NYC iu460

NYC iu460

Statement of Brandworkers on the Anti-Free Speech Legal Action Filed by the Flaum Appetizing Corp.

Posted Thu, 10/21/2010 - 3:46pm by x344543

Contact: press [at] brandworkers.org

Brandworkers is proud to stand with the immigrant employees campaigning to bring the Flaum Appetizing Corporation into compliance with the rule of law. For years, Flaum, one of the top processors and distributors of kosher foods in New York, illegally withheld overtime pay, denied workers any benefits, and ultimately subjected workers to vicious retaliation when they stood up for their rights. Though the workers prevailed after a full trial over the company's retaliation, owner Moshe Grudhut has done nothing but resist the court's order and has failed to compensate workers for over $260,000 in lost pay. Grudhut owes hundreds of thousands more in unpaid overtime but has refused attempts at reasonable settlement.

It's ironic then that after years of law-breaking, Flaum and Grudhut are invoking the legal process with charges at the National Labor Relations Board in an effort to restrain the peaceful, dignified communications of the workers' campaign for justice. The workers and their supporters are currently on the streets and in the communities of New York City educating customers about the reality of employment at Flaum. The charges that the company has filed seek to prevent the workers' campaign from educating customers where Flaum products are sold.

Grudhut has silenced the workers' voices for too long and far from having their intended effect, these anti-speech charges only strengthen the workers' resolve to win respect for their hard work. Because consumers have a right to know, the workers will continue educating potential customers of Flaum products about the abuses they've suffered and the unwillingness of Grudhut to comply with a standing court order.

In addition to Flaum-branded products including pickles, hummus, and other Middle Eastern appetizers, the company sells kosher products under the Sonny & Joe's label and distributes dairy products from Tnuva and cut produce from the Bodek company. It appears that one of the biggest sellers of Flaum products, the KRM Kollel supermarket, is cooperating with Flaum's anti-free speech legal action.

The right to freedom of speech and freedom of association is the bedrock of a free society and finds protection in both domestic and international law. Brandworkers will defeat this crass attempt to silence workers' voices and will press on until justice is won at the Flaum Appetizing Corporation.

Brandworkers is a New York-based not-for-profit organization protecting and advancing the rights of retail and food employees. By empowering employees with legal, advocacy, and organizing tools, Brandworkers wins fairness on the job and challenges corporate misconduct in the community.

Leading Lights from Law & Organizing to be Honored at Brandworkers Awards Dinner

Posted Thu, 10/21/2010 - 3:36pm by x344543

Contact: Joseph Sanchez, 410-829-6834

National Lawyers Guild Labor & Employment Committee and Immigrant Workers of the Campaign for Justice at Flaum Appetizing to Be Honored at the 2nd Annual Brandworkers Awards Dinner

New York, NY -- Leading lights from the progressive legal and organizing communities will be honored on October 28th at the 2nd Annual Brandworkers Awards Dinner. The National Lawyers Guild Labor & Employment Committee and the Workers of the Campaign for Justice at Flaum Appetizing Corp. will receive "Champions of Economic Justice" awards to honor their achievements in the movement to win fair pay, equality, and respect for all workers.

"We couldn't be more gratified to honor these inspiring fighters for economic justice," said Daniel Gross, the founding director of Brandworkers. "They are in the trenches every day waging innovative and dynamic campaigns for workplace justice and dignity. It's an honor for Brandworkers to acknowledge their tremendous contributions to the movement."

The National Lawyers Guild Labor & Employment Committee is the country's leading organization of progressive lawyers, legal workers, and law students serving labor unions, worker centers, and individual employees. The Committee is on the cutting-edge of providing innovative legal strategies to combat the intense employer resistance that characterizes organizing drives in the United States today. Firm believers in the need for global solidarity, the Committee and its members are leading participants in the international labor rights arena and recently helped spearhead the landmark amicus brief to the Mexican Supreme Court, filed by 47 prominent labor rights organizations and attorneys from around the world, in opposition to the Mexican Government's attempt to undermine the independence of the National Union of Mine, Metal, Steel and Allied Workers.

The Workers of the Campaign for Justice at Flaum Appetizing Corp. are recent immigrants from Mexico and Ecuador using innovative legal, advocacy, and organizing tools to challenge sweatshops conditions at one of New York City's top processors and distributors of kosher foods. The workers are members of the Focus on the Food Chain campaign, a joint initiative of Brandworkers and the Industrial Workers of the World (NYC) labor union, to create good, family-supporting jobs in the food processing and distribution warehouses of New York. Flaum Appetizing illegally withheld hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation owed to workers and responded with vicious anti-immigrant retaliation when workers stood up for their rights. Despite the illegal retaliation, the workers of Flaum, through diligent and creative organizing, are well on their way to win justice at the company. The workers' effort to limit the scope of the Hoffman Plastic Supreme Court case, which condoned discrimination against many workers based on immigration status, could have important ramifications for workplace justice projects across the country.

Video: Early Morning Wake-Up Call for Brooklyn Sweatshop Boss!

Posted Fri, 10/01/2010 - 12:38pm by x344543

Immigrant workers fired from kosher food processor and distributor Flaum Appetizing Corp. carried out a Sunday morning demonstration at the home of owner Moshe Grudhut.

The workers are organizing with the Focus on the Food Chain campaign to reclaim stolen overtime pay, defend their dignity against abusive mangers, and end anti-immigrant discrimination at the company:

Watch Now - http://youtu.be/5DZHVGBt-GY

Focus on the Food Chain is a joint effort of non-profit organization Brandworkers and the New York City Branch of the Industrial Workers of the World labor union. The campaign is made of immigrant workers and their supporters challenging and overcoming sweatshop conditions in New York City's food processing and distribution warehouses.

Join with us to create a sustainable food system which incorporates respect for workers' human rights:

Facebook: "Focus on the Food Chain"

Fired Workers Protest, Prepare for NLRB Hearing in Two-Year Union Fight

Posted Thu, 08/05/2010 - 2:11pm by x344543

At Stake Are Their Jobs and $230,000 in Back Pay From Flaum Appetizing, a Kosher Food Producer in Brooklyn

By Maia Efrem - The Jewish Daily Forward, August 4, 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 fired17 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.

“The [fired] workers are currently very active on the streets, and we seek dialogue, but we are also not afraid to fight,” Gross said.

Judge orders new trial for Providence Rhode Island IWW Member Alexandra Svoboda

Posted Sat, 05/08/2010 - 9:48pm by x344543

Disclaimer: This story and its accompanying image are reprinted in accordance with Fair Use guidelines

By Katie Mulvaney - Providence Journal Staff Writer, Friday, May 7, 2010

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Superior Court Judge Joseph F. Rodgers Jr. Friday ordered a new trial for the woman accused of assaulting North Providence police officers during a protest in August 2007.

Rodgers ordered a new trial for Alexandra Svoboda on three counts of simple assault on the officers. Rodgers said he did not feel convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that Svoboda had assaulted the officers by striking them with drumsticks during the protest, despite a jury's finding last week that she was guilty on all three counts.

Rodgers did, however, let stand the jury's verdict that 25-year-old Svoboda had resisted arrest while picketing Jacky's Galaxie on Mineral Spring Avenue that hot August day.

Then the union secretary of the Industrial Workers of the World, Svoboda and others were protesting because the restaurant had purchased rice and takeout containers from a New York supply company accused of mistreating its employees.