Friday Quick News: Victory Stella D'Oro Workers

Crain's New York: A bittersweet win for former Stella D'Oro workers
Workers who lost their jobs when Stella D'oro Biscuit Co. shuttered its Bronx plant last year could get millions in back pay and benefits as a result of a recent decision handed down by the National Labor Relations Board.

The ruling confirms that the 136 workers were driven to embark on a yearlong strike by the company, and orders Stella D'oro to fork over back pay, with interest, as well as benefits for the two-month period after the workers offered to return to the job in May 2009, and before the company took them back in July.


Huntington Patch: Wild By Nature's 10-Year Anniversary
Wild By Nature received a proclamation at Town Hall on Tuesday to commemorate its 10th anniversary in Huntington. The store, an independent subsidiary of the King Kullen Grocery Company, has three other locations on Long Island outside its Main Street location. UFCW represents all of the Wild By Nature stores.


Investors aren't impressed with Wal-Mart.


And NY State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli continues to warn New Yorkers that the State is running on empty.  He predicted the current spending rate will produce budget gaps of $15.6 billion by 2013-14 and a cumulative gap of $37 billion through 2013-14.  

Aldi to Queens in 2010, The WFP wins again, Wednesday Morning Read...

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Nearly 300 UNITE HERE members protesting demands from major hotels in Chicago and San Francisco for cutbacks, and the firing of 100 housekeepers in Boston, were arrested in peaceful civil disobedience demonstrations in recent days.

Sign the petition to keep Stella D'oro production plant open in the Bronx!

Whole Foods protests are getting more creative, a musical protest was performed in Oakland this week.

Wal-Mart & K-Mart are targeting recession-weary toy buyers this holiday season, Wal-Mart is planning on offering 100 toys for $10.

Washington Post: From Whole Foods to the Food Bank, Middle Class residents find themselves with hat in hand.

Duane Reade launched a private label food brand.

Aldi Supermarket, [sister of Trader Joe's] will open its' first NYC store in Queens.  Don't expect the expansion to stop, they're plans are much larger than one store. For those new to Aldi, Aldi is known for its store-branded merchandise, with about 95% of the items exclusive to Aldi.  According to the company, Aldi's prices are up to 50% lower than the prices at traditional supermarkets.  Ranked 25th among U.S. grocery chains in gross sales, Aldi's Queens' store is part of a larger expansion plan, under which the company is opening some 80 new stores this year. BNet analyzes the move.

Meanwhile, Trader Joe's is in talks for opening another store, this one in Chelsea on 6th between 21st and 22nd.

Politics 

The turnout was low, but Bill De Blasio (138,736 votes) and John Liu (121,173) were winners in last night's runoff, marking another victory this election season for the Working Families Party, the NY Times City Room has more.
 

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• Can America's Urban Food Deserts Bloom? (time.com)

Friday Morning Read.

Our thoughts are with everyone who has been and is still affected from the events eight years ago today on September 11.  We will never forget those who gave their lives and those who are still suffering from the effects of the attack.
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"[My kids are] going to have to skip a few semesters. I've already sold my car and cleaned out my life savings during the strike. There is nothing left for them or myself and my wife…. we will just pray to God that we do not get sick."

- George Kahssay, 51, who worked for 22 years at the Bronx Stella D'oro cookie factory

Alem Fese, 58, a mixer at the plant for 27 years, said she has a $1,500-a-month mortgage and hasn't written a résumé in nearly three decades.

"Who's going to hire me?" she asked. "I don't know what I'm going to do. Really.

In Today's Daily News, after workers were told that the Stella D'oro cookie factory would be moving operations to Ohio.

Rev. Al Sharpton has endorsed Fernando Cabrera for the 14th NY City Council District.

A&P is offering online pharmacy services.

Wal-Mart is re-focusing on customer research.

The Denver Daily News covers UFCW Local 7's negotiations.  As does Supermarket News.

What's going on with the Lighthouse project in Nassau County?

Reminder tomorrow is the New York City Labor Day Parade!  All are welcome to come at 9 AM!

UFCW 401 workers need your support, Paid Sick Days will alleviate Swine Flu, Thursday Morning Read

"Many, many parents are worried today about keeping their jobs. They cannot also worry about having to stay home with a sick child."
-Councilmember Gale Brewer, calling for passage of a paid sick days bill that would let working parents take a day off to keep sick kids out of school, on CBS News. (From WFP)

CBS News: H1N1 Prompts City Council to pass Paid Sick Days.

WNYC: Officials say paid sick days will alleviate Swine Flu.

UFCW, Industry

More than 350 UFCW Local 401 members from Safeway in Canada have been without a contract since December, and are now bracing for a long lockout as replacement workers cross the picket line.
“This is not about money, this is about job security,” O’Halloran said. “They are looking for job guarantees to the end of this contract, and the company will not give them that.” Local 401 needs your support!

Meanwhile in Denver, Safeway and UFCW Local 7 are continuing their contract negotiations.  UFCW Local 7 rejected Safeway's latest offer yesterday which would not give most workers raises, and the offer does not eliminate a system that offers less pay and fewer benefits to workers who were hired more recently.  The 200 union members who were at Wednesday's negotiations rejected the contract.


The CEO of A&P has some "Fresh" ideas for growth:
Eric Claus sees a divided future in the grocery aisle.
There will be high-end supermarkets and value-priced stores but few midlevel stores, he said.
That's why the chief executive of Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea is gearing up to modernize his stores for price-conscious shoppers who have been stung by the recession.

The Daily News updates the Kings Bridge 'Food Fight', where another hearing took place Wednesday and discussion was dominated by plans for a huge supermarket for the armory, and its impact on the Morton Williams supermarket across the street.

Elsewhere, City

Stella D'oro will move operations to Ohio.

The AP says food prices are beginning to fall.

Whole Foods tries to win back customers by pushing more 'value options' during tough economic times.
New York plans on collecting 5 cents on water bottles next month.

Poll: 1 in 3 Young Workers lives at home with parents.

Curbed looks at the new Brooklyn Nets arena design.

And finally, Tom Suozzi vows not to raise Nassau County taxes.

UFCW contract updates, ACME settles, Stella D'Oro fights to stay open, Amish Market in Glendale not popular anymore?

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Good Morning on a Friday!

Workers at Stella D’Oro are filing an NLRB charge alleging that a private equity company is illegally closing the plant to avoid the union.

BJ's aims to take business from supermarkets during recession:
BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. , the No. 3 U.S. warehouse club operator, is focused on taking business from grocery stores as consumers look to save money on food in the recession.

Staten Island residents are more than pleased that Pathmark is returning to New Dorp.

Contracts
Fresh & Easy suppliers have a union election tomorrow (Friday) in California.

UFCW Local 1776 approved a contract with ACME yesterday.

Here's the letter that ACME president sent to all UFCW members....More at the Progressive Grocer.

Congratulations to workers at Swift meatpacking plant:
UFCW Local 711 reached a contract agreement with JBS a meat packing plant, a negotiation which took a little over eight months. The first contract for workers at JBS Swift & Co. will result in a 4.6% increase in the 1,100 employees at the plant.

Denver-area Safeway and King Soopers workers agreed Wednesday to extend their contracts with the grocery chains until Aug. 15...
The latest news is that negotiations are moving towards equal pay.

Must Read:
The Gotham Gazette: An Outer Borough Drought.
The Gazette looks at the supermarket drought throughout the five boroughs, a topic which we've been lobbying and arguing for the last year with our Building Blocks Project.

Developments:
Gourmet Garage opens up in the Upper West Side.

Rumors continue to arise regarding a new Trader Joe's or Gourmet Garage in the SOHA (South Harlem) building between 117th and 118th Street on Frederick Douglass Boulevard.

Food Lion will build it's first 'Green Supermarket' in southern California.

Hannaford, here in the North East, will unveil their first 'Green Supermarket'.

Atlas Park: Craving a supermarket not an Amish Market.
“The community of Glendale is crying out for a supermarket to move into their neighborhood, and we have just the location for you,” the prepared materials read.

One prospective tenant, Western Beef, has already turned down Atlas Park over parking access.
Read more at the Queens Tribune.

Wal-Mart:
In a long five year battle, UFCW Local 1400 (Canada) is appealing a decision by Court of Queen's Bench Justice Peter Foley, who ruled last month that the certification of a Wal-Mart, in the town of Weyburn, was wrong.

Workers in foreign factories that supply Wal-Mart can't blame the company for their alleged sweatshop conditions, despite the retail giant's code of conduct that's supposed to hold its contractors to decent labor standards, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.

Wal-Mart Stores here will discuss the development of a new index that measures the "social and environmental impact" of its products at a press conference today, reports said yesterday.
UFCW responds to Bashas' bankrupcy.

Whole Foods/Trader Joe's:
Greenpeace vs Trader Joe's in the sustainable seafood war.

Whole Foods Market is promoting the fact that one of its own lives in Alaska for the summer to ensure that the best salmon is carried in its stores.

Whole Foods Organically Certified:
Whole Foods Market yesterday announced that it each of its 273 U.S. stores has been individually certified organic by CCOF, a non-profit, U.S. Department of Agriculture accredited third-party certifier established in 1973.

Politics

The NY Mets, everyone's lovable losers, owe New York City more than $2 million due to 'underreported profits'

Texting banned while driving in NYC.

The NY Senate gives more power to the minority.

Carolyn Maloney has an edge over Kirsten Gillibrand in a Rasmussen poll.

Keep Stella D'Oro in the Bronx, Support Local 1776, Friday Morning One LIners...

"They wanted to take us back to the dark ages. We told them we weren't going there."

-Mike Filippou, on why workers at the Stella D'Oro cookie factory in the Bronx braved picket lines for 11 months, in yesterday's Daily News.

“Even if I go back for an hour, I’ll get satisfaction,” said Mike Filippou, 43, a union representative and a maintenance mechanic at the plant for 15 years. “They’re saying they’re going to close to get us to agree to whatever they offer, but we didn’t stay out 11 months for nothing. We’re going to fight it.” In Yesterday's New York Times

AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka yesterday announced his candidacy for president of the AFL-CIO to succeed the retiring John Sweeney. Trumka has served as AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer since 1995.

A supermarket owner who took $50,000 in public funds to renovate his store has been arrested and charged with fraud in relation to the award.

Acme and UFCW Local 1776 are nearing a contract deadline. Neither side seems willing to budge....Meanwhile Local 1776 officials yesterday accused Acme Markets of refusing to compromise as a midnight contract deadline approached, but they urged 4,500 area supermarket employees to report to work today and stay on the job until a membership meeting Wednesday.

Yesterday Whole Foods announced they will abandon plans to open a store in Gowanus, Brooklyn.

13 Dunkin Donuts in NYC turn into Tim Horton's. What??

BJ's Wholesale Club's sales continue to dip.

Citing unfair labor practices, Teamster employees at Hilton Suites on Chicago's Magnificent Mile have chosen to strike against the hotel, effective this past Friday.

Wal-Mart
A federal judge has given final approval to a $17.5 million settlement of a discrimination lawsuit that accused Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of not hiring black truck drivers.

The UFCW is appealing the decision in Canada which overturned the unionization of a Wal-Mart.


Politics

Labor leaders to meet with President Obama Monday.

If you missed the Working Families NYC Mayoral Forum, it's available online....Bill Thompson ended up getting the WFP endorsement.

Pope Benedict XVI advocates for more unions.

Pedro Espada is back, and now majority leader. Saying his actions led to a transformational change that will empower all senators, dissident Democrat Sen. Pedro Espada Jr. rejoined the conference he walked away from a month ago, and returned control of the state Senate to Democrats.

Maloney tells the Queens Tribune, "I'm Ready for Senate"

Stella D'oro plans to close doors in October, Tuesday Morning Read

Last week, a federal judge ordered Stella D'oro to reinstate 134 workers after a protracted 10-month strike. This week, the company invited the workers back. It also announced that it would close the factory in October.

NY Times: After Inviting workers back, cookie factory plans to shut down.

New York: Welfare checks to increase for the first time in 19-years.

"I work at Con Ed, but need food stamps to get by….And with a monthly electricity bill of some $200. I feel that Con Ed is taking back whatever little I get paid."

-Fernando Cruz, a maintenance worker who cleans the Manhattan offices of Con-Ed, in Friday's Daily News

The Connecticut Laborers' Council plans to picket three work sites in Torrington, Bristol and Ellington to protest a Plainville-based construction firm's use of nonunion workers, including a future Stop & Shop site.

Don McGeorge, who as president and chief operating officer of Kroger Co. was influential in developing many of the retailer’s strategies, including its private brands and centralized operations, is retiring after 32 years with the company.

About 1,200 Macy's workers in Washington 'OK'd' a contract.

Remember Mark Kaiser? Former executive at Ahold’s U.S. Foodservice division, who was sentenced to seven years in prison back in 2007 for his role as “organizer and leader” of a scheme that led Ahold to overstate its profits by $800 million. Kaiser was convicted of fraud in the case, in which he was found to have directed the creation of fake invoices to artificially inflate vendor rebates. Well, he is now seeking a re-trial.

Trader Joe's is receiving some criticism over sustainable fish.

Local 342 wins NLRB case against kosher meat packers.

Two more supermarkets to pay over $1 million dollars in back wages.

Two supermarkets in Brooklyn have agreed to pay back wages to employees totaling $1.125 million after a state investigation found they did not pay some workers at all and paid others less than minimum wage. This past February Local 1500 and the Building Blocks project helped workers at Amish Market, Zeytinia, Zeytinz and Zeytuna receive over $1 million dollars in back wages. NY1 covered the story here. This is becoming too much of a common practice throughout New York City, the Building Blocks Project along with Local 1500 is working on the New York State's Dept. of Labor's Wage Watchers campaign

Wal-Mart

REGINA, Saskatchewan — A judge here has voided union certification at a Wal-Mart store where workers organized under labor laws that were since altered, reports Thursday said.

Chicago- Chicago Alderman still yearns for Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart backs drive to force companies to pay for health insurance.

Politics

Mayor Bloomberg has imposed an immediate city hiring freeze, citing “gridlock in the State Senate” that has held up votes on budget measures.

That includes a class of 250 police recruits who were slated to start at the academy tomorrow.

NY Times looks at 5 years down the road: The Stalemate in Albany, Five Years On.