Sunday night, spend the night loading up their trucks, and head out for long trips Monday morning.

IWW foodstuff workers in NYC need your financial support and solidarity!

Posted Tue, 05/15/2007 - 2:31am by x344543

I’m an Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) member. I worked hard to start the union strong, so that we would be strong in the end. And just like when we started, we’ve grown and become strong. Because in union there is strength.

– Eliezer Maca Gallardo

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

Warehouse workers in New York City need your help in their fight against employers who have stolen their wages, thumbed their noses at labor laws, and vigorously fought against unionization. These workers have built the IWW Food and Allied Workers Union - I.U.460/640 against incredible odds, and still stand strong in the face of mass firings. They've shown how immigrant workers can fight sweatshop conditions to build a better future.

Wobbling the BriarPatch

Posted Sat, 04/28/2007 - 12:08am by x344543

Workers at the BriarPatch food coop, located in Grass Valley, California, near Sacramento in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains have joined the IWW.  Here is their official announcement:

As we step through the doors of our great new store, it is the goal of many employees to strengthen and improve the working conditions, policies, and benefits for current and future employees.

In an effort to enhance the cooperative spirit between management and staff, employees at the BriarPatch, supported by management, are uniting with the Industrial Workers of the World. The IWW is an alternative organization that supports employees and shops in their individual and creative paths to bettering the workplace.

IWW Hits Giant Big Apple with Daily Pickets

Posted Mon, 04/02/2007 - 6:25pm by x344543

Members from the NYC Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) put up daily picket lines this past week in front of Giant Big Apple Beer Ltd, a beer and soda distributor in Woodside, Queens. Wobblies, workers, and supporters were out there every day starting Monday, March 26, through Saturday, from about 8:00 am until 2:00 pm. The pickets were held in response to the vandalism of union workers’ cars. The goal of the pickets was to hurt the company by preventing trucks from making deliveries to the company.

The pickets proved to be a useful tool against the company, as a number of trucks did not want to cross the picket line and thus did not make their deliveries. Tuesday was probably the most successful day of the picket, as three out of four trucks were turned away. Most of the truck drivers who make deliveries to Giant Big Apple are Teamsters and thus respect picket lines. However, there were some Teamsters as well as some independent contractors who drove their trucks past the lines. Even though some drivers crossed, enough trucks were turned away to have caused a substantial loss to the company this week.

IWW WINS LABOR BOARD RULING - Workers reinstated at Amersino after being fired for joining union.

Posted Thu, 03/08/2007 - 2:20pm by x359437

NY, NY, March 6, 2007 – In a big win for workers in Brooklyn and Queens, the National Labor Relations Board ordered that warehouse owner Henry Wang of Amersino Marketing Group, LLC reinstate Manuel Lopez and Juan Antonio Rodriguez, pay thousands of dollars in back wages, and cease and desist any and all illegal anti-union measures. On February 27, 2007, the Board found that Wang violated two sections of the National Labor Relations Act by firing Lopez and Rodriguez, after they joined the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) union, and by intimidating others who engaged in protected union activity.

“It’s clear that it was discrimination for trying to form a union,” said Rodriguez.