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NEWS & LETTERS, August - September 2009
Year-long Stella D'Oro strike solidarity
Bronx, N.Y.--Once Brynwood Partners, a Wall Street equity firm, bought the Stella D'Oro Biscuit Company in the Bronx last year, it decided to force the union, Local 50 of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers, and Grain Millers, to accept a draconian contract. It would have cut wages by 25%, eliminated paid sick days and vacations, and cut pension and health benefits. If the workers refused, it would threaten to close the plant or sell it to another firm which would move Stella D'Oro's operations out of state.
COMMUNITY SUPPORT
The union struck and the community organized a support committee of activists from various groups. Brynwood hired scabs and refused to negotiate. The union went to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), and their case was accepted for review, so the strikers were able to receive unemployment compensation, supplemented by a small strike fund.
Other city unions contributed money to help the Stella D'Oro Support Committee. Militant strikers held rallies and got the struggle into the press. The strike dragged on for 11 months.
Despite the limited income the workers received, the company could not break their solidarity. On June 30, the NLRB ruled against the company and ordered that the workers be accepted back on the job under their old contract and that Brynwood negotiate in good faith. Brynwood announced it would shut the plant down but the union refused to accept an unfair contract. Instead it went to court for an injunction to prevent the plant shutdown. Brynwood then said it had a buyer, Lance, Inc., another bakery company based in North Carolina, which might move the plant out of state.
Worker solidarity remained solid. With the help of the support committee, workers contacted unions in other states to disinvest in Lance, Inc., if Lance bought Stella D'Oro and then moved it out of state. A rally was held on July 29 in front of Goldman-Sachs, which owns stock in Lance, Inc. Articles appeared in newspapers, and Lance announced it would not buy Stella D'Oro.
Meanwhile, the union has asked the New York City Council to pass a resolution to oppose closing or moving the plant out of state. The search for the cheapest labor, reducing labor throughout the world to the lowest common denominator, is an integral part of capitalism.
BEACON OF SOLIDARITY
As capitalism continues to implode, the Stella D'Oro struggle can be an important example to other workers of how worker solidarity can stand up to the unceasing greed of capitalists to maximize their profits at the expense of the working class.
Celebrate one year of struggle at Stella D'Oro. Rally with workers and supporters at the Stella D'Oro plant, Aug. 15, 12pm-2pm, 237th Street & Broadway.
--Tom Siracuse
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