Building Blocks Project Newsletter: Volume 12

The Building Blocks Project works to establish policies that guarantee New Yorkers with Good Food, Good Jobs & Good Health. We strive to preserve existing supermarkets, develop new supermarkets and ensure workers rights to form a Union. For more information check out www.BuildingBlocksProject.org.  Here is our current Newsletter:

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Two Bronx Stores Receive FRESH Incentives

A Foodtown and a Western Beef, both located in the Bronx, are the first two companies to apply and receive FRESH incentives

The New York City Industrial Development Agency (NYCIDA) has approved the first two tax incentive packages that will aid the development of two new supermarkets in the Bronx.  This marks the first two supermarkets to receive incentives from the recently passed FRESH (Food Retail Expansion to Support Health) program.  Let’s skip the politics in this one and get down to the core issues: Jobs and Access to Healthy Food, two of the primary reasons the FRESH program was created.
 

Though FRESH is still in its infancy stage, two ambitious companies in the Bronx are not missing out on what it has to offer.  Western Beef, who operates non-union, and Foodtown, a union store.  Foodtown will be receiving $3 million in real estate and tax benefits, while nearly $5.6 million in real estate and tax benefits were approved for Western Beef.   You don’t need to be an economist to understand the advantages of utilizing the FRESH program.   Foodtown is investing $3.7 million to build a new 11,000-square-foot supermarket in the Norwood section of the Bronx, to replace their old store which burned down in December 2009.  Western Beef has proposed to invest $11.5 million to construct a new 35,000-square-foot supermarket with a 20,000-square-foot warehouse and an unbelievable 33,000-square-foot parking lot.  The store will replace a smaller Western Beef nearby in the Tremont section of the Bronx.

What about jobs though?  Both stores are vowing to retain the 90 existing jobs and creating 65 new ones.   The FRESH program is enabling both companies to expand, improve their products, and operate more efficiently.

What about food? Both stores will have full service fresh produce aisles available daily to customers.

Foodtown is planning to enter a long-term lease for the property, while Western Beef is beefing up their entire operation with the help of FRESH.  Not only is Western Beef expanding their store by 10,000-square-feet, but the company is planning on opening new departments in the store such as a bakery, and full service deli.  Western Beef is also going green; they are also pledging to install energy efficient equipment and HVAC systems, and to use energy efficient building materials to reduce energy consumption.  

It seems to be a win-win for everyone; the community receives a store that is providing good jobs and fresh healthy food, while the company is receiving tax breaks and incentives.   New York City Comptroller John C. Liu though, is not ready to give his stamp of approval without a rigorous investigation, an act he pledges to do every time the city hands out taxpayer money.      “I take very seriously the job I’ve been given by the people of this city, and I intend to clearly examine our city’s finances, all the more critical in this tough economic period.”  “In reviewing the past minutes and project financing for the items on today’s agenda, I can see significant potential for great community benefits and improvements.  However, we are also committing a substantial amount of taxpayer resources to these projects – over $12 million today alone…It is therefore critical that my office gains a deeper understanding about the kinds of jobs taxpayers would be subsidizing, if costs per job are reasonable, whether all applicants have been treated fairly and whether all benefits being conferred are truly necessary.  Until I have completed such an in-depth review of standards and processes for granting these kinds of benefits, I cannot cast a “Yes” vote.”  We admire Comptroller Liu for expressing the desire to investigate and look over a project, which at its face value seems to be a no-brainer, too many times elected’s have approved finances at face-value, Comptroller Liu displayed much character with his “No.” vote.

To us, we’re really not sure why more supermarket operators aren’t utilizing the program.  It’s an obvious win-win for the operator and the community.  Maybe these first two are simply breaking the ice.

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Obama’s $400 Million push for a Healthier America
The Obama Administration’s active push to encourage healthy lifestyles just took another step forward by releasing details on an over $400 million Healthy Food Financing Initiative


Last year Michelle Obama created a White House organic garden, encouraging Americans to become more self-sustainable by growing their own vegetables.  This served as a catalyst for a national discussion on the health of children throughout America.  Through the garden, she began a discussion with kids about proper nutrition and the role food plays in living a healthy life.

The Obama Administration’s active push to encourage healthy lifestyles just took another step forward by releasing details on an over $400 million Healthy Food Financing Initiative.  The initiative aims at bringing grocery stores and other healthy food retailers to underserved urban and rural communities across America.  Sound familiar?  UFCW Local 1500’s Building Blocks campaign began this same initiative (on the local level) a little over two years ago right here in New York City.   “The physical and emotional health of an entire generation and the economic health and security of our nation is at stake,” said Mrs. Obama.  “This isn’t the kind of problem that can be solved overnight, but with everyone working together, it can be solved.  So, let’s move.”

The $400 million initiative was created to promote a range of interventions that expand access to healthy & nutritious foods, including the development and equipping of grocery stores and retailers to sell healthy food throughout communities that lack options, these areas are known as “food deserts”.   In order to help community activists and leaders identify food deserts in their area, the USDA launched a Food Environment Atlas online (www.ers.usda.gov/FoodAtlas/).


One of the primary reasons for the initiative are the plain facts, over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates in America have tripled, and today, nearly one in three children in America are overweight or obese.  One third of all children born in 2000 or later will suffer from diabetes at some point in their lives; many others will face chronic obesity-related health problems like heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, and asthma. A recent study put the health care costs of obesity-related diseases at $147 billion per year.  A White House official also said “This epidemic also impacts the nation’s security, as obesity is now one of the most common disqualifiers for military service.”

Michelle Obama's “Let’s Move” campaign (http://letsmove.gov/) pledges ambitious goals to remove all 'Food Deserts' in America in seven years, and to fight childhood obesity at the same time.   Let’s Move was designed to work with communities and identify the problems that are relative to them.  A White House official said, “Let’s Move is comprehensive, collaborative, and community-oriented and will include strategies to address the various factors that lead to childhood obesity.  It will foster collaboration among the leaders in government, medicine and science, business, education, athletics, community organizations and more.  And it will take into account how life is really lived in communities across the country – encouraging, supporting and pursuing solutions that are tailored to children and families facing a wide range of challenges and life circumstances.”  We’re ecstatic to hear about the Obama Administrations decision to tackle this growing problem occurring throughout the United States.  For too long food has been overlooked in politics, which has led to where we’re at today, with national obesity rates tripling over the past thirty years, and more than half of adult New Yorkers being overweight or obese we’re overjoyed about the Federal Government addressing this problem.

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Plan for a Smaller Food Print 
The connection between the food and climate change is that carbon emissions are produced at every step in the food system...

Have you ever been overwhelmed with all of the problems with our current food system? Baffled by the thought of transforming our current food system into one that is sustainable?  Does reversing climate change seem utterly insurmountable? 

The “NYC Food and Climate Summit” organized by the Manhattan Borough President’s Office, Just Food and New York University, took us one step further in developing a plan to reduce carbon emissions by transforming our food system. The product of this summit is a report entitled, “Food NYC: A Blue Print for a Sustainable Food System.” According to the report our food system refers to "a continuum of activities, including farming, processing, storing, distributing, preparing and discarding food." The connection between food and climate change is that carbon emissions are produced at every step in the food system.  Because our food system produces one third of green house emissions causing climate change, transforming our food system is a good place for us to start to develop a plan to reduce our food print. The ten-step plan outlined in the report recommends tangible policy changes that focus on building a vibrant local food economy.                 

Good jobs are a major part of the new food economy. Echoing the message of the Good Food Good Jobs Coalition, the report recommends that the City "require companies receiving City contracts or subsidies to pay a prevailing wage and provide health benefits for their workers.”  The report also calls on the New York State Legislature to safeguard farmworkers' basic rights by passing the Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act.

Imagine going into a grocery store and picking up a product that has a calorie label, a carbon emissions label and a fair labor practices label.  Better yet, imagine public policy that incorporates environmental concerns, fair labor practices and public health.  Now that we have a plan all we need to do is make it a reality.

Download the full report at:  http://www.mbpo.org

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Creating an Economy of Innovation

For all of the New Yorkers that are out of work, Speaker Quinn is providing some solutions to create the jobs we need.

New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has been busy bringing programs and people together to create a job recovery plan for New York City. Her strategy is based on four principles; cultivate an economy of innovation, bolster small business, tax relief for small businesses and workforce education. In her 2010 State of the City Speech on February 18th, she laid out a set of programs, initiatives and legislation to address the challenges that high tech start-up’s face in New York City.

If we gave start-up companies the tools they need, New York City could be the center of innovation. Quinn announced developing New York City High-Tech Connect based on the San Diego Connect that helps start-up companies connect with resources like; talent, investors and a workspace. As well as a Municipal Entrepreneur Testing Service program that would alleviate some of the burdens that start-ups face in testing out new technologies by allowing City owned buildings to be used for testing out products. And to ensure financing, she is working on attracting companies like Citibank and New Grid Energy Solutions to invest in renewable energy.

So how do we keep existing jobs in New York City? According to Quinn small businesses are suffering from rules that “are enforced in a way that’s unfair and inconsistent.” A Business Owner’s Bill of Rights will be introduced requiring City inspectors to provide information to businesses before conducting an inspection. This year the City Council will be creating a “tax credit that will exempt mom and pop retailers from the City’s corporate tax” to alleviate some of the burdensome taxes they face.

In order to make sure that our workforce is prepared to fill these new positions we need to make sure that 1.6 million New Yorkers, Quinn declared  “that are out of school and do not have a high school diploma” are able to take and pass the GED. In order to make taking the GED more accessible, the City will be launching a website where people can register to take the GED and find preparation courses and other materials that will help them pass the test.

For all of the New Yorkers that are out of work, Speaker Quinn is providing some solutions to create the jobs we need.

You can read the full speech at: http://council.nyc.gov/html/soc/main.shtml

  

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Events

South Bronx Fresh Food Retail Attraction Seminar 

Download the flyer: [pdf]

 

 

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For any questions or comments please send an email to info@ufcw1500.org

-The Building Blocks Team,

Local 1500 is on Facebook, & Twitter, Friend Us, Follow Us!  You can find all of our news on the 1500 Blog.

Update on yesterday's FRESH Hearing at the New York City Council

Image via Wikipedia

By: Mo Kinberg, Food Policy Coordinator, UFCW Local 1500


On Monday October 26th, the New York City Council, Zoning and Franchises Committee held the first of two hearings to review the City's proposed Food Retail Expansion to support Health program. UFCW Local 1500, along with a coalition of community and faith based organizations spoke on a panel in support of the program, on the condition that good food and good job standards are attached to any financial incentives stores receive through the program. Before hearing public testimony, Speaker Christine Quinn joined the committee to say a few words on how important this program is to her in the pursuit of addressing health disparities in NYC.  She acknowledged that the proposal is not perfect and that she is committed to working with all stakeholder groups including labor and business to continue improve the program before it is vote don by the full Council. 

In her public testimony, Lisa Sharon-Harper, Executive Director of NY Faith and Justice reminded the Council of a previous incentive program passed in 1984, the Industrial Commercial Abatement Program.  Pointing out that although this program was passed with the best of intentions, to create job in low-income areas in hindsight it spurred the proliferation of fast food restaurants and poverty level wage jobs.  Pat Purcell, Assistant to the President of Local 1500, told the story of the good, the bad and the ugly in NYC City's supermarket industry, urging the council to ensure bad employers like Whole Foods and Amish Markets are not eligible for public subsidies.   Kerry Bernbach of New York City Coalition Against Hunger spoke on the need to consider high-rates of poverty in relationship to obesity and diabetes in low-income and communities. 

In her closing Lisa Sharon-Harper quoted

Cardinal Roger Mahony who echoed Ghandi when he said that: “Any society is judged on the basis of how it treats its weakest members -- the last, the least, the littlest.” She called on this Council not to be remembered for their good intentions but "by the effect of your policies on the last, the least, and the littlest in our city."

On Monday Nov. 16h the full Land Use Committee will hold a second hearing on F.R.E.S.H. We encourage and hope for all of you to attend!

Local 1500 Slams City Planning Dept. on Flaws in Supermarket Initiative...

Press Release: September 24, 2009

Grocery Store Union Slams City Planning over Supermarket Initiative, Will Seek City Council Support to Correct Major Flaws and

Tax-Free Gifts to Irresponsible Employers

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New York City’s largest Union representing supermarket workers, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Union Local 1500, announced that it will launch a major initiative to correct what they see as “major flaws” in a new supermarket initiative that was approved by the New York City Department of City Planning yesterday. They also expressed outrage over the idea that the initiative would provide tax-payer giveaways to irresponsible employers like Whole Foods.

“It is disgraceful to think that New York City, in these difficult economic times, would approve a plan to provide tax free gifts and zoning favors to a company like Whole Foods,” stated Patrick Purcell Jr., Director of Special Projects for UFCW Local 1500. “Never in the dozens of meetings between our Union and the City was it suggested that this was the goal of the FRESH initiative.

Whole Foods does hundreds of million in sales, aggressively opposes healthcare reform that will benefit millions of New Yorkers and sells what its own CEO John Mackey called “junk” at very high prices. Whole Foods needs and deserves tax subsidies from New York City about as much New York City residents need and deserve another subway fare increase,” Purcell claimed.

“Whole Foods doesn’t believe tax dollars should be used to help with our nation’s healthcare crisis but would happily accept tax subsidies to build more of its own stores.”

The Union announced it will initiate an aggressive campaign to educate and inform City Council members about “both the major flaws in the FRESH initiative and the misleading objectives that were presented to our Union over the past several months by City officials,” according to Purcell. “We negotiated in good faith for months so a fair and reasonable initiative could move forward that would bring New York City communities equal access to fresh, healthy and affordable food and what they got today was an expensive rotten apple.”

The Union will also reach out to the City’s other Unions, community groups and faith-based organizations.  “The 23,000 members of UFCW Local 1500 have an outstanding reputation of being strong partners with our elected officials and communities as we all seek ways to bring good food, good jobs and good health to our underserved communities. In fact, it was UFCW Local 1500 that brought this issue to the forefront with elected officials over two years ago when the issue was receiving little attention.  However, support for the FRESH initiative in the form it was sent to the New York City Council today is unacceptable to all New Yorkers,” Purcell concluded.

United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1500, based out of Queens Village, represents over 23,000 grocery workers in New York City, Long Island, Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess Counties. Members of Local 1500 are employed by Pathmark, King Kullen, Stop and Shop, Gristedes, Fairway, D’agastinos, Key Food and Shop Rite.    

For more information contact: Pat Purcell,  joinus1500@aol.com Or head to www.buildingblocksproject.org 



-UFCW Local 1500,

Local 1500 is on Facebook and Twitter, Friend us, Follow us! 
You can find all our archived news on the 1500 Blog.

$1.5 million in unpaid overtime...

Image via Wikipedia

By: Kate Meckler, UFCW

In light of today's breaking news regarding the 1.5 million dollars that gourmet grocers Amish Market, Zeytinia, Zeytinz and Zeytuna were fined for not paying their workers properly, I am compelled to talk about the
Gourmet Grocery Industry in Manhattan.

As the DOL's Commissioner Smith reported on
the experiences of some of the workers, I had tears in my eyes
wondering how this could still be happening in America? It's 2009 and
we're still fighting for workers to be treated with dignity and
respect, to be treated fairly, and to know that when they go to work
each day they're getting paid an honest day's pay for an honest day's
work.

This is why we are working on a broader Gourmet Grocery Campaign,
which is a part of our Building Blocks Project to bring Good Food,
Good Jobs, and Good Health to all NYC residents. We're talking about
improving Manhattan's Gourmet Grocery Industry by making sure there
is safe, fresh food for consumers, and a real voice on the job for the
workers in these stores, which we believe leads to good health for all
New Yorkers.

We'll keep you posted on our latest research and findings...Coming
soon: A report card on your local Gourmet Grocer!

Event Update: Coalition of Immokalee Workers

Image by Getty Images via DaylifeCome hear Florida Tomato Pickers Speak Out!

UFCW Local 1500 & The Building Blocks Project welcomes the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to New York City, where they will speak out about working conditions and their campaigns to get fast food chains to pay a fair price for the tomatoes they pick.

Join us on Wednesday, December 10 at 7.30 pm at the Church of the Holy Trinity 316 E. 88th between 1st & 2nd Avenues.

Download the Flyer here.

For more information head here.

Local 1500 Denounces Grocers "Economic Discrimination"; Transports Low Income and Senior Residents to Affordable Supermarket...

Access to quality, affordable food...

United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1500, the state's largest grocery workers Union, is transporting low income residents and seniors from Long Island City to a nearby Pathmark so they can have equal and fair access to purchase food during this Holiday season. The Unions effort is in response to what it calls a growing trend of "economic discrimination" by upscale grocers who do not accept programs such as Women, Infants and Children and Food Stamps.

Download part 1 of the flyer here

Download part 2 of the flyer here

Download the press release here

The Politics of Food

Image via Wikipedia
Today at Columbia University, UFCW Local 1500 took part in a conference presented by Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer on New York's next policy challenge: "Food Policy" Keynote speakers included Mayor Bloomberg & United Nations General Assembly President H.E. Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, while Pat Purcell of Local 1500 served as a co-moderator for the event. The event filled the auditorium at Alfred Lerner Hall with activists, policy makers and community members.

The overall focus of the conference was to gain insight from participants on solutions to solving the growing problem New Yorkers and people throughout the world are facing, access to healthy affordable food. It asked the question why low income areas are facing riveting diabetes and obesity rates. Questions were raised asking, How can supermarkets be retained and improved? Speakers outlined the recent "decay" of the Supermarket industry throughout New York City and stressed the need for more Supermarkets throughout the city.

It seems that government is finally understanding the big picture. Bodega's that inhabit every street corner throughout the five boroughs fail to provide affordable food, not even healthy food. Gourmet Grocery stores provide healthy foods, but at prices no working class person can afford. The lack of supermarkets force people to rely on shopping at Bodega's, 99 cent stores, Fast-Food restaurants and Drug Stores like CVS or Rite-Aid that have poor quality and limited selections of food. This brings us to where we are today:

• Diabetes now affects over 700,000 people in New York City
• 1.1 Million New Yorkers are obese
• 2 Million are overweight
• 3 Million New Yorkers live in neighborhoods with a "high need for grocery stores and supermarkets"

That's why Local 1500 launched its Building Blocks Campaign. Our plan to bring Good Food, Good Jobs which will bring Good Health to the supermarket starved communities. Please read our principles, and please comment, we'd love to hear your ideas and suggestions.

The Politicker also had a write up on the conference here.

The Building Blocks Project

Image via Wikipedia A campaign geared towards taking action against the current Supermarket crisis throughout the five boroughs. The project is called the 'Building Blocks Project'. Here's a quick synopsis of Local 1500's project, if you would like to get involved just follow this link and sign up!

The lack of affordable and quality food available to consumers through traditional Supermarkets has reached crisis levels. Communities are affected both economically and with health related problems. Good jobs are being lost due to store closings, and we are failing to create new jobs through new supermarket development. Diabetes, obesity and heart related illnesses are at epidemic levels.

Through our Building Blocks Project, we intend to form a long-term coalition of labor unions, healthcare professionals, hunger and nutrition advocates, food access experts, elected leaders, community activists and faith-based leaders to ensure that all communities have the basic Building Blocks of good food, good jobs and good health. When a community is built upon this foundation, it produces positive results for all residents of New York State.